Transcript of the news reported on the The Sun, an hour ago

After a series of violent raids by the police in Hardap on balloons and water, the Commander in Chief of the Namibian Defence Force, Hage Geingob, has decided to intervene.

“What in the name of tha good lord is going down in HARDAP? We are sending military forces into tha region to enforce peace. All citizens will be placed in indefinte curfew effective as of today, and animals that dare move out of their conservancies will be shot on sight. This is necessary action considering the gross incompetence of all the regional leaders in handling the wildlife crisis.”

As the chaos dies down under harsh military intervention, Hardap can hear the drums echoing tonight, as the military blast various songs on their journey down to Hardap. The lyrics of Toto - Africa echo across the serengeti.

A piece of good news, however is that the rains have begun falling in Hardap, bringing the water level in the Hardap reservoir to pre-drought levels.

“There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do. I bless the rains down in Africa, but it’s gonna take some time to do the things we never had”, said Nami Vivian, a resident in Hardap. She, like many others are pleased with the intervention by the federal government.

Tourism has declined significantly in the region, with foreigners staying away for fear of having their birthday parties being shot up and the threat of dangerous wildlife. As a whole, Hardap has suffered greatly from the drought.

HARDAP has been the site of greatest animal related defeat the human race has ever experienced since the Emu War of 1932.

The Namibian
29 September 2019

Animals have moved out of the conservancies in the hundreds to attack the humans. 

The following table has been published in a research paper from the conservancies:

Change in number of animals in the conservancies since the rainfall increased
	Oskop Conservancy	Huibes Conservancy
Elephants	-7	20
Cheetahs	50	40
Rhinos	40	30
Ostriches	60	50
Leopards	200	200
Wild dogs	10	20
Mongoose	30	40
Jackals	150	20
Honey Badgers	30	200
Wildebeest	20	50

The Chief Regional Officer has suggested that "Sex Beest may be a rallying call to the Wild Dogs, and other animals within the region to attack; it may be a coded message that only animals can fathom for now. Stay vigilant."

The Namibian

27 September 2019

A Namibian Poet, de O Sha'tikk Ku'ma'ran, has published the following poem online, gaining widespread attention, both positive and negative:

Animals are on the Move!

They say conscript the man,
But do they say conscript the stock?
They say we are an army,
But do they say what we do?

Violence has been taught,
Territory has been regained
Humans they fight,
Though bleak and weak

In the night they go
But who should go
Fences are broken
Communication is broken

Humans see animals -
Out of their conservancies
They see the damage done
That animals have done

The Namibian

27 September 2019

Norton Vaandarstraten is a young white boy who was in Namibia with his family to celebrate his birthday when police officers breached into his vacation compound guns blazing. They blew the door down with breaching charges and began shooting indiscriminately at all the balloons rented from Namib Sky Balloons inside the compound.

After further investigation by the media, police officers that we have interviewed have explained that they were under direct orders of the Hardap Regional Commander of Police to shoot at all balloons owned by Namib Sky Balloon, and it seems that this poor white boy’s birthday party was their first target. The Namibian Federal Chief of Police has just made an official press statement regarding this incident and has immediately revoked Aryan Singh of all his titles and privileges.

He is being dragged down from HARDAP to Windhoek as we speak

The Namibian
25 September 2019



In a strange twist of fate, there seem to be declining population of Wild Dogs. For what seems to be communicated to the wild dogs as a work of art, to spell “Peace is Sexy” and “Wildebeests are dumb”, it seems to have taken a different turn. 

Wild dogs have decided to ballot for the words to be spelt. They ended up with “Sex Beest”, which has baffled the farmers the villagers in the area.

The Namibian

23 September 2019

The water rationing act has been enforced by the Police Force. This morning, police forces have spread out across the region and seized control of all water rationing centres and have encouraged all citizens to give up their water supplies for distribution in these water rationing centres.

While a few citizen have agreed to give up their water for the greater good, most citizens continue to hoard whatever water supplies they have left. Citizens grow restless and some have even begun to protest the police’s draconian actions.

“This is a return to socialism. They didn’t want to say it, but it came out anyway” says Maa’g Rat That’jer an angry protester. “The police have no right to seize my water just because this government is incompetent!” It seems that more severe actions will have to be taken by the police to enforce this water rationing act.

