Linea Dishena

The ministry of environment has paid over N$27 million towards human-wildlife conflict losses over the past 12 years.

In an interview with Nampa recently, director of wildlife and national parks Bennett Kahuure said under the human-wildlife conflict self-reliance scheme, the ministry spent N$27 581 827 compensating for livestock, crop damages, injuries and loss of life since 2008.

He explained that Namibia has adopted conservation of wildlife through communal conservancies and recognises human-wildlife conflict, hence a National Policy on Human-Wildlife Conflict Management was adopted in 2009.

Kahuure explained that payments are done in various categories such as N$100 000 for loss of life, N$10 000 for injuries with no limb loss, N$30 000 for limb loss and N$50 000 for permanent damage.

Other payments include crop damage and livestock according to the incident magnitude. “The scheme does not compensate for loss of life, however, it does give a relief amount of N$100 000 to the bereaved family for support. The ministry does not put value on someone’s life, therefore, what the scheme gives towards the family is only a relief support,” he noted.

He indicated that since 2019, N$2.1 million was paid for 559 incidents of livestock killings, and N$1.7 million for 1 826 hectares of crop destroyed. The ministry paid N$310 000 for 31 incidents of injuries with no loss of body parts, N$100 000 for two incidents of permanent injuries and N$1.4 million for 14 incidents of loss of life.

Kahuure explained that human-wildlife conflict is common in the Kunene, Kavango West, Kavango East and Zambezi regions, as well as areas surrounding the Etosha National Park.

-Nampa