07 Mar 2022

Botswana needs international support to derive benefit out of its excellent conservation of the elephant population, rather than be punished, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said. 

In an interview at the end of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 50th anniversary commemorations in Nairobi, Kenya on March 4, President Masisi said Botswana had made tremendous effort in protecting the species and should be supported in its quest to balance the ecosystem through controlled hunting and regulated ivory trade. 

“I did mention in my speech that countries should not be punished for successful conservation efforts. A case in point is Botswana

, where 40 per cent of our landmass has protected area status, and we have successfully conserved the world’s largest elephant herd. 

We need to be permitted to further manage them through controlled hunting and responsible ivory trade, instead of facing global restrictions in that regard,” Dr Masisi said. Consequently, the President vehemently opposed placing barriers on the global ivory trade for countries such as Botswana, which successfully protected their elephant populations from being decimated by poachers. 

“We have a large elephant herd and when some of them die naturally, we want to be able to trade in their ivory. 

We also want to be able to responsibly provide concessions for controlled hunting. Internationally, there are countries, which are opposed to this, and actually influence our fellow African states that also have elephants to burn their ivory stocks. Yet the richer countries never burn their most prized resources. 

We will continue lobbying for us to trade in our resources,” Dr Masisi said. He added that Botswana continued to value conservation and government would continue to pursue policies that protected the country’s natural habitat. He said Botswana was employing various strategies to improve environmental protection and the country’s biodiversity. 

These included adaptation methods to combat climate change looking at the use of modern seeds; smart farming; use of renewable energy; bio digesters and biofuels as well as recycling water, among others. 

The President said UNEP assemblies remained critical rendezvous for networking as well as discussing important issues affecting Botswana. 

“It was very important for me to attend the UNEP 50th anniversary commemoration, since this is the only one of the United Nations organs whose headquarters are in Africa and the Global South. 

Also, a lot of the issues UNEP deals with, go to the very heart of our sustainable development as Botswana and the African continent, and in that regard, I was able to network with other African leaders,” President Masisi said. BOPA