How Price Tags on Wildlife Fuelthe Very Crisis We’re Trying to Stop

Debates About Whether whether Namibia should sell ivory from legally obtained sources, such as natural elephant deaths or dehorning, have reignited an old question: Who decided that nature must have a price tag?

The idea of valuing nature in monetary terms did not come from Africa.

It emerged from Western economic theory during the Industrial Revolution, when everything – from land to labour – was seen as a resource to be exploited and traded.

The economist Adam Smith laid the foundation for measuring all forms of value in terms of money. The environment became part of the “market”, not part of the community.

In this view, elephants, rhinos and pangolins stopped being living beings with ecological and cultural importance.
They became assets, investments and commodities.

Their tusks, horns and scales were no longer symbols of beauty or balance, but units of trade.

AFRICAN WAYS OF SEEING

Yet, as we in Africa know, this is not how our forefathers saw the natural world.

Our communities valued animals for their instrumental, ecological, cultural and aesthetic roles.

The elephant was the keeper of the forest; the pangolin, a symbol of mystery and wisdom.

Nobody asked, “How much is it worth?” We asked, “What does it mean?”

By attaching price tags to wildlife, we have unintentionally created incentives for their destruction.

When a media headline reads: ‘Man Arrested With Rhino Horn Worth N$50 000’, the focus shifts from crime to opportunity.

To a reader struggling economically, the message is not just “a crime was committed”, but also “this thing is very valuable”.

There is another irony: The same economic logic that put value on ivory and rhino horn now tries to “save” them through trade bans.

But this system still sees nature as a bank account, not as a living relationship.

CONNECTION, NOT CALCULATION

The truth is: Africa did not begin this problem but we are paying for it.

And we can also lead in changing it.

We can return to seeing wildlife not as wealth to be traded but as life to be respected.
Conservation should be about connection, not calculation.

When we measure an elephant by the price of its tusks, we have already lost the meaning of its existence.

Let us instead measure our success by the number of elephants that still walk freely, and by the hearts that still care enough to protect them.

We also rarely talk about species that have no perceived economic value: the centipedes, termites, grasshoppers and earthworms that maintain the soil and cycle nutrients.

Without them, agriculture would collapse.

Yet, because nobody has discovered a market for them, they remain invisible to our economic imagination.

The irony is that the smallest and least “valuable” creatures often sustain the most important ecological systems.

REFRAMING THE CONVERSATION

If we continue measuring nature only in terms of money, we risk saving what we can sell and losing what we truly need.
Africa stands at a crossroads.

We can continue following an imported economic model that treats wildlife as a product, or we can return to our ancestral understanding that treats wildlife as a partner.

Conservation should not be an economic transaction, it should be a moral contract.

We must reframe the conversation from “what is it worth?” to “what is it worth to lose it?”

REDEFINING THE FUTURE

Africa can lead the world in redefining what conservation means.

The West gave us the economics of nature; we can give back the ethics of it.

Let us teach that elephants have value not because of their ivory, but because of their role in shaping ecosystems.

That pangolins deserve protection not because their scales are profitable, but because they remind us of the delicate beauty of life.

When we see nature through the eyes of respect instead of revenue, we restore balance not just to ecosystems, but to our own humanity.

If we truly wish to protect nature, we must first protect the way we think about it.

The problem is not the poacher with a weapon, but the mindset that put a price on the animal in the first place.

• – Johannes Nuuyoma is passionate about environmental conservation and advocates for the protection of Namibia’s ecosystems and biodiversity. Email: johnnuuyoma24@gmail.com

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.