07 May 2019

 Namibia President and SADC chairperson, Dr Hage Geingob has taken a swipe at those in the global north, who criticise Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA)  countries for its conservation programmes. 

“I support KAZA efforts on elephants. We should not be victims of our success in conservation and the West must humble itself and learn conservation from us instead of lecturing us on what we ought to do,” he added. 

He was speaking at the end of the 2019 elephant summit on May 7.

He informed the summit that conservation in his country had been successful because of the effective policies and laws that were put in place, explaining that in 1995 they only had 2 000 elephants, but the number had grown to 40 000. This, he noted, called for a sustainable way of ensuring that the ecosystem’s carrying capacity is maintained.

Elephants, he highlighted, present a challenges to the environment such as loss of habitat and human-elephant conflict. As such he  welcomed the KAZA elephant management framework. The framework, he noted, would result in harmonised policies and laws on the management of elephant numbers.

Dr Geingob also advocated for the controlled legal ivory trade. The SADC chairperson also informed the summit that he supported the implementation of the elephant strategy, noting that Namibia would soon be implementing the KAZA Univisa, visa free travel for diplomats and application of visa on arrival at entry point.

The elephant population in Namibia, he added, was in safe hands and added that the shared approach on elephant management would go a long way in reducing human-elephant population.

All three heads of states who attended the summit rallied behind Botswana’s call for the region to have a unified approach in tackling human-wildlife conflict.

Addressing the summit earlier on President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi called on the governments in the KAZA TFCA to speak with one voice on the need to reduce elephant numbers, which were making it difficult to manage sustainable ecosystems, especially in Botswana, where their number is estimated at over 130 000.

The summit, whose theme  was; Towards a Common Vision for the Management of Elephants, ended yesterday with heads of states committing themselves to supporting an integrated response towards global outcry on the anticipated re-introduction of hunting in the country.

For his part, Zambia President, Mr Edgar Lungu explained that the elephant summit was a testimony on the region’s common resolve to manage the KAZA TFCA natural resources. President Lungu mentioned that the Kazungula Bridge would improve business facilitation and tourist movement in the SADC region. He highlighted that this was the time to move the region from rhetoric to action and cooperation.

The African Savanna elephant, Mr Lungu asserted, thrived in the KAZA area because of good conservation policies. In Zambia, he observed that the commitment to conservation had  seen the elephant numbers rise, but encouraged his colleagues in the region to work hard in fighting poaching and illegal wildlife trade. “Together with our communities, we have to practice sustainable conservation and real benefits from conservation should support livelihoods. Mr Lungu said that KAZA states needed to intervene to reduce elephant numbers to minimise human-wildlife conflict.

Zimbawean President, Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa also affirmed his country’s support to controlled elephant management. Elephants, he highlighted, attracted attention globally and are a symbol of conservation success in the KAZA region. Furthermore, he noted that the species were a draw-card to tourism. “Lets calibrate strategies to ensure that benefits from elephant conservation benefit our communities,”he noted.

He also highlighted that success in elephant conservation should be applauded rather than criticised. The global community, President Mnangagwa explained, needed to listen to the voices from the KAZA region. Zimbabwe, he said, is committed to the elephant management approach as championed by the region. He also called on countries to implement robust mechanisms to curb illegal wildlife trade. Consequently, he noted that communities should be the first line of defence for wildlife against poachers. 

Mr Mnangagwa also highlighted that the elephant issue was topical and required the KAZA region to speak boldly about controlling the numbers for sustainable conservation. ENDS