More human-wildlife conflicts expected
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday March 18, 2024 06:00
In an interview with Mmegi this week, Ronald said they anticipate more wildlife to invade the farming areas in search of food and water as a result of the impending drought He further said that because of the drought brought about by erratic rainfall, they expect to experience more human-wildlife conflicts than in previous years.
Recently, the ODC chairperson reported during a full council meeting that they recorded 368 cases of human-wildlife cases in the first quarter of this year, albeit without fatalities.
According to Ronald, lions have been the district's biggest problem animals this quarter because they frequently kill livestock.
He further explained that for this quarter of the year, they have successfully compensated for 860 cases involving people and wildlife.
"The district was allotted P 5 540 000.00 for this fiscal year, and payments are still ongoing," he said.
Ronald also indicated that there has been no loss of human life due to wildlife attack in the district this quarter.
It was reported that last year, at the official opening of the national human-wildlife conflict pitso in Gaborone, then-Minister of Environment and Tourism, Phildah Kereng, stated that more than P124 million had been given out as compensation to the affected farmers in cases relating to human-wildlife conflict.
It was alleged that Botswana has recorded over 45 000 problem animal incidents with over 60 deaths and 50 injuries were recorded countrywide since 2018.
In her previous speech, former Minister of Environment and Tourism, Kereng stated that conflicts between people and wildlife had a profound impact on people's ability to survive and grow their economies, particularly in rural areas.
According to her, it was imperative to address the challenge and reduce the level of conflict.
She said that the data demonstrated that the nation was confronting an unprecedented problem that needed immediate attention. Elephants continued to expand in number and range.
Kereng pointed out that elephants were primarily responsible for wildlife damage to fields, crops, and infrastructure like fences, water storage tanks, and boreholes.
Meanwhile, Moemedi Batshabang, acting director of Wildlife and National Parks, stated during the same pitso that people who work in farming and other economic sectors face difficulties because of the conflict between humans and wildlife.
According to Batshabang, the majority of the encounters took place at night and involved rare and dangerous animals like lions.
Dealing with elephants, lions, and leopards would lessen the impact, he said, adding that they accounted for over 75% of the cases.
Ronald was also fearful that there would be an increase of human-wildlife cases because of the heat wave. Okavango is one of the epicentres of human-wildlife conflicts because of the wildlife population in the area.