22 Nov 2018

Escalating incidents of human-wildlife conflict, as a result of the increased numbers of elephants in the country, have become an issue of concern to many.

The conflict takes many forms.

It can be loss of life or injury to humans, crop damage and degradation of habitat among others.

As a result, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, through the Department of Wildlife and NationalParks has embarked in the process of developing a National Elephant Action Plan (NEAP).

The purpose of the NEAP is to identify and prioritise actions that need to be taken to protect, manage and monitor elephants and also to provide the national level detailed plan, which will drive implementation.

Speaking at a NEAP meeting in Seronga recently, deputy permanent secretary in the ministry, Mr Felix Monggae said Botswana had done exceptionally well in terms of conservation of the African elephant.

He however noted that it was now time for different stakeholders, including the community, to come up with a plan of how to manage, monitor and control the growing population of elephants in the country.

Mr Monggae said the ministry had embarked on a countrywide tour to get suggestions from the community on the topic.

He further noted that though Botswana was a member of the CITES, the organisation does not dictate what members should do or make laws for them.

Rather, he said countries agree on what should be done.

He said Botswana unlike other members, had chosen not to sell ivory until 2024 or burn its stockpile.

One of the residents, Mr Moyambo Jackson, said wildlife department in Okavango was understaffed, hence it was not easy to control the movement of elephants into human settlements.

He therefore suggested employment of more officers who should be Okavango natives because they would be more familiar with animal behaviour than those from other regions.

He also expressed concern about the rate at which Baobab trees were being destroyed by elephants in the Seronga area, adding they need to preserve they were a source of attraction.

An official from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Dr Mmadi Reuben said the current population of elephants in Botswana was estimated at between 160 000 and 240 000. He said the number had increased tremendously in the past 10 years.

Some interventions that could be employed to reduce the human-elephant conflict, he said could be provision of water in strategic areas and the use of electric fence. Dr Reuben said they encourage farmers to use early maturing seeds so that they could harvest earlier before crops were raided by elephants...ENDS