The spectre of poaching

| Friday August 24, 2012 00:00

 

Stories of poachers read like action packed movies of the wild, featuring small helicopters flying low, just above trees, armed with long distance rifles.  Poaching is an issue of serious concern especially for countries teeming with elephants, rhinos and other such endangered species.

What makes it more serious is that it has evolved from an occasional killing of a bird or duiker to a hugely commercialised trans-boundary game. Poachers kill elephants and rhinos for their high priced tusks. Of huge concern are poachers who illegally cross into Botswana and kill animals or in some cases capture live predator cubs. Recently, two suspected poachers from Namibia were shot by the  Botswana Defence Force (BDF).

They came into the country under the cover of darkness last month. They were caught with two elephant tusks and when asked to surrender, chose to fire back, which led to the death of one of the poachers.  This is one of many incidents involving poachers from neighbouring countries.

Chobe MP, Gibson Nshimwe knows quite well the impact of poaching to the country's economy. Wildlife is one of the major economic boosters, with the Chobe area contributing the lion's share of tourism's contribution to the economy.

People in his constituency and others living side by side wildlife know as much too. This is because Botswana, and especially the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism have laid down a good foundation to educate communities living alongside wildlife to understand the importance of conservation as the flora and fauna is helpful in that it does not only beautify their environs but also attracts tourists from all over the world who inject monies into the economy.

'In the past, before there were laws on poaching, the hunting season used to run from April to September. When government embarked on conservation education campaigns, Batswana realised that hunting is not the only way to make money. You can also do game drives, photo shoots, boat cruises and other things which do not endanger wildlife and threaten their existence,' Nshimwe says.

Conversely, says Nshimwe, governments in neighbouring countries are at the infant stage of educating their citizens about the importance of conservation.  He says Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia, which share the Chobe River with Botswana, have serious challenges and have sought help from the latter.

'They do come here often to come and benchmark with us,' he says.He says that last year close to five elephants were killed in the Chobe National Park, Nogatshaa, which is deep in the park.

He says poachers prefer to keep away from open areas and go deeper into the park for fear of the community's vigilance. The community is always on the lookout for poachers or suspicious activity by people who seem intent on poaching.

'In Chobe District, we have conservation groups teaching our people wildlife conservation,' he says.