US NGO procures non-military gear for DWNP
Mbongeni Mguni | Friday September 21, 2018 15:09
Conservation International, a 31-year-old environmental nonprofit, recently appointed former president, Ian Khama, as a distinguished fellow, charging him with representing its activities across Africa.
The specification of the equipment to be handed over was the result of detailed discussions between Conservation International and government. According to the NGO, the consignment will include gas cylinders, cots/stretchers, tents, GPS units, water purifiers, outdoor gas lamps and professional military flashlights, amongst others.
“(These are) critical things to ensure they are properly cared for while performing their crucial but demanding duties in challenging environments,” a statement from the NGO reads. “The anticipated supplies to the rangers have been made possible by a grant from the United States government that was awarded to Conservation International in August last year through the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.”
Conservation International’s Wildlife Trafficking programme director, Matthew Lewis said efforts were underway to procure the equipment locally. “The field supplies are expected to benefit at least 800 rangers in Botswana, allowing them to remain in the field on patrol for longer, while making their jobs safer, and increasing their overall effectiveness and efficiency,” Lewis said. “We have worked closely with the government of Botswana to identify the key and most appropriate supply needs of the rangers in the country.”
He said Conservation International’s office in Botswana would work with DWNP to ensure timely distribution of the field equipment to the rangers and to provide adequate recommendations for their care and maintenance.
The consignment from the US comes as government clears up the international furore sparked by since debunked reports of an elephant poaching massacre in the Chobe area.
The reports had blamed the alleged upsurge in poaching on President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s decision to withdraw military weapons from the DWNP’s anti-poaching units.
This week, investigators, led by the Botswana Defence Force assisted by the DWNP, told the media in Kasane that their probe had shown no evidence of a massacre. Instead, the investigators found mostly aged carcasses which had died natural deaths.