We Are... | Conservation Travel Foundation

We Are...

  • Share this:

From Humble Beginnings

The Conservation Travel Foundation was founded in 2006 by Tristan Cowley, later also a co-founder of Ultimate Safaris. From the onset, the objective of the Foundation was to partner with Conservation Travel to bring about tangible, positive impacts on ecosystem conservation and on the socio-economic development of rural communities in Namibia.

Ultimate Safaris is a significant contributor to the Foundation in both finance and administration services. All safari guests, friends and partners of the company are invited to make contributions to the Foundation and its projects. Safari participants receive a Conservation Travel Foundation information booklet and a donation form in the travel documentation they receive on arrival for their safari. Foundation projects range from support for desert-adapted rhino and predator conservation projects to improved school infrastructure in rural areas.


The early efforts of the Foundation raised a mere few hundred dollars a year. It now raises, and deploys, in excess of US$ 250,000 a year for conservation and rural development projects in Namibia.

Foundation details

Name :
Conservation Travel Foundation
Entity:
Non-Profit Foundation
Registration:
2006
Registered at :
The Office of the Master of the High Court, Namibia
Registration number:
T153/06
Governance:
Board of Trustees

Trustees

Conservation Travel Foundation - Tristan Cowley

Tristan Cowley

Founder, Conservation Travel Foundation and Managing Director, Ultimate Safaris

Tristan comes from a conservation background. He is qualified as a natural resource manager, has published numerous popular articles and scientific papers, and has conducted research in ornithology and into small mammals. He was the first scientist to do an in-depth study of Namibia's only endemic carnivore, the black mongoose. Tristan is also a qualified safari guide and hunting guide in Namibia. He has also served as the chairman of TASA (Tour and Safari Association of Namibia) and vice-chairman of NATH (Namibian Academy for Tourism and Hospitality), as well as on the Executive Board of FENATA (Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations). He is a lecturer for NATH and serves on the Natural Resource Management Advisory Committee of NUST (the Namibian University of Science and Technology). He is also a founder of the NATH Education Trust which has successfully funded the training many Namibian tourism guides. Tristan's passion is clearly for the natural world and its protection.

Conservation Travel Foundation - Martin Webb-Bowen

Martin Webb-Bowen

Co-Founder and Director, Ultimate Safaris

Martin originates from the UK and began his time in Africa during the early eighties. He came to Namibia in 1993 and set up a company called SandyAcre Safaris. The Company concentrated initially on providing high quality private guided safaris for visitors from the UK, but quickly spread into other source markets such as the USA, Switzerland, France and Spain. SandyAcre Safaris also became established as a film services logistical support company - a role Martin has continued in Ultimate Safaris. He served on the TASA Board for many years, and acted as Chief Executive Officer and, later, Chairman of the umbrella body, FENATA. Martin has considerable experience of community development projects in both East Africa and in Namibia, and his knowledge of these projects has been instrumental in helping to define the Foundation’s conservation and development philosophy.

Conservation Travel Foundation - David Peddie

David Peddie

Independent Conservation Consultant

David grew up in Hwange, north-west Zimbabwe, where wildlife was a part of everyday life. After attaining degrees in Agriculture Economics and Wildlife Ecology, he worked as an Ecologist with both the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe Department of National Parks. Since leaving Zimbabwe National Parks in 1988, he has worked as a consultant in wildlife management, protected area planning and rural development throughout southern Africa. David has helped to plan and establish private and community Conservancies; game reserves and safari tourism operations throughout Southern Africa. For a number of years he managed the Sindisa Foundation, a UK registered charity supporting wildlife conservation and rural development in southern Africa. The role of the Sindisa Foundation in Namibia was passed on to the Conservation Travel Foundation in 2010.


Conservation Travel Foundation Logo
Enriching Lives

Impact


Namibia boasts the greatest wildlife recovery story ever told in Africa and all guests travelling with Ultimate Safaris are already making a positive impact as they embark on their life enriching journey, just by visiting Namibia.

Read more

Conservation Travel Foundation. © 2024, All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy
Another website escaped the Asylum Design and Development Logo