Along the borders of the Skeleton Coast Park, a small population of lions survives in extremely harsh desert conditions. These lions exhibit unique adaptations to their environment and live in a harsh habitat of sand dunes, gravel plains and barren mountains. Occasionally, they forage along the beaches of the Skeleton Coast.

The biggest threats to the lion population include range loss, population fragmentation and the reduction in wild prey. These issues are primarily caused by the overlap of human settlements, (such as croplands and areas for livestock grazing) with lion habitat, and often result in human-wildlife conflict (and associated retaliatory killings).

Since 2000, 89% of recorded mortalities of adult desert lions along the Skeleton Coast have followed human-wildlife conflict incidents. Lions account for 18% of cattle deaths, and some households have lost more than 60% of their livestock to lions. These are significant losses in a region where cattle form the basis of people’s livelihoods, and more than a third of the population lives on less than USD 1 per day.

The Kunene Lions Wildlife Credits product aims to maintain a healthy population of lions while rewarding community tolerance, protection and management of the Kunene Lions in the landscape. By doing so, this product ensures that communities reap direct benefits from the lion population in their landscape and that human-lion conflict (HLC) is significantly reduced.