The cull will occur in parks and communal areas where authorities believe the wildlife population exceeds the available grazing land and water resources.
Southern Africa is currently facing its worst drought in decades, with Namibia depleting 84% of its food reserves last month, according to the United Nations.
Nearly half of the country’s population is expected to suffer from severe food insecurity in the coming months.
The environment ministry warned that without intervention, human-wildlife conflicts will likely rise.
“To this effect, 83 elephants from identified conflict areas will be culled, (and) meat will be allocated to the drought relief programme,” the ministry stated.
Plans also include culling 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 zebra, and 100 eland.
Professional hunters and contracted companies have already culled 157 animals, providing over 56,800 kilograms of meat.
The environment ministry stated, “This exercise is necessary and aligns with our constitutional mandate to use our natural resources for the benefit of Namibian citizens.”
The conservation area spanning Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola, and Namibia is home to an estimated 200,000 elephants, making it one of the largest populations globally.
Last year, drought led to the deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana and Zimbabwe.