Habitat rehabilitation or intervention to prevent species declines are rarely employed in Africa. I argue that despite protection in national parks, active intervention is necessary to halt declines in southern Africa's Greater (Phoenicopterus ruber) and Lesser (Phoeniconaias minor) Flamingo populations. Flamingos are long-lived species that breed sporadically at only two localities in southern Africa: the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana and Etosha National Park in Namibia. Despite well-publicized breeding on Etosha Pan, flamingos have experienced only three major breeding events in 40 years. Breeding failure occurs when high evaporation rates rapidly dry the pan, and up to 100,000 flightless chicks may starve. Consequently, pairs breeding in Etosha exhibit extraordinarily low recruitment (0.040 young pair/year) and extrapolations indicate that adults can replace themselves only if they breed for 38 to 50 years and all offspring survive. Because survival of offspring from fledging to adulthood (5 years) is about 46%, this breeding lifespan rises to an unrealistic 83 years, making Etosha a nonviable breeding site. Alternative, suitable flamingo habitats in Africa are being mined for soda-ash, are damaged by pollution, or are unprotected. Accordingly, continent-wide estimates and those from southern Africa alone suggest a population decline of about 40% in both species over the last 15 years. Because Namibia regularly supports 84% of the Greater and 93% of the Lesser Flamingos in southern Africa, conservation strategies are best focused there. Simple but effective management methods, based on those employed in western Europe, could reverse these downward trends. In Etosha a small island surrounded by a water-filled depression would allow up to 4000 pairs to breed annually. The benefits of enhancing the breeding of flamingos in Etosha include research opportunities, tourism revenue, and a safe haven for two Red Data species.