Wilderness, in partnership with CLAWS (Communities Living Among Wildlife Sustainably), has been named the winner in the Economies category at Virtuoso’s 2026 Global Stewardship Awards, presented at Travel Week in Las Vegas, for pioneering the Certified Wildlife Friendly™ beef initiative in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
The Global Stewardship Awards recognise Virtuoso partners across four pillars – Planet, Culture, Economies and Destination – with the Economies category applauding partners who have made a positive financial impact on a local or global community. Wilderness’ win celebrates its partnership with CLAWS Conservancy, the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, local farmers and Beef Boys to create the first-ever sale of Certified Wildlife Friendly™ beef in Africa.
In the Okavango Delta, rural farmers have long carried the cost of living alongside lions; in 2013, poisoning wiped out roughly half the known local lion population, in retaliation for livestock losses. Wilderness has, for many years, provided logistical and financial support to CLAWS to help address this issue – including funding the Lion Response Team, helping implement innovative technology like the Lion Alert System, which lets participating farmers know when collared lions are near their villages and cattle posts, and encouraging local farmers to adopt traditional herding practices and the use of predator-proof bomas. The addition of the Certified Wildlife Friendly™ beef initiative sees Wilderness become the exclusive buyer of beef from the local farmers who adopt these lion-friendly practices, and pledge not to kill lions. Farmers are paid above market price within 30 days, compared to the six months or more typically taken by other buyers, giving them access to a premium market that turns conservation from a cost into a benefit.
This partnership represents a truly holistic conservation model – one where protecting lions also means supporting local livelihoods, in line with our Impact strategy. By paying a premium price, and paying farmers within 30 days, we’re creating an economic incentive for human-wildlife coexistence’, said Vincent Shacks, Wilderness Group Head of Impact.
The first two sales, in late 2025 and early 2026 respectively, saw 26 cattle (yielding around 5 tonnes of beef) sold to Wilderness’ Vumbura Plains and Little Vumbura camps, with additional sales planned this year. The results are measurable: farmers part of the programme have lost zero cattle to lions in three years, more than 60,000 lion alerts have been issued, while the local lion population has increased.
The Economies win adds a second Virtuoso recognition for Wilderness this year. Children in the Wilderness (CITW) was also named in Virtuoso’s 2026 Impact List, which spotlights standout sustainable travel experiences from nearly 250 luxury operators. The feature marks a quarter century of CITW in Botswana, where the programme runs weekly Eco-Clubs and annual children’s camps at partner schools in Chobe, Maun, Gaborone and the Okavango Delta, and offers academic scholarships to participating children.
‘This recognition from Virtuoso reflects our ongoing commitment to conservation-led tourism and coexistence with wildlife. These awards are a testament to the collective effort of our teams, partners and local communities across Botswana. We remain grateful to the wider Virtuoso network for their continued support and look forward to building on this progress together in the years ahead,’ concluded Vincent.
