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06:58Last update on: 13 Aug 2013
The Namibian
Tue 13 Aug 2013
SMS Of The Day * MINISTRY of Gender and Child Welfare, TEARS are rolling down as I write this SMS. The killing of women in Namibia is now like reciting a poem. Are we really getting the protection we deserve while women not being treated as part of this c Food For Thought * SO the Zimbabwe elections were free and peaceful and not free and fair? Bouquets And Brickbats * NURSES at Katutura Hospital must stop wearing those big plastic sandals at work because they are not the official working shoes. We want to see you looking smart and beautiful with your full uniform. SMS Of The Day * THIS nation is in dire need of a massive conference on housing. When we experienced a crisis in the education sector a crisis-control brain-storming conference was organised which resulted in the best deal ever for the Namibian child, nam Food For Thought * BOURGEOISIE has become a daily occupation if not the order of the day of the upper-echelons, President Hifikepunye Pohamba we urge you to revisit this unpatriotic geocentricism among your staff and the well-connected, for everybody to r Bouquets And Brickbats * COMMISSIONER of Prisons, can you please explain the strategies you use to appoint officers to certain positions? It is my observation that you are being fed with wrong information then you just promote individuals without making p SMS Of The Day * I THINK Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lost his belt because of this promoter and trainer. How can a world champion still be training at the Katutura Youth Complex where there is not enough equipment. I think they must follow the example of Ha Food For Thought * NAMIBIA Dairies are unable to match low prices of imported milk and this ultimately means the consumer will have to pay more for local milk. Look at the prices of the local chicken. All these profits are going in the pockets of a few in Bouquets And Brickbats * I AM pleased to hear that Cabinet has responded positively to the proposal of Namibia Dairies to support the industry. The restrictions which support the industry by reducing competition to ensure the survival of the industry is a SMS Of The Day * CEO’s golden handshakes. Somewhere on our statute books there must be a provision that if a board of directors suspends/dismisses a CEO without due regard to legal provision (substantive/procedural law) such board must carry the costs for Food For Thought * JACKY Asheeke was so right with her last column- why are the fathers of the dead children not being prosecuted? (Reference to the children who died in shack fires last week) Our justice system still protects men over women. In this cont Bouquets And Brickbats * ALEXACTUS Kaure, your column in Friday’s newspaper opened my eyes. One hardly finds impartial case study analysers in Namibia. Let’s not destroy the Polytechnic’s strong foundation (Tjivikua) as yet. At least wait until the transf
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NEWS - NAMIBIA
| 2013-08-05
War against poaching proves effective
Theresia Tjihenuna
ENDANGERED ... A herd of elephants in the Bwabwata National Park in the north-eastern part of Namibia. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism says poaching for ivory is on the increase globally but they are winning it.
Photograph by Theresia Tjihenuna
THE Ministry of Environment and Tourism director of regional services and parks management, Colgar Sikopo, last week declared that the war against poaching has been won.
Speaking during the inauguration of the Susuwe Park Station infrastructure and the launch of the Integrated Development Plan Component of the Kavango-Zambezi (Kaza) Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (TFCA), Sikopo said last year alone, more than 78 elephants fell victim to poaching and 23 poaching suspects were arrested while more than 106 elephant tusks were confiscated by the ministry.
“So far this year, we only have a total of six elephants that were poached. We have improved on poaching control and we want to send out a strong message to poachers and would-be poachers that those who indulge themselves in such activities will be brought to book and will face the full wrath of the law. We will work hard to make sure these illegal activities are stopped,” Sikopo warned.
He also revealed that apart from other vulnerable animals like antelopes and kudus targeted for their meat, elephants were the main target for poachers. He said part of the ministry’s anti-poaching plan is to increase the presence of the ministry’s staff on the ground through the integrated development plan in order to eradicate poaching.
The ministry says it is currently working on a range of projects including joint patrols and sharing of information with other staff from conservation authorities in countries like Botswana, Zambia and Angola to combat increased elephant poaching in the region.
“Globally, poaching for ivory is on the increase. We are well aware of this along with recent poaching in our North East Parks,” he said.
The head ranger for Bwabwata East National Park, one of the parks that form part of the NamParks programme in the north east of Namibia, Bollen Zingolo, said that apart from poaching, the park has also experienced its own share of illegal fishing.
“Last month two suspects were fined N$150 for illegal fishing,” he revealed.
Sikopo said since the establishment of the NamParks programme in 2006 by the Namibian and German governments, which includes the establishment of National Parks such as the Bwabwata, Mudumu, Mamili Parks Project, there has been greater control of poaching activities in the areas.
As part of the larger financial agreement between the two countries, the German development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), provided N$60 million to improve the management and infrastructure of the Bwabwata, Mudumu and Nkasa Rupara (BMN) National Parks.
Phase one and two of the project are now complete and a third phase, which will improve planning and infrastructure in Khaudum National Park, will start later this year.
According to the ministry, the size of Kaza TFCA, a mega trans-boundary park to which Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are signatories to the current Kaza treaty, is 440 000 square kilometres.
The five countries have a combined 36 national parks, game reserves, community forests, conservancies and game management areas.
The ministry says there are over 250 000 elephants within the Kaza TFCA.
“So far this year, we only have a total of six elephants that were poached. We have improved on poaching control and we want to send out a strong message to poachers and would-be poachers that those who indulge themselves in such activities will be brought to book and will face the full wrath of the law. We will work hard to make sure these illegal activities are stopped,” Sikopo warned.
He also revealed that apart from other vulnerable animals like antelopes and kudus targeted for their meat, elephants were the main target for poachers. He said part of the ministry’s anti-poaching plan is to increase the presence of the ministry’s staff on the ground through the integrated development plan in order to eradicate poaching.
The ministry says it is currently working on a range of projects including joint patrols and sharing of information with other staff from conservation authorities in countries like Botswana, Zambia and Angola to combat increased elephant poaching in the region.
“Globally, poaching for ivory is on the increase. We are well aware of this along with recent poaching in our North East Parks,” he said.
The head ranger for Bwabwata East National Park, one of the parks that form part of the NamParks programme in the north east of Namibia, Bollen Zingolo, said that apart from poaching, the park has also experienced its own share of illegal fishing.
“Last month two suspects were fined N$150 for illegal fishing,” he revealed.
Sikopo said since the establishment of the NamParks programme in 2006 by the Namibian and German governments, which includes the establishment of National Parks such as the Bwabwata, Mudumu, Mamili Parks Project, there has been greater control of poaching activities in the areas.
As part of the larger financial agreement between the two countries, the German development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), provided N$60 million to improve the management and infrastructure of the Bwabwata, Mudumu and Nkasa Rupara (BMN) National Parks.
Phase one and two of the project are now complete and a third phase, which will improve planning and infrastructure in Khaudum National Park, will start later this year.
According to the ministry, the size of Kaza TFCA, a mega trans-boundary park to which Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are signatories to the current Kaza treaty, is 440 000 square kilometres.
The five countries have a combined 36 national parks, game reserves, community forests, conservancies and game management areas.
The ministry says there are over 250 000 elephants within the Kaza TFCA.
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