09 Dec 2019

Botswana Wildlife Training Institute (BWTI) in Maun will offer vocational training in environment and natural resources management, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Ms Philda Kereng has said.

Ms Kereng said this at the 36th graduation ceremony on December 6 where 57 and 26 students graduated in certificate and diploma in wildlife management and conservation respectively.

She indicated that the BWTI transformation would ensure that the institution offered programmes that targeted responses to human-wildlife conflict.

The programmes, she said, would also be a step by the ministry to address challenges brought about by human-wildlife conflict.

Human-wildlife conflict, she said, resulted in high cases of crop raiding, damage to property and even loss of human lives as well as threatened tourism industry.

She also said the ministry would engage other stakeholders to map relevant strategies and interventions for human-wildlife conflict.

Furthermore, Ms Kereng said about P10 million had been allocated for the refurbishment of the BWTI campus and staff houses in the 2019/20 financial year for the institution to be at par with quality educational standards.

The institution, she said was undergoing a curriculum review to have programmes that would produce relevant officers.

To the graduates, Ms Kereng said they were empowered to improve their department and the country.

She also encouraged them to use skills to venture into individual businesses as ecotourism or game farming.

BWTI acting director, Mr Mpiga Mangubuli said all the 84 graduates were Department of Wildlife and National Parks employees. Mr Mangubuli said programmes acquired would enable employees to bridge gaps in wildlife management.

He said the institution wished to increase the number of graduates to at least 500 in a year, saying only a total of 121 had graduated this year in various programmes.

Further, he said the institution would need support and capacity building from government and stakeholders to achieve its targets. Ends