REST (Rare and Endangered Species Trust) was founded in the year 2000.  The objective of REST is to research and provide logistic support for Namibias endangered species. The Trust was established with the primary focus being the Cape Griffon Vulture (Gyps Coprotheres) ,  Namibia's most endangered species. 

In its efforts, REST is gaining support from around Southern Africa and the world.  Our advisory board includes  Dr. Chris Brown, head of  NNF (Namibia Nature Foundation) and acknowledged expert  on Namibia's Cape Griffon vultures;  Dr. Peter Mundy of Zimbabwe and Dr. Steven Piper, co-authors of an encyclopedia on vultures;  Dr. John Mendelson in charge of our GIS satellite monitoring and Dr. Ara Monajem from Swazi land; and Prof. Gerhard Verdoorn of Birdlife South Africa who graciously contributed many of the Cape Griffon photos seen on this website.

Our Mission

To initiate and support the scientific and practical study of rare and endangered species in Namibia and to help develop and facilitate solutions to community, national and international problems with these species.

REST History : 2000 - 2005

The first five years have been a busy time at REST; setting up the trust, developing our infrastructure, securing funding , and launching our research and education programmes. All of this has presented us with some challenges but with generous support from friends, sponsors, funders and the local community we have achieved some amazing results, made new friends along the way, and taken some valuable steps to conserve the Cape Griffon vulture. Below is a brief time-line.

REST Future : 2006 - 2010

Looking into future for REST is very exciting; the relocation to our new Headquarters at Farm Okatjemunde; developing the new Interactive Visitors Centre, continuing our research and education programmes; and expanding our programme to include three other Namibian rare and endangered species: African Wild Dog, Pangolin and Dwarf Python.

Small and Focused

The long term vision is for REST to remain small and focused, we do not want to lose sight of why we are here. Our challenge is to find the necessary funding and support to enable us to develop our new facilities and employ the right people to help us grow. Most importantly, these activities are undertaken to help us protect the Rare and Endangered Species of Namibia.

Activities

The members of the Trust are concentrating on the Cape Griffon Vulture (Gyps coprotheres) initially, as it is Namibia's most endangered species. We are focusing on the following:

• Identifying the current population of remaining birds
  

•  Developing for distribution, information on vultures and vulture feeding restaurants
  

• Building a vulture restaurant & hide at REST headquarters which is available to the public for education purposes
  

• Finding funding for satellite collars which will provide vital information to the birds' foraging, behavioural & social patterns
  

• Testing all remaining Cape Griffons for contaminates & heavy metals, and to determine the sex of the birds
  

•  Developing a pamphlet for communal and commercial farmers on poisons and their relationship to raptors
  

• Developing a check field-list for communal and commercial farmers in relation to predation on their land
  

• Giving public talks on poison and vultures to a variety of school and community organizations
  

• Coordinating the Flight for the Plight, and international hang gliding and paragliding event to raise funds for the vulture

Institutional Structure

We are a registered Trust with a five member Board of Trustees and a six member Scientific Board. 

Resources

To date most of our resources are privately owned and used by REST for scientific observation and information dissemination.