The 1,140 km² Ombonde Peoples' Park (OPP) is the first step towards developing the greater vision of a Kunene People's Park. It is a progressive new type of protected area – an African way of linking conservation of wildlife to enhanced quality of life of the communities who comanage and live around the wildlife and tourism area they have chosen to protect. What makes this different from conventional national parks is that it builds on and enhances community ownership of wildlife and valuable natural resources - the key to the success of communitybased conservation in Namibia - as it will be a genuine partnership between two communal conservancies and the government.