Namibia’s early and ongoing conservation efforts have earned the country its second Gift to the Earth award from the World Wildlife Fund.

President Hifikepunye Pohamba accepted the award during the opening ceremony of the 10th Adventure Travel World Summit in Windhoek, Namibia on Saturday.

“Namibia’s Constitution outlines the protection of our environment,” Pohamba said. “One of our successful conservation efforts is the establishment of our conservancies to protect our wildlife, to minimize human-wildlife conflict and also to derive benefits from our tourism industry,” he said, as reported in The Namibian.

The award is given to presidents and nations for their conservation action and leadership. Namibia first received the award in 1998, when it was the first country to include conservation in its constitution. At that time, its first four conservation areas were formed.

Today, Namibia has at least 79 conservancies. Their work has resulted in the country having the largest population of free-roaming rhinos in the world, as well as an increasing number of cheetahs, leopards and lions.

Communal game guards from all the 79 conservancies received equipment donations, including sleeping bags from U.S.-based Recreation Equipment Inc., in recognition of their work.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Gift to the Earth is a symbolic, public celebration of a conservation action “which is both a demonstration of environmental leadership and a globally significant contribution to the protection of the living world.” The award is the fund’s highest accolade for conservation achievement. Its purpose is to highlight the action to serve as an example, and to encourage others to take similar actions.

In presenting the award to Pohamba, Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria said that Namibia’s conservation efforts serve as a global model, according to The Namibian.

“I have been to many countries around the world, but I find Namibia’s conservation truly remarkable,” he said. “The ideas and principles behind Namibia’s communal conservancy movement are now studied by over 20 countries from Africa, Asia, and the Americas with a view to similarly devolve environmental management responsibility and the benefits from wildlife and tourism to rural communities.”