24 Feb 2025

Bakgatla have called on government to come up with long term measures to manage human/wildlife conflict.
In a consultative National Human-Wildlife Conflict Strategy kgotla meeting that was held in Mochudi recently, they said it was high time government came up with solutions to address the conflict.
They said government should come up with interventions or strategies to mitigate existing and potential conflicts.
They complained that livestock predation and infestation of diseases were common in the farms.
Others decried a high number of baboons and monkeys rampaging their homes for food and destroying their valuables.
Ms Sekafothini Motshegwa said her home had become a meeting ground for baboons and monkeys as they come in groups to search for food and that she no longer had the freedom to open doors and windows for ventilation.
“I am in prison, I do not know what to do,” she lamented.
Mr Patrick Phometsi asked the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to reduce a number of wild beasts in cattle posts as they infect livestock with diseases.
Mr Senwelo Setoutwe also said livestock predation by wild animals had impoverished them.
Equally, he complained about what he termed ‘peanuts’ compensation, which he said should be equivalent to what had been destroyed.
University of Botswana’s Okavango Research Institute Prof. Olekae Thakadu said the meeting was part of a series of those held countrywide to consult Batswana on human wildlife conflict strategy.
His meeting with Bakgatla was meant to validate what they had suggested in a previous consultative meeting where they complained about damage to crop, damage to property, death and injuries to human beings and nuisance by dangerous wild animals.
In that regard, Prof. Thakadu said seven strategic priority areas were identified including identifying and addressing key drivers of human-wildlife conflict.
The goal of this priority area seeks to create solutions that reduce conflict while promoting the conservation of animals and the wellbeing of communities.
Another priority area, he said, was to encourage conservation of wild animals to reduce direct pressures that led to human-wildlife conflict.
In doing so, he said there was need to create harmonious balance between human activities and wildlife conservation, reducing the likelihood of conflict and fostering coexistence.
“We also need to increase awareness about wild animals as some people do not know how to handle or deal with them,” he said.
Prof. Thakadu also said there was need to avail information and data in order for communities to make informed decisions and foster collaborative efforts to mitigate conflicts.
Other priorities include reducing negative impacts of human-wildlife conflict on human and wildlife to create a balance where both human and wildlife conservation can coexist without detriment to either party.
Establishment of sustainable wildlife economy and enhancing the wildlife value chain sector, he said, should aim to create relationship between humans and wildlife, where economic benefits derived from wildlife contribute to both conservation efforts and local community wellbeing.
Another priority strategy is to enhance community resilience through effective and timely compensation mechanisms.
This strategy aims to establish Human-Wildlife Conflict Replacement Fund to compensate individuals or communities affected by human-wildlife conflict. ENDS