Our Stories
A Legacy for African Wildlife: B2Gold’s Commitment to Namibia’s Cheetah Conservation
May 16, 2023
B2Gold takes its environmental commitment – and its local legacies – seriously. And nowhere is this clearer than in Africa, where the company has been supporting the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), headquartered near the B2Gold Otjikoto Mine operation, since 2012. In 2022 alone, B2Gold committed $50,000 toward CCF research programs.
Namibia is home to the largest population of cheetahs in the world, with around 1,700 of the animals residing within its borders – out of around 7,100 total remaining in the world. While the big cats may be the world’s fastest land mammal, they haven’t been able to outrun the prime threats to their survival, including habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and illegal wildlife trade. The species is listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
“They’re Africa’s most endangered big cat. They're the best hunter of all of the African plains, and we’re losing them,” said CCF founder and executive director Dr. Laurie Marker, while addressing the crowd at a B2Gold-hosted CCF fundraising event in Vancouver this past April; the only Canadian stop on her North American spring tour. “But we can save them. Their survival is in our hands.”
Partners in African wildlife conservation
Year after year, CCF works tirelessly toward its goal of saving cheetahs and their habitat in Namibia, Somaliland, and beyond – through research, conservation, and education programs built on community engagement. It’s a mission that dovetails naturally with B2Gold’s own journey to become a greener mining company, says Clive.
“Even back when we first went to Namibia and fell in love with the country, B2Gold's culture was about fairness, respect, and transparency – and how we could make a difference,” says B2Gold President Clive Johnson. “We've always had that idea that we can leave a community better off than before we got there. And there are lots of different ways we've done that: education, agriculture, healthcare, and more. We met Laurie, and CCF, and quickly became kindred spirits in what we were looking to do in Namibia.”
Laurie agrees and advocates for companies and wildlife-conservation organizations to work together to accomplish shared goals: “If we're going to have a sustainable earth, with our wildlife on the land, we need partners. And having good partners who have similar visions, I think, is really important as well,” she says.
CCF research programs are aimed at establishing a sustainable model for human-wildlife coexistence, anchored in landscape-specific ecological and social understanding. This will require significant resources and efforts by all, notes Laurie – and stakeholders to help change the status quo and to support the transition to this sustainable model.
The CCF Livestock Guarding Dog Program
One of CCF’s most successful initiatives has been its Livestock Guarding Dog program, which breeds and trains Anatolian shepherds and Kangal dogs at the CCF Namibia-based facility. The dogs are placed with farmers in hotspots of human-wildlife conflict and use their imposing presence and loud bark to warn off cheetahs and other predators. This prevents attacks on livestock and makes farmers less likely to trap or shoot cheetahs. In this way, the dogs provide non-lethal protection of herds – a measure that has reduced livestock losses due to predators by 90 per cent.
CCF conducts annual follow-ups to ensure the dogs are settling into their guardian roles, and to offer medical care. B2Gold's support has enabled CCF to expand the guard-dog program to more communities.
Read CCF’s recent blog post on the Livestock Guarding Dog Program.
Wildlife conservation through research and community outreach
B2Gold's support has also helped CCF to conduct essential research on cheetah behaviour, ecology, and genetics, which has informed conservation efforts in Namibia and beyond. The company has provided funding for CCF's research projects, and also permitted its own staff to participate as volunteers.
“We are a very holistic organization,” says Laurie. “Our ecological programs are critical because if we want to understand how to live in harmony, we have to understand how the animals are living. Through our ecological programs, we study not only the cheetah, but other wildlife, as well as our soils and our vegetation – and all of that ties in.”
In Somaliland, CCF is working with international partners and local communities to stop the illegal wildlife trade of cheetah cubs. CCF is providing care for more than 90 cheetahs that have been confiscated by authorities, with many of these now being transferred to a newly constructed sanctuary CCF Cheetah Rescue & Conservation Centre in Geed-Deeble.
In addition to its financial support, B2Gold has also been actively involved in CCF's community outreach programs, which aim to educate local communities about the importance of conservation and sustainable living. The company has in turn hosted CCF staff at its mining operations to give them a firsthand look at the company’s commitment to sustainability.
A shared commitment to education
Demonstrating CCF and B2Gold’s full-circle commitment to education, young people from across Canada are also gaining valuable work experience at CCF – thanks to the organization’s student intern program.
The program, based in CCF’s Namibia facility, provides opportunities for students to deepen their learning and practical experience in a wide range of disciplines, including biology, animal science, genetics, and conservation. CCF has a veterinary clinic and a fully equipped genetics lab; the only one of its kind in Africa. Students return to Canada with a unique set of skills and knowledge that serve them well in their careers and communities.
To address growing demand for the program from students in Africa and internationally, CCF has built two new dormitories, one of which is named Canada House, as it was funded by B2Gold and another B.C. donor.
Toward a more sustainable mining industry
Leaving a positive legacy is a guiding principle that is hardwired into B2Gold’s culture of responsible mining.
If there’s such a thing as a green mining company, I think we’re aspiring to be that,” says Clive. “You can be a responsible mining company and you can take care of the environment. You can do all the right things . . . you can take care of local communities and you can actually work on things like conservation.”
As for Laurie, she’s grateful to have strong industry partnerships in her quest to conserve one of Africa’s most magnificent creatures.
“Our motto is, save the cheetah, change the world. Because if we don't change the world, we won't have cheetahs and many of our other species,” she says. “But together, we can go to scale, and go faster. We have to go cheetah speed.”
To learn more about CCF and its work, visit the organization's website. Or, learn more about B2Gold’s responsible mining practices around the world.
