Since the 1960s, Namibia has enacted policies that grant rights and responsibilities to manage and use wild animals to the people living in rural areas. This rights-based policy has extended from freehold farms to communal areas since independence. Namibia's strategy has borne both economic and conservation fruits over the last few decades, and the future of wildlife-based land use is brighter still. As we look into the future, we need to consider local and global environmental and economic trends that Namibia can use to capitalise on its natural resources in order to promote sustainable development.