CITES holds its conference at The Hague, Netherlands on June 3. For years, Botswana and its southern African neighbours have been seeking to cull their excess elephant populations or to remove the animals from the list of endangered species. But countries like Kenya, whose elephants have been endangered by poaching, have fiercely opposed the proposals with backing from powerful American and European conservationists.
Meanwhile, Skelemani said the EU has played a pivotal role in Botswana's development process. He asserted that EU assistance to Botswana focused on sectors such as human resources development, natural resources HIV/AIDS, tourism and trade promotion. "As a result of this assistance, we have scored some success especially in the fight against HIV/AIDS, human resource development, wildlife conservation and poverty alleviation," said Skelemani. He disclosed that a new programme to support education and training through direct budgetary support introduced by the EU is a welcome development. He made an assurance that Botswana would effectively use such funds for the intended purposes.