The Namibian
23 September 2019

The farmers are clearly unhappy with the government, and have started to voice their dissent at the government’s lack of action. Villagers have begun distributing flyers with images of perishing animals collapsing due to the lack of water, children collapsing and parched due to dehydration, spreading information about the children who have fallen sick due to the lack of water.

Several protests have sprung up, with groups of farmers bringing pitchforks, poles and gathering near town halls and regional centres to protest the government’s inaction.

Smaller, individual campaigns to gather more water have sprung up, such as on Instagram, where a post circulating stating that for every 1000 likes gained on the post, 1 litre of water will be provided to the Hardap region. Shrines have been set up around boreholes to represent the animals who perished due to dehydration. Campaigns encouraging a vegan diet, which requires less water for production, have begun, pushing villagers to focus on conserving water.

There has been outrage against the actions of the farmers, with online condemnation for the actions of the farmers, with netizens expressing their ridicule towards the actions of the farmers in killing the oldest animals for ritual sacrifices, with strong sentiments such as “how do you even know which animal is the oldest! Ur just killing animals for no good reason” and “this is why the region is rotting =_=”.

The farmers also appear to have tried to leave leopard prints at the sites of their crimes, a ridiculous move that has caused the general public to lose any semblance of respect for the farmers.

The Namibian

21 September 2019

A strange meterological phenomena has been observed. Rain was observed to have happened in the Oskop and Huibes conservancies only. Animals are flocking to the area for water. Unfortunately, there have been reports of several humans being hurt due to the stampede of animals rushing for water.

When humans venture in the conservancies to collect water, they are dissuaded by the masses of naimals in the conservancy, for fear of being hurt. Have the tables turned, with the animals gaining the advantage in water sources now?

The Namibian

19 September 2019

In response to the Police Chief’s demands for a 50 meter female exclusion zone around all police stations, all women police officers have begun protesting the ban right outside the exclusion zone

This has been a crippling blow to the police force as they lose 50% of their manpower outright. All attempts to negotiate fail and refuse to get back to work unless the ban is lifted.

Furthermore, there has been an explosion of crime in the area as police officers are unable to bring female criminals into the police stations.

Truly there has never been a more grim moment in police force history. With the crime rate rising exponentially and female officers protesting outside the exclusion zone, chaos befalls upon the entire HARDAP region

The Namibian

13 September 2019



A group of wildebeest carcasses have been found spelling the letters “W”, “A”, and “R” have been found on the hills overlooking Mariental, to the shock and horror of the villages.

The Village Elder, aman who goes by the name Nama, has expressed his shock and dismay. “This must be a sign from the gods that we have failed them, for them to bestow such a tragedy upon us. We must repent and provide sacrifices to the gods so that their wrath may be calmed.”

The Namibian

27 August 2019



The Namibian Government has declared a drought emergency in Hardap, seeing that the situation is getting even more dire than before. Water supplies are expected to be less than 75% of normal, according to forecasts.

The lack of water supplies for both farmers and in conservancies have forced animals out of the conservancies and towards farms, where villagers have been hoarding water supplies for their own use. Farmers have been expanding their land and going further and further to dig boreholes in an attempt to store as much water as possible before the drought worsens. The hoarding of water supplies have forced the animals to venture further out of conservancies and into settlements in order to source water.

The Chief Regional Officer has finally spoken out about the issue of the odd behaviour of animals in a press release, “People of Hardap, please be patient. We are in the midst of investigating the recent increase of animal attacks, and we have mobilised staff to assist you. All we ask is for your cooperation, so please assist them when they request for your help.”

This has caused humans and animals to come into conflict more often than before, with animals moving into the human settlements to get the water from the sources hoarded by the humans.

Animals have been approaching the tourists in the areas on safari tours, who have given the animals their water in an attempt to help the animals. Tourists have spoken out to reservation managers and regional offices, voicing their dissatisfaction at the state of the animals and the treatment of the animals in the area, complaining that the lack of water for the animals would result in the death of the animals. Tourists have claimed that they will boycott the tours if the animals are not treated better, a threat to Hardap’s tourism.

The Namibian
3 August 2019

Stop killing the animals
- Father of the Dogs.

An odd message has appeared in the middle of a field, seemingly overnight yesterday, with what seems to be sheep bones form the carcasses of 50 sheep used to form the words in the message. The bones are marked with large scratch marks, and the pawprints leading to and from the area are larger, and ironically, do not seem to be dog-like in appearance.

