Khama puts hunting policy under scrutiny
Spira Tlhankane | Monday July 6, 2026 06:00
During a series of questions in Ntlo ya Dikgosi this week, Khama pressed the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Wynter Mmolotsi, to justify the increase in hunting quotas, explain how community benefits are measured and verified, and account for the approval of the NG13 hunting concession amid concerns about the hunting operator involved.
Khama questions hunting quotas
In a string of probing questions before Ntlo ya Dikgosi this week, Khama challenged the government to justify Botswana's growing hunting quotas and further questioned whether local communities are genuinely benefiting from trophy hunting. The Bangwato leader demanded evidence that revenues from hunting elephants, among others, are reaching households in hunting areas. Khama asked whether the continued targeting of mature elephant bulls could undermine both conservation efforts and the country's tourism industry.
Khama, who is well known for driving Botswana's world-renowned conservation ethos, also sought assurances that Botswana is not sacrificing its most valuable wildlife assets in pursuit of short-term gain. In its defence, the government defended Botswana's controversial elephant hunting programme, revealing that communities earned more than P67 million from hunting quotas during the 2025 season. Responding to questions from Kgosi Khama in Ntlo ya Dikgosi this week, Minister of Environment and Tourism dismissed concerns that increasing quotas could threaten mature elephant bulls and the country's lucrative photographic tourism sector.
The Minister maintained that Botswana's hunting policy remains sustainable despite concerns over poaching, poisoning incidents, and growing pressure on wildlife populations. Mmolotsi said the hunting quota allocation is based on a triangulated approach, where multiple datasets, population estimates and distribution, harvest rates, poaching, PAC hotspots, retaliatory killing, natural mortalities, socioeconomic factors and stakeholder participation are considered to inform a balanced decision-making process.
“The final quota takes into account the factors which pose growing pressure on the population as referred to in the question. It should be noted that despite these pressures, our populations, particularly that of elephants, continue to grow both in numbers and range as evidenced by the latest surveys,” Mmolotsi added. The minister also disclosed that hunting quotas generated P67.2 million for communities in 2025, up significantly from P42.8 million in 2024, arguing that wildlife resources continue to provide economic benefits to rural communities.
“We are concerned that for some of the Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), these funds were not used properly to benefit all people. We have recently enacted the Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) Act of 2025, which will help reduce the misuse and misappropriation of CBOs' funds and ensure that local communities derive meaningful benefits from the wildlife resources. Wildlife resources are renewable resources. As long as we conserve, protect, and maintain our wildlife populations, benefits from sustainable hunting will continue to accrue in the future for the benefit of Batswana,” Mmolotsi said.
Khama had pressed the government to provide evidence that hunting revenues are reaching households and questioned the wisdom of expanding quotas at a time when conservationists are warning about the impact of targeting mature bulls, which are highly valued by photographic tourists. In response, Mmolotsi insisted that hunting affects only a small fraction of Botswana's elephant population, noting that actual annual offtake stands at 0.18% against a quota ceiling of 0.3%. The minister further argued that elephant populations continue to grow in both numbers and range despite challenges such as poaching and human-wildlife conflict.
“The Ministry of Environment and Tourism, through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, continuously conduct stakeholder engagements, including with communities, where they are informed of the long-term benefits and impacts of hunting on all species (elephants inclusive). Before setting quotas, there are annual stakeholders' hunting reviews to reflect on the past hunting season and provide advice on the following one. The communities are represented in these annual reviews,” the minister noted.
Mmolotsi revealed that the community-based organisations are operated by Boards, which are required to hold Annual General Meetings, among other things, at which they account to the community for all revenue accrued to the CBOs and any expenditure thereof. He said the same report is shared with the government through the District Technical Advisory Committees and that it is the same report which informs the government on the utilisation of the hunting quotas.
Khama questions the NG13 hunting concession
In the other question, Khama has raised fresh concerns about transparency and accountability in Botswana's hunting sector, questioning the approval of the NG13 hunting concession and whether sufficient safeguards exist to prevent individuals implicated in wildlife-crime allegations from participating in the industry. The Bangwato leader sought clarity on who ultimately approves Botswana's national hunting quotas, what independent oversight mechanisms exist to protect scientific decision-making from political or economic influence, and why the NG13 concession was approved despite concerns surrounding the hunting operator involved. Khama also questioned what the decision revealed about the credibility and oversight of Botswana's hunting sector, pressing the government to explain how concession licences are scrutinised before being awarded.
In response, Mmolotsi maintained that hunting quotas are approved by the Director of Wildlife and National Parks following consultations with stakeholders. “The Director is guided by ecological, management, and socio-economic indicators. Key considerations include wildlife population estimates, growth trends and previous hunting returns. Records of poaching incidents, Problem Animal Control (PAC) trends and trophy quality are reviewed to assess pressures on species.
The minister added that quota setting in Botswana is effectively scientific as the data used is scientifically determined, and that this is particularly true for datasets such as population trends, sex and age structure, trends in human-wildlife conflict and poaching, as well as trophy quality. “The scientific community in Botswana and abroad is also involved right from the drawing of the management plan up to the species offtake. The inclusion of any high-value species in the hunting quota is preceded by a Non-Detriment Finding (NDF). This is a scientific document prepared for a specific species to demonstrate that its offtake will not in any way harm its population or drive it towards extinction. As one of the layers of oversight, Botswana is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), which, as the name suggests, regulates international trade on these species. The quota allocations for such species are predetermined, and they are never exceeded for compliance purposes,” Mmolotsi said.
However, regarding the contentious NG13 concession, the minister clarified that it had not been allocated to an individual but to a Community-Based Organisation (CBO), which subsequently exercised its right to select a hunting partner under the Community-Based Natural Resources Management framework. “The process is that community hunting quotas are allocated to community-managed concessions, and the relevant CBOs are legally empowered to lease these concessions and to select their preferred joint-venture hunting partners through processes provided for under the CBNRM framework. NG13 is one such community concession that has been leased to a duly registered CBO, which exercised its prerogative to engage a hunting operator of its choice,” Mmolotsi said. The minister told Ntlo Ya Dikgosi that while the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) under the Office of the District Commissioner provides technical and procedural guidance during the selection process, it does not have statutory authority to overrule the decisions of CBO in the absence of proven legal non-compliance.
He said this arrangement is intentional and reflects government policy to empower communities to independently manage and benefit from wildlife resources, while regulatory authorities retain oversight through licensing, compliance monitoring, and enforcement of wildlife laws, should any violations be established. He, however, admitted that the Ministry of Environment and Tourism notes the need to further strengthen due diligence and vetting procedures, particularly for hunting operators engaged under the Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programme.
“Going forward, the ministry will work with relevant authorities to introduce enhanced forensic and background vetting of hunting operators before they participate in community hunting quota bidding processes. This measure will reinforce transparency, protect community interests, and reaffirm the credibility, integrity, and oversight of Botswana’s hunting sector, which remains grounded in conservation, legality and accountable governance. The newly enacted CBNRM Act of 2025 will facilitate the above processes”.