26 June 2009
Windhoek — Government has no intention to provide compensation for damages caused by wild animals, as this is likely to be abused, said Colgar Sikopo, deputy director of Parks and Wildlife Management in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
"Other means to compensate for the losses caused by wild life need to be identified, such as a self-insurance scheme for livestock and crop losses experimented with by some conservancies. This system could be improved and expanded with full support from the government," he said.
Wild animals such as elephants, crocodiles, buffalo, snakes and hippopotamus, have killed 38 people since 2006. The Kavango and Caprivi regions are the regions most affected by human-wildlife conflict.
According to Sikopo, human-wildlife conflicts are the most difficult challenges facing the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
These conflicts should be managed in such a way that the rights and develop needs of people are recognised, he said.
"The needs of the people and biodiversity conservation must be balanced. Decision making authority should also be delegated to conservancies over the destruction of a problem-causing animal. Government should also provide sufficient safeguards to ensure that specific animals are destroyed for a good reason," Sikopo said.
The ministry should also evaluate the effectiveness of different human-wildlife conflict prevention methods, but this is currently impossible, as the ministry does not have a proper monitoring system.
"It is only through the collection of data that we can address the issue. We should collect information and disseminate the findings to all stakeholders. We should also provide the necessary information and training to enable farmers and other stakeholders to carry out their own preventative measures," Sikopo said.
Another way in which human-wildlife conflict can be managed is to increase the quota for trophy hunting, he said. "Government should consider creating additional quotas outside conservancies where the occurrence of problems from wild animals is predictable," said Sikopo.
The National Policy on Human-Wildlife Conflict is currently before Cabinet.
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