Round River Conservation Studies. Round River staff and students work closely with traditional peoples, community, grassroots, and national and international conservation organizations to ensure the integrity of wild lands and waters for generations yet to come. Employing the principles of conservation biology, they formulate strategies to give their partner communities, organizations and governments a well-founded scientific basis for their long -term conservation planning efforts.In 1991 Round River Conservation Studies began gathering ecological information and engaging local communities in conservation dialogue in several bioregions. In Africa this included the shrub desert of central Namibia. The regions of focus were chosen because:

• They contain relatively large areas of intact wildlands with a unique composition of species, including many endemics;
• Resource conversion activities and unsustainable development threaten them; and
• Favorable conditions still exist to improve conservation education and strengthen long-term conservation plans and sustainable resource use through local community involvement.