02 Oct 2024

Five years after its inception, the Maun-based Elephant Protection Society (EPS) is making significant progress in its mission to promote conservation while fostering co-existence between humans and wildlife.

Founded in 2018, the non-governmental organisation is dedicated to ensuring the survival of elephants and preserving the ecological integrity of their habitats. The EPS works to enhance protection for elephants and educate local communities about their value, as well as the importance of other wildlife species.

In an interview, EPS founder Mr Oaitse Nawa expressed pride in the organisation’s achievements, noting its goal to help people live alongside elephants without fear or hostility. Despite facing challenges, he remains committed to his vision of conservation, inspired by a family history rooted in wildlife protection. His great-grandfather was one of the founders of the Moremi Game Reserve, established in the 1960s as a cooperative effort between local communities and conservationists concerned about the adverse effects of hunting and cattle encroachment on wildlife.

The Moremi Game Reserve now safeguards approximately 20 per cent of the Okavango Delta, an area rich in biodiversity. Growing up in a family that revered nature instilled in Mr Nawa a profound love for the wilderness. However, he witnessed firsthand the rising number of elephant-human conflicts as elephant populations expanded into human settlements.

“My mother was a full-time farmer forced to relocate to Maun due to elephants ravaging her crops yearly,” Mr Nawa recalled. “I also encountered an elderly man fleeing from elephants while carrying a child, and that experience deeply affected me. It marked the beginning of my journey to understand elephant behaviour.”

His dedication to conservation grew as he volunteered with a renowned photographer well-versed in wildlife tourism. Through this experience, he came to appreciate the unique relationship between humans and elephants. Armed with knowledge about elephant behavior, Mr Nawa began working with local communities to resolve conflicts creatively.

He actively engaged farmers to identify specific areas where elephants posed threats and implemented innovative measures to protect their crops without resorting to violence.

Today, the community collaborates closely with EPS, reporting elephant incidents, allowing Mr Nawa to safely redirect them without harm.

“My lifelong love for wildlife, particularly elephants, inspired me to establish this organisation. I aim to educate people to embrace change, viewing elephants not as enemies but as assets that enhance tourism and contribute to our economy,” he said.

With the help of some knowledgeable people, he quickly learned how elephants behave and that they could become aggressive if one does not respect their territory.

Since then, Mr Nawa said the knowledge he acquired sparked the fire that was his passion for conservation and pushed him to look for ways to improve the natural world he lived in.

Although he said he did not have adequate resources to execute the organisation’s mandate, but with the little he had, he embarked on campaigns with support from other organizations to educate local communities on elephant behaviour and habitat protection with a hope of instilling an understanding of the benefits of conservation.

He walked with farmers to discover specific areas of conflict with elephants and implement creative solutions to keep elephants away from their ploughing fields instead of killing or retaliating, as it was the case before.

Nowadays, members of the communities worked well with the organisation as they always report elephant incidents and in which he would just chase them away without any harm.  

“My interest in conservation comes from the love of wildlife, particularly elephants that I have had my entire life and it was this love that prompted me to establish this organisation and educate people to embrace change and not to view the giant species as enemies, but rather value them as they attract tourists who eventually contributed to the country’s economy,” he added. ENDS