Wilderness has won the Economies category at Virtuoso’s 2026 Global Stewardship Awards, presented at Travel Week in Las Vegas, for its Certified Wildlife Friendly™ beef initiative in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. The award recognises the operator’s partnership with CLAWS Conservancy (Communities Living Among Wildlife Sustainably), which pays local farmers a premium for beef produced without killing lions.
The recognition gives advisors another point of difference to raise with clients weighing safari operators on conservation credentials, particularly for those booking Wilderness’ Okavango Delta camps.
Beef initiative pays farmers to coexist with lions
Under the scheme, Wilderness becomes the exclusive buyer of beef from farmers who adopt lion-friendly herding practices and pledge not to kill lions, paying above market price and settling payment within 30 days, compared to six months or longer with other buyers. The initiative builds on Wilderness’ longer-running support for CLAWS, which includes funding a Lion Response Team and the Lion Alert System, a technology that notifies farmers when collared lions are near their villages and cattle posts.
The first two beef sales, in late 2025 and early 2026, saw 26 cattle — around five tonnes of beef — sold to Wilderness’ Vumbura Plains and Little Vumbura camps, with further sales planned this year. Wilderness reports that farmers in the programme have lost no cattle to lions in three years, more than 60,000 lion alerts have been issued, and the local lion population has increased.
“By paying a premium price, and paying farmers within 30 days, we’re creating an economic incentive for human-wildlife coexistence,” said Wilderness Group Head of Impact, Vincent Shacks.
Second Virtuoso recognition this year
The Economies win follows Children in the Wilderness being named on Virtuoso’s 2026 Impact List, which highlights sustainable travel experiences from close to 250 luxury operators. The listing marks 25 years of the programme in Botswana, which runs weekly Eco-Clubs and annual children’s camps at partner schools in Chobe, Maun, Gaborone and the Okavango Delta, along with academic scholarships for participating children.
Wilderness operates more than 55 camps and lodges across Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and says it helps protect some 2.2 million hectares of land across its eight African destinations, with a target to double that area by 2030.
