15 Aug 2013

Although Botswana has made significant strides in wildlife conservation, it has become clear over the past few years that the scope and complexity of wildlife conservation has developed beyond the guidance of the Wildlife Conservation Policy of 1986.

This was said by the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MEWT), Mr Tshekedi Khama, when presenting the Draft Wildlife Policy of 2012 in Parliament recently.

Mr Khama said a number of management challenges had arisen over the last three decades, among them the steady growth in human population, which resulted in increased demand for land for attendant developments such as livestock rearing and arable farming.

He said the growth of human population had affected the mobility of wildlife through blockage of the seasonal migratory routes and habitat fragmentation and consequently wildlife had come into direct conflict with human beings and their property hence the rising incidences of human wildlife conflict.

Mr Khama therefore explained that the draft Wildlife Policy of 2012 took the approach of a development instrument that lay emphasis on stakeholder involvement through the devolution of wildlife management landowners and communities.

He said the draft policy embraces the principle of sustainability, including rural development and poverty eradication, as well as establishing an institutional, regulatory and participatory framework for wildlife conservation and management.

“The draft policy has a goal of creating and enabling environment for conservation, sustainable use and management of wildlife resources. This aim is to generate development benefits for current and future generations of Batswana,” he said.

The key objectives of the draft policy, he said, included the maintenance of biodiversity conservation of threatened species in and outside protected areas, wildlife mobility and habitat connectivity, human wildlife conflict, illegal wildlife utilisation and co-management of wildlife resources amongst others, he said. Ends