By Wezi Tjaronda
Namutoni
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has compiled a business plan aimed at generating additional income for the under-funded Etosha National Park.
Willem Konjore, Minister of Environment and Tourism, speaking during the Etosha centenary commemorations on Friday, said the plan outlines opportunities to generate additional income from the N$890 million assets to cover budgetary shortfalls through strategic interventions.
Insufficient funding is one of the main problems facing the park, the Minister said.
While the park requires N$26.4 million to be managed effectively, the four directorates working in the park only receive N$14.3 million. This is 54 percent of the required amount, said Konjore.
He said increased pressure in some areas, decaying infrastructure, human-wildlife conflict with neighbours and lack of investments were other challenges facing the park that turned 100 years on March 22.
When the park was proclaimed a century ago, its main aim was to protect game from poachers, a role that has since changed over the years, he said.
“The challenge before us is to ensure that the park no longer operates as an island of conservation but incorporates the interests of surrounding communities while generating sufficient funding for effective running of the park,” he said.
Guided walks, tourism concessions, hot air balloon safaris, hides and four-by-four trails are some of the tourism products outlined in the business plan.
Konjore said the ministry also finalised the new management plan for the park, which includes a series of policy statements and guiding principles that will steer action plans for the future.
He said the ministry would improve community relationships and linkages with private operations around the park, restore the link between Etosha and Skeleton Coast Park through co-management with conservancies and communities in Kunene by creating the Kunene Contractual Park and also maintain the Etosha Ecological Institute as a facility of excellence.
Konjore also announced that the Human Wildlife Conflict Management Policy is nearing completion.
Hopefully, the policy will hold answers to communities that continue to suffer loss of lives, crops, domesticated animals and infrastructure to wild animals.
Oshikoto Regional Governor, Penda ya Ndakolo, urged the Government to come up with a form of compensation for affected communities.
He said while the park benefited the communities through employment among others, wildlife also caused untold suffering for them.
He said the Government should find a way of compensating people by looking at the experiences of other countries.