Learners level of awareness on the values of wildlife(ecosystem services) in Mudumu South Complex, Zambezi Region, Namibia.

Abstract

Currently, youth are the future generations of the country, their awareness of the values of wildlife is critical in determining if they will follow the footsteps of the current generation in conserving natural resources (wildlife) and cannot be overemphasized. This study was conducted in Wuparo and Balyerwa conservancies, to assess learners’ level of awareness of wildlife-based ecosystem services. Questionnaires were used in data collection and the target population consisted of learners including teachers (control group) resulting in a sample size of 145 respondents who were randomly selected from eight indiscriminately selected schools within the two randomly selected conservancies. The results showed learners knew that wildlife has values (ecosystem services). However, they are highly aware of tangible benefits (provisional services) compared to other ecosystem services. There was a positive correlation (R2 = 0.9995) between level of awareness and level of education. The availability of wildlife-related subjects, location of the school, lack of environmental clubs and ignorance towards wildlife were the major factors reported to influence the awareness of learners.   Increased support for education among the youth and improved support for environmental and wildlife clubs can be beneficial to wildlife and environmental conservation.