The long-term survival of lions living in Namibia's arid northwest depends on their ability to connect with each other by moving through areas where people live and farm with livestock. If the connection between the Etosha and Skeleton Coast National Parks is cut off entirely, the desert-adapted lion population will ultimately die out. A recent collaborative genetics study, conducted by lion researchers in Namibia including the Namibian Lion Trust, revealed that the area directly to the west and south of Etosha provides a critical genetic connection for lion populations in the northwest. While there are some barriers to movement, lions from Etosha mix with lions in these border areas. In turn, these lions may disperse further south and west to find other lions. In this way, the genetic integrity of lions living in the far western desert areas is maintained by those coming from populations near and in Etosha National Park. The Namibian Lion Trust (NLT) works closely with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) to conserve the key connecting population between protected areas. Our target area includes freehold land and communal land that falls mostly under four communal conservancies - Anabeb, Ehi-rovipuka, ǂKhoadi-ǁHôas and Omatendeka. Eleven communal conservancies between the western border of Etosha National Park and the Skeleton Coast, the Ugab and Kunene rivers, are within desert-adapted lion range.