The environment and tourism ministry has paid out N$24.2 million in compensation for losses caused by wild animals since 2019.
This is in response to the ministry’s continued commitment to invest in human-wildlife conflict mitigation and management across the country.
The ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda yesterday said incidences of human-wildlife conflict, however, remain a concern, as they seem to overshadow the benefits as well as opportunities created for Namibians.
“These incidences mainly involve livestock losses, crop damages, loss of life, and injuries both affecting the livelihoods of our people,” he said.
As a result, Muyunda revealed the ministry has paid over N$2.9 million for livestock losses; N$2.6 million for crop damages; N$640 000 for injuries; N$3.3 million for loss of life from 2019 to date.
Within the same period, more than N$14.7 million was paid to conservancies to offset human-wildlife conflict losses to their members.
Within the same period, Muyunda said the ministry has administered 33 claims for loss of life, of which 15 were in 2022 and two so far in 2023 with crocodiles, hippos, and elephants being the main culprits. In terms of crop damages, 2 637 hectares were destroyed by wild animals, of which 270 hectares were recorded in 2022 and 60 hectares so far in 2023 mainly damaged by elephants.
Predators, mainly crocodiles, hyenas, lions, wild dogs, leopards, and jackals killed 862 livestock, of which 204 were recorded in 2022 and nine in 2023.
Fifty-four people were injured within the same period, 15 in 2022 and three in 2023.
To mitigate the impact of human-wildlife conflict, the ministry has developed a national policy on human-wildlife conflict management highlighting the types of conflicts and possible mitigation measures.
“Together with other stakeholders, we are involved and implementing measures such as elephant and lion collaring; early warning system; lion ranger programme; construction of predator-proof kraals, translocation of problem-causing animals; declarations and destruction of problem-causing animals and wildlife population management. The ministry would like to urge communities and property owners in human-wildlife conflict-prone areas to put in place preventative and mitigation measures,” he advised. Muyunda explained the overall principle behind Namibia’s conservation of natural resources is enshrined in the country’s constitution, that such resources are protected to benefit the country’s current and future generations.
This is the basis of the ministry’s investment in trying to ensure that the cost of co-existence must not outweigh the benefits.
One avenue to derive such benefits is through the community-based conservation programme, which has created employment and income generation opportunities.
In 2021, through the conservancy programme, 3 548 jobs were facilitated, comprising 998 community members employed in conservancies.
These include 774 full-time and 62 part-timers employed in joint venture tourism enterprises; 130 full-time and 188 part-timers employed in the conservation hunting sectors while the rest are employed in small and medium enterprises.
Conservancies generated cash income and in-kind benefits to rural communities totalling N$91.7 million benefiting over 238 701. Of this, conservation hunting generated over N$25,9 million with a meat value of more than N$9,3 million. Tourism generated N$53,8 million; indigenous plants and other income sources generated N$1,1 million, and over N$1,7 million respectively. – anakale@nepc.com.na