Human—Wildlife Interaction, Rural Conflict, and Wildlife Conservation

Namibia and southern Africa in general have experienced commodification of nature since the 1960s when the conversion of commercial agricultural farms to game farming areas gained intensity (Wels 2015; see also Kalvelage this volume). The assumption was that game farming was a more economically viable response to the decline of the agriculture market, products, and profits. Another supporting argument was that game farming offers a win-win situation for rural development and the conservation of nature and wildlife (Brandt et al. 2018). The concentration on the commodification of conservation has seen a growing trend in managing game species to support trophy