WINDHOEK, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Namibia has made tremendous progress in driving nature conservation through working with non-government organizations and communities, Namibian president Hage Geingob said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the ongoing elephant summit, Geingob told other leaders that his country's conservation methods have gone a long way in increasing the elephant population despite challenges associate with poaching in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The summit is attended by the heads of state and government of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Zambia to map the way forward on improving elephant conservation in SADC.

"Conservation in Namibia has attained major successes. In fact, conservancies manage approximately 19.8 percent of the total Namibian surface area. By joining large contiguous areas and thereby allowing wildlife to roam freely, environmental restoration has been achieved and healthy wildlife populations sustained," Geingob said.

He added that Namibia's conservation model has enabled expansion of the elephant population from just over 7,500 in 1995 to 24,000 at present.