Elephant Protection Society (EPS) believes the failure of government policies to protect the natural pathways of wildlife is resulting in disoriented animals straying into human habitat and becoming aggressive upon contact with people
GAZETTE REPORTER
The increasing encroachment of wildlife into the North East region of Botswana is the result of the government’s failure to implement policies that protect animal corridors, the founder of the Elephant Protection Society (EPS), Oaitse Nawa, has said.
He was speaking in an interview with The Botswana Gazette against the background of a tragic incident in which an elephant claimed the life of a man in Mmadinare recently.
Changing movement patterns
Tutume, Francistown, Tonota, Mmadinare and their surrounding areas have been grappling with rising human-wildlife conflicts lately, mainly involving elephants and lions terrorising people.
“The government is responsible for the increasing movement of wildlife into human settlements,” said Nawa in an interview. “If the government was proactive, policies to protect animal corridors would have been implemented long ago.
“These animals are changing their movement patterns due to the destruction of their natural pathways.
Disoriented
“When their corridors are disrupted by human activity, they become disoriented and seek new habitable areas, often leading them into villages and sparking the kind of conflict that we are witnessing now.”
He criticised the authorities for making decisions about wildlife management without consulting experts or the communities directly affected by these conflicts.
“For too long, the government and decision-makers have acted without engaging those with expertise in wildlife management,” he asserted. “This has resulted in poor and ineffective decisions.
“It is high time the government prioritised protection of animal corridors and ensured that experts and local communities are involved in the decision-making process.”
160 incidents
The Chairman of Tutume District Council, Tabona Masole, informed the council that between October and December last year, the district recorded 160 incidents of human-wildlife conflict, all of them involving elephants and lions.
In addition to the tragic incident in Mmadinare, elephants were spotted in Tonota for the first time in the history of the urban village two weeks ago.
At the time of going to press, the Director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Moemi Batshabang, had yet to respond to Gazette enquiries.