Tutume urges action on rising human-wildlife conflict
Chakalisa Dube | Monday June 24, 2024 13:18
Chebane made the call recently during an Ordinary Full Council meeting where he tabled a motion in which he sought the Minister of Wildlife and Tourism, Dumezweni Mthimkhulu, to come and address councillors in the district on interventions meant to curb growing instances of human-wildlife conflict in Tutume. The motion was wholly endorsed by the councillors. Chebane illustrated that in the past, wild animals used to be restricted to areas or villages that are close to the national parks but now there is a dramatic shift. “Our District, which is not in the proximity of national parks or areas that are widely known for accommodating wildlife, is now infested with wildlife. The government should come up with urgent and strong measures to win the battle against growing instances of human-wildlife conflict before the situation spirals out of control,” he said.
Statistics also bear credence to suggestions that the District has over the last few years turned into an epicentre of human-wildlife cases. Between October last year and March this year, a total of 166 human-wildlife conflict cases were reported in the area with elephants accounting for the bulk of the cases. In the 2022/2023 financial year, the District recorded 323 cases of human-wildlife conflict. The destruction was mostly in farms. Of the 323 cases, 169 were caused by elephants followed by 97 reports of damages caused by lions, but there was no loss of life or major injuries to humans. “Government spend millions of pula compensating farmers for the destruction caused by wild animals in the District. The amount of money used to compensate farmers is rising on an annual basis. Issuing huge amounts as compensation will not be sustainable in the long run unless there are solid interventions to prevent human-wildlife conflict cases,” said Chebane. The government spent a substantial amount on compensating farmers around the country for damages caused by problem animals, with P148 million disbursed between 2018 and 2023.
Chebane added: “We have attempted to have a physical meeting with previous ministers (from the ministry of environment) to discuss the solutions to the challenges, but we were not successful. I believe that we can have an interactive and focused engagement as well as come up with solutions if the minister can come and address us physically. That is why I am proposing that the minister should come and address the council physically.” Tutume West councillor, Moseki Matlhodi, also said that it is paramount for the government to urgently address the growing instances of human-wildlife conflict. 'Farmers' yields in the District have not been promising for some time due to the destruction caused by wildlife. Domestic animals have also been attacked by predators such as lions. It is very disturbing because most people in the District primarily depend on agriculture for survival,' he noted. Matlhodi further warned that government backed programmes meant to improve agriculture across the country will not yield tangible results if human-wildlife cases persist. Despite concerns from civic leaders in Tutume, there are already strategies that the government has adopted in a bid to counter human-wildlife conflict.
For example, the government issues an annual hunting quota of elephants, lions, and other wildlife species to tourists for a fee. However, international animal rights groups strongly oppose the practice. They argue that there are alternative and even more comprehensive strategies that can be used to counter human-wildlife conflict. A few months ago, the UK Parliament passed a bill banning the importation of trophies of various species, including lions and elephants. The Bill which is yet to be passed into law is widely viewed as a significant blow to Botswana’s efforts to control the wildlife population and reduce human-wildlife conflict. President Mokgweetsi Masisi will tour France and Germany where he is expected to drum up support for the government’s trophy hunting initiative.