Govt, communities standoff fuels poaching
Boniface Keakabetse | Friday May 27, 2016 10:58
In 2011, government imposed a blanket-hunting ban in conservation areas citing a decline of wildlife species.
President Ian Khama, who is a renowned conservationist was recently guided by aerial survey conducted by Mike Chase of Elephant without Borders, which observed massive declines of wildlife.
As a result, government instructed the replacement of hunting with photographic tourism that included former hunting concessions leased to communities.
This had a devastating effect on many community trusts, which went bankrupt and were unable to provide social services to the communities.
As if this was not enough, government issued a directive that all former hunting concession areas, protected areas and Wildlife Educational Parks had been transferred to the newly formed, Tourism Land Bank.
The land bank is government’s initiative to making tourism land easily available to tourism investors. The bank transferred chunks of tribal land with tourism potential from the care of the Land Boards to become state land administered by the Ministry of Lands and Housing.
This added more agony for communities as they learnt that the transfer of the concessions meant they would lose some power when the land was still under the Land Boards.
Before the land bank, Land Boards leased the concessions to the communities, which then sub-leased to tourism operators.
However, under the land bank, leases would be signed between the ministry and tourism operators.
In 2014 the Batawana tribe resolved to go to court over the inclusion of the Moremi Game Reserve and Maun Educational Park into the tourism land bank.
The tribe’s contention was that the two are tribal properties, which were established under the now defunct tribally owned Fauna Conservation. They contended during a heated Kgotla meeting that the tribe gave government powers to operate the two properties on a temporary basis in 1979. Batawana’s Kgosi Tawana Moremi on Wednesday said that his tribe plans to go back to court over the issue.
“I am meeting lawyers on (Friday) after which I can give our way forward on the issue,” he said.
Around Lake Ngami clashes between fishermen and security forces broke out recently as the former deliberately ignored governments’ ban on fishing in the lake.
The Lake Ngami Fishermen Association chairman, Lesego Mukunki accused security officers of using brute force on the fishermen, who descended on the lake to fish illegally despite an ongoing moratorium on fishing.
Government instituted the fishing ban in the area in 2014 citing environmental problems caused by the fishermen.
Mukunki said fishermen are forced to poach fish as the ban has left them impoverished.
Mukunki said: “Many fishermen are in debt as they took loans to start businesses before the ban. Some are youth who benefited from the government youth scheme”.
Olekanye Thakadu, a research fellow at University of Botswana Okavango Research Institute and chairman of the Ngamiland CBNRM Forum said that community trusts have requested a meeting with the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama to ally concerns on the tourism land bank, hunting ban and conduct of natural resources laws.
Thakadu said the communities, as an important stakeholder in conservation, were never consulted on the tourism land bank and want an explanation from the minister.
He also said that the communities request a lift on the hunting ban for elephants and buffaloes as the two animal species have not recorded a decline.
”What the communities say is that the hunting ban should have never been implemented as a blanket. There are marginal concessions such as Xaixai and Phuduhudu, which are not suitable for photographic tourism and their position is that hunting should continue in those areas”.
Thakadu observed that communities are increasingly growing resentful of governments’ changes of the CBNRM policy. CBNRM aims at poverty reduction in wildlife management areas and also encourages conservation and economic participation by local communities living with wildlife.
Thakadu who is an environmental communication and education expert at ORI expressed fear that the situation, if left unchecked, may fuel poaching and resource depletion.
He said: “Hunting was the main form of income generation for communities through CBNRM. Its stoppage affected their income provision”.
He said without deriving income from wildlife, they may resort to poaching.
Kgosi Timex Moalosi of Sankoyo village also concurred, noting that since the hunting ban, dangerous animals are encroaching into his village sparking human-wildlife conflict.
Moalosi said: “The hunting ban has devastated Sankoyo village. Many people who were employed by hunting Safaris have lost their jobs due to the ban”.
Moalosi explained that when trusts were still fully operational they hired community escort guides, who helped in arresting poachers, but now all the escort guides have been laid off. “When people do not derive benefits from wildlife they view it as a competitor and this may fuel poaching. The ministries of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism and Lands and Housing are yet to respond to Mmegi enquiries sent in February.
Furthermore, the environment and wildlife minister could not be reached for comment as he was said to be engaged in meetings.