The illegal trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth up to US$ 20 billion (N$ 300 billion) per year. Shocking, yes, but wildlife crime statistics are even more harrowing when they are measured in lives: 20,000 African elephants are killed each year – an average of 55 a day; 9,000 rhinos poached across Africa over the last decade; 300 pangolins are poached every day, making it the most illegally trafficked mammal in the world, 269 rangers were killed across Africa between 2012 and 2018, the majority of them by poachers. Wildlife crime is driven by demand from markets primarily in Asia, and the perpetrators are poachers, middle-men, and criminal syndicates operating from countries around the world. This illegal trade has negative impacts on Namibia’s economy, on local, regional and international security, as well as the heritage and natural resources that we wish to pass on to our children for their future use and enjoyment. This is theft on a massive scale, and the criminals are stealing from each and every one of us. Recognising the urgent need to stop the plundering of Africa’s natural resources, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began funding the 5-year, 5-country Combatting Wildlife Crime Project (CWCP) in 2017. The five countries covered by the project are Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe, which together have established the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA). This project aims to increase rhino numbers in Namibia and reduce poaching of elephants so that their range can expand in select regions of the KAZA conservation area.