06 Feb 2017

Coordinator of the Department of Forestry and Range Resources, Mr Peter Olekantse has warned the public to use the veld products in a sustainable manner as some are facing extinction.

In an interview, he said as a responsible entity for conservation and management of natural resources, they had identified some irregularities concerning the usage of a wide range of veld products.

He appreciated that veld products were harvested for different use both for domestic and commercial but expressed a concern that some do not harvest the species in an acceptable manner.

He appealed to the public to be careful and change their mindset concerning veld products harvesting adding failure to practice best methods of harvesting then veld products are likely to become a thing of the past.

He said even though his office is responsible for issuance of permits for various purposes this does not solve the problem of wrong harvesting methods by individuals.

“People turn to confuse issuance of veld products permits as a license to do whatever they like with veld products harvesting but that’s absolutely not the case.

The permits are for various purposes including among others statistics and research on usage of veld products and not for sale veld products by the government, and that is why they can be cancelled if the holder does not comply,” he added.

Mr Olekantse gave an example about the water lilly fruit commonly known as ‘Tswii’ which he said is on the decline since people are over harvesting it for commercial purposes.

He said people must leave the seeds to re-germinate after harvesting but they are not doing that.

Due to the good rains experienced, he pointed out that harvesting of veld products is high and therefore encouraged people to practice what is known as selective harvesting to avoid over harvesting.

Other species which he said were on the verge of extinction include Mophane noting that harvesters completely cut its life cycle hence failing to reproduce.

He also noted that thatching grass was also facing the same challenge as people are often seen camping in places where these grasses are dominant. He said people turn to remove the grasses with the roots, instead of cutting at the stem therefore completely shattering the regrowth of the grass in some places.

The district coordinator also said that they had noticed a trend in the North West District where traditional doctors tend to wrongly harvest traditional medicines for export to neighbouring countries.

He warned that the reason that those medicines are on high demands in those countries is because of wrong harvesting methods therefore Batswana must not fall into the market trap forgetting sustainable use of veld products.

Mr Olekantse encouraged all those involved in the commercial use of veld products to obtain the right permits to avoid penalties. He said contravening the regulations issued against harvesting and commercial use of veld products can carry a prison sentence.

He however said that use of veld products for domestic use is allowed and encouraged people to always ask for help from their offices across the country if they need clarifications for anything concerning natural resources.

“We understand that over 80 per cent of our population relies on natural resources for different purposes such as energy as well for food but all we are saying is sustainable use of our veld products must be at the forefront to avoid a situation where we find ourselves with absolutely nothing.” ENDS