Under the auspices of IRDNC, Garth led the way for the rest of Africa and showed that wildlife could be entrusted to communities through the creation of conservancies. His sustainability model provided the means for rural communities and livelihoods to benefit from conservation and Tusk is extremely proud to have worked with Garth in recent years and supported his ground breaking efforts in Namibia. We were delighted that in 2018, Tusk’s Royal Patron, The Duke of Cambridge was able to visit Namibia on behalf of the charity and witness for himself the conservancy movement pioneered by Garth and his partner, Dr Margie Jacobsohn.
His very considerable conservation legacy is assured and the vision he had for the creation of the proposed Ombonde People’s Park in Kunene is one Tusk will continue to support. We send our deepest condolences to Margie, his sons Tuareg and Kyle, and the team at IRDNC.
“If you believe in a cause and are prepared to stand up for it with passion and perseverance, you can make a difference. Conserving our natural environment will not make you materially rich, but there is no greater satisfaction than having made our planet a better place to live on, even if it is just in a very small way.“
Garth Owen-Smith
