Animal rights activist Margaret Jacobsohn has expressed support for the killing of three baboons in Windhoek's Goreangab area last week.
This comes after years of complaints from residents over attacks and home invasions in the area.
The baboons were shot by officers from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism last Wednesday.
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Speaking to Desert FM last Thursday, Jacobsohn said the situation in Goreangab is a broader and growing challenge of human-wildlife conflict as urban areas continue to expand into traditional wildlife habitats.
"Usually there are two main drives, one is the loss of habitat as humans encroach further into wildlife areas, and the other is poor waste management," she said. "When food is left easily accessible, animals quickly learn to associate people with food."
Jacobsohn said baboons are particularly difficult to manage once they become habituated to human settlements.
Similar challenges are experienced in cities such as Cape Town in South Africa, she added.
"Once baboons start coming into towns, it becomes very difficult to live with them, this is not unique to Windhoek," she said.
Jacobsohn acknowledged that killing animals is not an ideal solution, saying she supported the ministry's actions under the circumstances.
"I don't see what else they could have done."
She added that such behaviour is often driven by younger, bolder animals within a troop.
"Sometimes it works for a while, but it is probably not a long-term solution."
She said any approach to managing urban-baboon conflict must begin with proper waste management.
"As long as there is old food and waste lying around, you have very little hope of keeping baboons out," she said.
Jacobsohn stated that elements of Namibia's community-based conservation model are widely regarded as among the country's conservation success stories.
She said greater public education about the value of wildlife and what conservation brings to the country is ideal.
"Namibia's community-based conservation programme has brought millions of dollars into the country," Jacobsohn said. "Rural communities live with wildlife at great cost to themselves. Urban residents also need to understand that value."
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She said lasting solutions must be driven by the affected communities themselves.
