The Damaraland community comprises a unique group of people who have recognised the value of the wildlife on their land and formed a Community Wildlife Conservancy to protect it. Until 1981, Damaraland was unprotected and open to poachers, mostly from outside the area. Eventually, Namibian NGOs formed a game-guard system with people from the community, and interest in the welfare of the wildlife increased. After halting the poaching activities, there were many ideas on how to conserve the area and its resources sustainably. In 1996, Wilderness Safaris joined the community's conservation efforts and co-established a system that became the most successful community-based tourism venture in Namibia.
In 1998, the success of Damaraland Camp helped the community to have their land proclaimed as the Torra Conservancy, the first of four Community Wildlife Conservancies in the country. Today, the Torra Conservancy is one of the most successful in all of Africa. It meets all its management costs and makes a profit which is then reinvested into community projects for the community's benefit. It is the first community conservancy which is able to sustain itself without donor funding.
The increase in the community's awareness of nature conservation has been immense; where wildlife was once viewed as a threat, it is now regarded as an important asset to the earning potential of the community. Former poachers have become community game guards with great success. The camp's emphasis on conservation-positive impact and sustainable ecotourism has been reflected in the considerable increase in general game numbers since 1996. In addition, the income generated through the camp has allowed the conservancy to establish a livestock compensation fund for farmers who lose their stock to predators. The level of success achieved is obvious to all visiting the area today. A large portion of the community levy is allocated towards community upliftment projects; the funding of the local school and community centre.
Damaraland Camp has become an inspiration for communities and conservationists throughout Africa and beyond. The objectives achieved include:
- To create a high-income, low-impact tourism camp for sustainable tourism
- To train members of the local community in all aspects of tourism
- To create immediate employment in a previously low-employment area
- To uplift the local area financially and socially
- To allow local wildlife numbers to increase and stabilise.
The very existence of the camp has been instrumental in alleviating poverty in the region and the success of this joint venture was validated and acclaimed when the Torra Conservancy was awarded a UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Equator Initiative Prize for outstanding achievement in the reduction of poverty through conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. In 2005, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) named Damaraland Camp as the overall winner of the Tourism for Tomorrow Conservation Award, one of the top two global travel environmental awards in the world.
In November 2006, Damaraland Camp was a winner once again, this time at the 2006 Imvelo Responsible Tourism Awards, for Best single resource management programme - Energy.
The Imvelo Responsible Tourism Awards recognise operations in tourism and hospitality that make a "real, measurable and sustained contribution to responsible tourism."
The category of which Damaraland was a winner - Best single resource management programme - judges entrants on "operational efforts made to reduce and manage water, energy or waste". Damaraland Camp uses uncontaminated water from a borehole five kilometres away, and once used, this water is disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner. "Grey water" from showers and basins waters natural vegetation while waste water is contained in a two-chamber tank to allow for biological activity. Waste is trucked from the camp to Windhoek for proper recycling, and energy for light and hot water is obtained via solar power. Gas is used for cooking and refrigeration and a coal cooling system is used for cooling fresh vegetables.
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