Human-wildlife conflict a challenge to Namibian conservancies: minister

Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-01 22:04:31|Editor: ying
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WINDHOEK, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Human-wildlife conflict is one of the challenges conservancies in Namibia grapple with every day, environment deputy minister Tommy Nambahu said Tuesday.

Nambahu said this when he officially opened a two-day seminar at Katima Mulilo, Zambezi region, about 1,200 kilometers north east of capital Windhoek.

The seminar is being attended by 20 members drawn from some conservancies the Kavango East and Zambezi region.

There are more than 80 conservancies that are active in Namibia.

Statistics released by the environment ministry early 2017, showed that six people had been killed by the time.

The figures also showed that 46 head of cattle and nine goats had also been killed by Feb. this year.

More than 500 head of cattle; 79 sheep, 291 goats and 15 donkeys, the figures showed, were also killed in the human-wildlife conflict in 2016.

According to Nambahu, conservancies also grapple with issues of poor management and illegal hunting of wildlife.

"As conservancies, you need to have mechanisms in place to reduce the level of human wildlife conflict, to ensure that benefits of conservation management far outweigh the costs, and to build on the significant successes in managing human wildlife conflict," Nambahu said.

The deputy minister urged those managing conservancies to be at the forefront of fighting illegal hunting.

He said since those on conservancies are on the ground, they have a bigger role to play.

"It is a responsibility of all of us to fight wildlife crime as long as that is done in a coordinated manner through the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and in accordance with Policies and Legislation of our country," he further said.

Developing accountability and good governance in conservancies, Nambahu said, is very important in the operations of conservancies.

"Poor management of finances in some conservancies is a worrying concern and needs to be improved now. I urge you all to ensure that you comply with the guidelines for management of conservancies and standard operating procedures," Nambahu said.

He added that serious action will be taken against individuals in conservancies when they are found to have broken the laws.

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