WORLD Rhino Day will be commemorated with music and soccer at the Herbert Conradie Stadium at Khorixas this weekend. The event will be held under the theme ‘Keeping the Five Alive’.
Clemens Naomab, regional coordinator at Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) told The Namibian on Monday that despite Covid-19 preventing celebrations of World Rhino Day last year, NNF still managed to conduct a virtual event.
“This year we hope we can get as many people as possible to join our soccer tournament and rhino-themed music show at Khorixas. This event will be live streamed on Love Namibia, Love Nature’s social media pages,” Naomab said.
Twenty soccer teams will take part in a tournament which takes place on 24 and 25 September. Teams from various conservancies in the Erongo and Kunene regions will participate, alongside teams from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and non-governmental organisations, Naomab said.
On Saturday, a music show will feature performances by musical duo Piri Gure, Antivorenasy, Icestar and Kallo on the Beat.
World Rhino Day is an international event, recognised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and celebrated annually on 22 September.
The NNF, along with conservation partners Save the Rhino Trust and Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC), have initiated the ‘Rhino Pride Campaign’ which is aimed at sending positive rhino-related messages to communities surrounding critical rhino range-lands, Naomab said.
The main funders for the Rhino Pride Campaign are the United States Agency International Aid, NNF and IRDNC.
“The idea is to build onto the foundation of communities’ involvement, pride and sustainable development in relation to rhino conservation to foster the notion of wildlife crime as counter-productive and anti-social behaviour,” Naomab said. “There has been a massive reduction in poaching of rhinos in the north-west, which is primarily due to good intelligence gathering initiated mainly by community members,” Naomab said.
Naomab said the general public’s support is essential if Namibians are to save the rhino and ensure wildlife benefits everyone.
“We are hereby inviting Namibians and the world at large to join in the celebrations and help to spread positive messaging around the last truly free-roaming population of black rhino on the planet,” Naomab said.