This is the latest in a series of odd behaviours from animals in the areas of Hardap, and have been concerning farmers greatly.

The Namibian

29 July 2019



Farmers are moving nearer to conservancies in search of land to drill boreholes in their desperate search for farmers, but even those efforts are coming up dry. The lack of water has started to have a devastating effect on the livelihoods of the farmers and the survival of their crops and livestock, causing the villagers to become more desperate in their search for water.

Some of the farmers’ livestock have started to collapse due to dehydration, causing farmers great losses. This has caused the farmers to become extremely frustrated, and have started to show tension and anger at the situation.

Villages have started questioning the government’s lack of response to their situation and are frustrated with the lack of aid from the government. They have begun approaching the regional office to complain about the lack of action and demand aid from the government.

Response from the Office of Rural and Urban Development States

The ministry does not agree with the actions that have been proposed by the council, and will not be passed into effect for the following reasons:

While supply side policies can be carried out within the jurisdiction of HARD, there are no details specifying the mechanics of such a policy. HARD does not have jurisdiction over the Namibian central bank, and thus cannot implement abovementioned monetary policies. The agricultural simplification process is not elaborated on and we do not understand how to carry out your policies.

The HARD council does not have the power to strip the Hardap Regional Commander of Police of his powers. However an official investigation will be launched against the commander in light of these accusations.

Minister of Rural and Urban Development states

The Namibian

31 July 2019

Honey badgers have been behaving oddly recently, facing sheep in an especially aggressive manner, going as far as to body slam the sheep whenever they come into contact.

This has resulted in numerous honey badgers dying, while some pigs have faced injuries.

This is the latest in a series of odd behaviours by the animals of hardap.

The Namibian

31 July 2019

Domesticated dogs have been behaving oddly in Hardap lately, with dogs becoming antagonistic towards other animal species, even coming to attacking other animal populations in the area when the wild animal populations move too close to the human settlements in the area. They have also become more aggressive toward the livestock.

This is the latest in a series of odd behaviours by the animals in the Hardap area, which has caused much confusion among the villagers in the area.

The Namibian

29 July 2019

The livestock restriction the Regional Councillor of Aranos has implemented has come into effect, farmers are dissuaded from farming if population exceeds 5 livestock per hectare. However, this is 25 times above the actual carrying capacity, and has instead encouraged farmers to farm more thinking that the carrying capacity of their land is 5 animals per hectare.

At the same time, increasing uncharacteristic behaviour of the animals in the area have caused frustration among the humans, with the humans becoming increasingly confused by the animals’ behaviour. This includes the honey badgers raiding human settlements and villages, even killing livestock, leopards moving into closer proximity with humans by moving into the conservancies, while certain animal populations have been becoming more malicious, causing the humans to become more suspicious and antagonistic towards the animal populations

More animals have started crossing the highways, resulting in jams on the roads as farmers attempt to prevent the deaths of even more animals than before.

Near Mariental, sheep herders and their sheep have been mauled by big cats in the area, resulting in severe injury and several herders being sent to the hospital for treatment. 2 remain in critical condition.

The Namibian

29 July 2019



It has been almost 2 months since the last rainfall. The decreasing water levels have caused the Hardap Dam to close its sluices in an attempt to conserve the last steady water supply. Water levels as of last week are about 50% of the usual, and settlements in Hardap are also running out of water due to the depleting number of boreholes used for extracting groundwater.

Farmers say that the weather has been drier than normal, as of this time, the weather authorities are refusing to comment on the possibility of a long-term drought. Villagers have become concerned about the supply of water, with several voicing out their worry.

Report on recent developments from the managers of the Oskop conservancy
1. With the recent increase in grazing herds, we have observed an increased net migration of animals into the conservancies. The use of kraals and the sound of gunshots have probably pushed animals out of the conservancies into them. While manageable at this point in time, further net increase of animals into the conservancies will not be sustainable and upset the balance of the ecosystem in the conservancies.

2. We have also noticed an increase in animal-related accidents on the highways outside the conservancies. There has thus far been a few accidents leading to the deaths of 3 wildebeest. The recent migration of animals has also been causing the disruption of traffic on nearby highways, which is not beneficial to transportation in the region and the animals of Hardap. The urban population seems to be dissatisfied with the frequent delays and traffic jams.

We conclude that immediate measures to be taken to address the above issues.

