NamibRand nature reserve
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NamibRand Nature Reserve
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 Mountain zebras against the backdrop of Gorasis and Chowagasberg |
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| location | Central West Namibia |
| surface | 2022 km² |
| Geographical location | 25 ° 0 ′ S , 16 ° 0 ′ E |
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| administration | private sponsorship under license from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism |
The NamibRand Nature Reserve ( English NamibRand Nature Reserve , NRNR) is one of the largest private nature reserves in Africa with 202,200 hectares . It is located in the Namib Desert , about 60 kilometers south of the Sesriem Canyon , and extends along the eastern border of the Namib-Naukluft Park .
As the NamibRand International Dark Sky Reserve, it is also designated as a light protection area.
Flora and fauna
The park with its dunes, mountains ( Losberg , 1939 meters above sea level) and limestone plains is a habitat for Hartmann's mountain zebras , hartebeests , springboks , gourmets , leopards , giraffes , spotted hyenas and bucket dogs . In May 2016 there were more than 6,600 gourmets, almost 3,000 springboks and 440 mountain zebras.
Fairy circles can also be found on the site .
15% of the total area is reserved as wilderness area.
History of origin
This protected area owes its creation on the one hand to the ecological foolishness of the former local farmers and on the other hand to the idealism of a Windhoek businessman. The farmers had brought the area out of its ecological balance through intensive cultivation (pasture farming and hunting) so that the farms no longer generated any yield. Johann Albrecht Brückner (born August 30, 1930, † December 8, 2016) began buying up the Gorrasis , Die Duine , Stellarine and Wolwedans farms in 1984 . He had the pasture fences pulled down, resettled native game and gave the country time to recover. The associated financial outlay could be kept within limits by building and renting high-quality accommodation such as Wolwedans Dune Lodge or Wolwedans Dune Camp . The lodge business has expanded significantly over the years thanks to the increasing number of visitors.
In 1992 the protected area was recognized by the state as non-profit and is maintained by the NamibRand Conservation Foundation (NRCF). In 2012, through the integration of the Springbokvlakte and Saffier farms, the park was given an additional 30,000 hectares and thus its present size.
Light sanctuary
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NamibRand International Dark Sky Reserve
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| location | NamibRand Nature Reserve |
| surface | 2022 km² |
| Setup date | 2013 |
| particularities | Light protection area IUCN- DSAG class 2a; IDA gold |
In May 2012, the nature reserve was recognized by the IUCN Dark Skies Advisory Group (DSAG) as a light protection area, and awarded gold by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) as the International Dark Sky Reserve (IDSR) . It was the first light protection area in Africa, and a developing country at all.
In addition to the absence of larger cities, the special quality lies in the hyper- arid climate of the Namib Desert, which is only surpassed in terms of atmospheric quality by the Atacama Desert in Chile.
Touristic
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The central institution is the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust Center (NaDEET Center), a geoscientific, astronomical and environmental didactic information center.
The area can be visited on guided tours. Wolwedans accommodation offers visitors some of the most luxurious accommodation options in Namibia. The NamibRand Family Hideout is a self-catering accommodation .
Astrotourism is also increasingly developing in the area .
See also
Web links
- Official website (namibrand.org/namibrand.com, English)
- Website of the NaDEET Center (at nadeet.org, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Barking Gecko. (PDF) NamibRand Nature Reserve, August 2016, p. 4
- ↑ NamibRand Nature Reserve. fairycircles.com (accessed February 10, 2019).
- ↑ a b c d About NRNR: History, Aims. namibrand.org (last accessed February 11, 2019).
- ↑ About NRNR: History, Aims. And NamibRand Conservation Foundation (NRCF). namibrand.org (accessed February 11, 2019).
- ↑ a b c NamibRand Nature Reserve (Namibia). International Dark Sky Association (darksky.org, accessed February 10, 2019).
- ↑ a b Dark Sky Reserve. namibrand.org (accessed February 10, 2019).
- ^ NamibRand Nature Reserve, Murray Tindall; NamibRand Nature Reserve International Dark Sky Reserve: Annual report and light audit 2018. Chapter Astrotourism on the rise , p. 4 ( eViewer and download pdf , on darksky.org,).