27 Nov 2023

Parliament on Friday rejected a motion calling on government to waive its stance on compensation damage due to wild animals.

The motion tabled by Maun East Member of Parliament, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile requested government to waive its stance of not compensating crop damage due to wild animals to individuals who do not have ploughing field certificate or plot certificate of the land ploughed; on fields not fenced by logs or modern fence.

Mr Kekgonegile had further requested that jackal, hyena and baboon be included in the list of wild animals compensated for.

Presenting his motion, Mr Kekgonegile said human-wildlife conflict was a challenge all over the country but more rampant in the North West area.

He said his motion was motivated by the rate at which human beings were losing lives, property, funds, livestock and crops as a result of attacks by wild animals.

He argued that strategies that were employed by government to mitigate the conflict were not producing the desired results, more so that the compensation was far less than what the farmer had lost or suffered.

He said the affected ministries responsible for wildlife, land and crops must work as a unit and even engage CITES to come up with packages that were almost at par with what the farmer had lost.

Mr Kekgonegile said a report by the United Nations on Disaster and Risk Reduction had cited that growing human-wildlife conflict was fueled by the growing population of both wild animals and human beings therefore end up regularly crossing each other’s path competing for space, natural resources, pastures, food and water.

On Botswana’s carrying capacity for elephants, Mr Kekgonegile said the country could manage to accommodate an elephant population of about 60 000 compared with the current number of over 131 000.

Mr Kekgonegile said villages of Khwai and Mababe were not only affected by the marauding elephants as baboons were also causing terror. He said there were cases of learners encounter with baboons, where the animals were said to have attacked them, taking food and leaving some with serious injuries.

He added that at Samedupi and Tsibogolamatebele some farmers were losing funds as they constantly replaced water tanks that were destroyed by elephants, while at Mababe and Beetsha among other places, some people have lost lives to elephant attacks that also left the field’s perimeter fence destroyed.

He said the motion was an appeal to government to do what was best for the nation as farmers were increasingly abandoning production areas, therefore increasing numbers of those dependent on social safety nets to survive.

Despite causing serious damage, Mr Kekgonegile said hyenas, baboons and jackals were not included in the compensation package. As for death resulting from an attack by a wild animal, Mr Kekgonegile said the family was compensated with P70 000, of which P20 000 covered funeral expenses.

Mr Kekgonegile also said  government must come up with strategies that encourage conservation, as in most cases farmers control problem animals by killing them. He said farmers must be paid to capture or report any sight of such animals with the view that it will as a matter of urgency be removed from the human territory before causing any harm.

He said in 2022 alone, the North East District reported 557 cases of human-wildlife conflicts involving lions, 1 052 of elephants, 131 involving leopards, 26 for wild dogs and four involving crocodiles.

Even though opposing the motion, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Ms Philda Kereng concurred with Mr Kekgonegile that the human-wildlife conflict had greatly affected livelihoods.

However, she said government was currently working on a comprehensive compensation package with the view of putting aside the 2013 compensation guidelines that were currently in use.

Ms Kereng said amending the compensation policy would give birth to a comprehensive plan with broader and long-lasting integrated solutions. She said the proposed compensation package would take into account the extent of the damage and engage in preventative measures against repeat incidences.

She added that government was in the process of finalising reports following engagements with all stakeholders regarding proposed interventions to the problem that would inform the new policy. ENDS