Oskop conservancy, Hardap

The Namibian

28 May 2019

MARIENTAL - With the recent conversion of vegetable farmers to animal herders, there has been an increase in livestock being raised. But the inexperience of the new herders have caused inadequate kraals to be made. The herders are also practicing unsustainable practices with most of them either not knowing how to practice sustainable farming or just not caring about how they farm.

The increase in livestock leading to increased grazing of vegetation has caused herders to travel further and graze on more lands, chasing and killing animals which threaten their livestock and the land they feed on. There have been outcries from animal activists and environmentalists, calling for immediate actions to expand the conservancy to protect the land and Namibian precious natural resources.

A herder in Hardap, Bambooni commented in an interview, “The activists and environmentalists always have their complaints. You think we want to do this? We have no choice! We have to feed our families and this is the only way we know how to farm, the only way we can farm! If they have a way to solve our “hungry” problem as well as achieve their “protection of animals and environment”, then show it to us! We, herders, would be happy to hear them!”

The Namibian, 21 May 2019



REHOBOTH - Due to the recent improvements on the B1 highway, infrastructure in Hardap has substantially increased in quality. “It is now easier for trucks to come in”, says Nweme, a crop farmer.

“The trucks have been bringing in food from Khomas, and it’s been difficult to compete”, laments Nweme. Local groceries have been stocking themselves with the cheaper food imported from the north of the country, depressing prices.

When asked about how he would deal with this situation, Nweme said that he would “follow his neighbours and turn my fields into a ranch.” The improvements in infrastructure has increased livestock exports from Hardap, and more and more farmers are switching agricultural practices.

However, certain issues have arisen. Firstly, the switch to livestock means that inexperienced farmers have been trying to raise livestock - often with limited success. Next, it has been difficult for smaller landowners to make the change, and certain complaints have been raised to their representatives.

One such farmer, Adisa Dawel, mentions “The government only cares about the rich, increasing the development and whatnot! But they do not care about us, the farmers who have no money to afford livestock. This is not fair!”

Overall, the residents of Hardap seem pleased with the recent developments.

Transcript of the opening address at the Hardap Administrative Region dialogue.

Transcript of the opening address at the Hardap Administrative Region dialogue.

The date is May 21st 2019. In Mariental, the Hardap Administrative Region Dialogue has been convened, with an agenda of discussing the growing issue of human-wildlife conflict in the region. Members of the Hardap Regional Council have agreed to meet up with relevant local leaders on this day, as a way to hear the concerns of Hardap’s stakeholders.




The dialogue has agreed to take action and pass policy papers to be executed by the relevant departments and divisions of the Hardap Regional Council, such that it may fulfill the mandate of the Hardap Regional Council. These are to:

• Ensure socio-economic development

• Ensure sustainable utilization of natural resources

• Enhance political stability through local empowerment

• Facilitate infrastructural development

• Bring services closer to the people and

• Plan, facilitate and coordinate regional development, contribute and advice on policies within the unitary framework

The region has a population of about 79 000 citizens. 28% of the population is urban, whereas the rest lead a more rural lifestyle. Of the rural population, business and tourism are a common sources of income. About a third of households depend on farming as their main source of income, through farming land, raising livestock, subsistence farming or working as farm workers. Farming is practiced where water for irrigation is available. The Hardap dam is used for irrigation, whereas Stampriet has a bit of ground water to use for farming.



As we can see, the majority of land in Hardap is used for commercial farming.

Recently, visitors have been flocking to Namib Sky Ballooning to view a stunning type of natural phenomenon - aurora borealis, at this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localised entirely within our own Sesriem. Ecotourism has become a fixture of the economy, with our unique combination of unspoiled wildlife and decent infrastructure making Namibia’s animals one of the most accessible to the world. However, the maintenance of natural areas has led to wildlife encroaching onto human used land. There have been instances of, for example, elephants exploring villages to find water in their boreholes, various large predators stealing livestock from herds, and wild animals grazing on crops. The animals that move in and out of the unfenced conservation areas are the culprits. As we can see here, here are some examples of Namibians being affected by Human Wildlife Conflict.

*A video is shown on the projector, by NASCO*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=505&v=eAHSuA2ap1s

We hope that the participants of this dialogue are able to create an impetus for policy to seek a balance between our people’s needs, and the needs of the environment, which are enshrined within our constitution.