In Namibia, communal conservancies do this through annual game counts, waterhole counts and the Event Book monitoring system. It is also done by guides at joint venture lodges as part of the Wildlife Credits Sightings product, creating more opportunities for rural Namibians to become actively involved in conservation. This involvement helps to increase tolerance, and adding an important new tool in the effort to monitor and protect wildlife.Tourism is the third largest contributor to Namibia’s GDP, and a critical driver of socio-economic change in rural conservancies. Through partnerships with private sector tourism operators, conservancies generate local economic returns, including conservancy fees that are used to cover conservation management costs and development projects.On game drives, boat cruises and on walking trails, guides record the sightings of iconic or endangered species. For every sighting, local payments from lodges are paid into a Local Conservation Area Fund that is managed in partnership between the lodge operator and conservancy committee. These payments are then matched by national and international conservation funds that have been secured for this purpose. Individual supporters, including visitors to lodges and other concerned citizens, may also contribute directly to the Local Conservation Fund.