18 Apr 2018

A delegation from Nokaneng recently approached the deputy district commissioner in Gumare to request the office to arrange for a meeting with the Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism.

This followed the continuous threat to human life by elephants in Nokaneng and surrounding areas.

In the recent past, several people were reportedly attacked by elephants in the area, while some died and others became permanently disabled, hence the community want audience with the minister. Speaking on behalf of the community, Mr Editor Katisi said they had observed that since the time a hunting ban was instituted, the population of wild animals had increased to alarming proportions.

“This has led to these animals migrating to human settlements as they are crowded in their natural habitats, thus posing danger to human life. 

Elephants are seen daily in the outskirts of Nokaneng village in large numbers some with calves and this is a serious concern,” he said. Consequently, the concerned community had proposals for the government regarding the issue of increased numbers of wild animals such as elephants.

They suggested that government should look for markets for the sale of live animals in order to reduce the numbers without killing them and also protect the environment and the threat of desertification.

Another suggestion was that Botswana could identify willing nations who could be donated some of the animals.

The community also proposed that government should consider relocating some of these animals to other parts of Botswana as there was no more enough habitats in Ngamiland.

Another idea was that government could buy or rent land in other countries like it did with the Walvis Bay Port, where the country could relocate some animals and operate small game reserves.

The community also felt that any violent animal should not be scared away but should be captured and relocated to either parks or some electrically fenced areas so that they could be confined there.

Meanwhile, deputy district commissioner, Okavango, Mr Thabang Waloka told the delegation that the human wildlife conflict was not a new topic in the area, noting that many villages in the sub district had a similar grievance.

He therefore said with the growing numbers of these animals, it was important to adopt sustainable measures that could allow for co-existence with animals.

The deputy district commissioner however agreed that he would invite the Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism to come and address the Nokaneng populace at a Kgotla meeting. ENDS