"In 1972 the Namib Palaeo Ecology Project became part of the programme of the Desert Ecological Research Unit (DERU). This magnificently equipped Research Institute had been established in 1963 at Gobabeb in the Namib Desert Park (now the Namib Naukluft Park). The results of the first phase of the archaeological project (Sandelowsky 1977a) presented a model suggesting the protection of the environment in the park and envisaged the cooperation of everyone interested in preserving the park. The following paper is based on the unpublished report about the work done during 1977/8. More evidence was sought on past climatic change and the prehistory of the Kuiseb River area."