09 Dec 2024

The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi has told Parliament that the destruction of farms by elephants is a concern to the ministry, as it affected livelihoods of communities who are dependent on cultivating land and rearing livestock.

Mr Mmolotsi stated that, to reduce human elephant’s conflict, the ministry had and continued to drill boreholes in protected areas and other strategic places in wildlife management areas, to keep most elephants away from human settlements.

He indicated that provision of water along migratory pathways used by elephants in the delta while searching for food and water would not help to resolve human wildlife conflict, especially the destruction of farms.The minister said there was enough water in the natural water bodies in Okavango River. Mr Mmolotsi noted that as elephants wondered around looking for water and food, they would enter and destroy farms along their migratory routes.

The only barrier to stop elephants from destroying farms was electrified fences, he said and noted that the ministry encouraged farmers to cluster their farms together so that they could be assisted with electrified cluster fencing through the Conservation Trust Fund.

He reminded the House that section 46 of the Wildlife Conservation and National Parks allowed “the owner or occupier of land, or any agent of such owner or occupier, may subject to the provisions of the act, kill any animal which caused, is causing or threatens to cause damage to livestock, crops, water installation or fence on such land property owners to protect kill any wild animal that destroys or threatens to destroy property.”

In this regard, lawful methods of killing he said should be used and killing should be reported to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks or police office.

Minister Mmolotsi said on the issue of adequately resourcing the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to drive elephants away from community areas, resources required by the department would not be deemed adequate in the short term.

The ministry he said had and would continue to do its best to resource the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, to adequately perform its duties.

Unfortunately the needs of the department competed with equally important needs of other departments of the ministry, said Minister Mmolotsi and further noted that currently, they did not have enough financial resources to meet all requirements of the ministry departments, wildlife department included.

Mr Mmolotsi said they would however, continue to look for resources to empower the wildlife department, to enable it to be in a better position to deliver its mandate, including driving elephants away from human settlements as they desired.

In that pursuit, in addition to promulgating enabling legislation and strategies, he said they were also working with likeminded local and international conservation agencies to build capacity and acquire the needed resources.

Mr Mmolotsi was responding to a question by Member of Parliament for Ngami Mr Philemon Aaron who had asked the minister if he would consider protecting farmers along Okavango River and flood plains within the Okavango, Ngami, Maun Constituencies from destruction of their farms by elephants through drilling boreholes in strategic places especially those high upon animal corridors.

He also asked if the minister would consider to adequately empower and resource the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to drive away problematic wild animals approaching communities as and when such incidents were reported to them. Ends