On People And Predators
IT is a complete shame that we’re hearing about lions and other predators being killed in various ways in Namibia. I’m personally surprised by the way the conservation and tourism industries react to such incidents.
Yes it is inhumane to kill animals by poisoning them, but it is not less so than killing with a hunting rifle. We need to look at this issue much deeper. When Namibia was being cut up in farmlands, the local ethnic groups were either massacred or uprooted and pushed into infertile, inhospitable areas and the same applied when the National Parks were being created. Today we have a continuous demand for land by the tourism industry to create a larger playing ground for the tourists and the tourism industry is now turning to the already small communal areas. The locals are told of the wonderful benefits (which they never get to see) they will draw from having predators in their areas but they don’t seem to realise that you can’t dictate terms for a predator. If this was such a wonderful idea, why don’t we have some of those capitalist commercial farmers practising such farming methods and drawing benefits just like the communal farmers are supposed to? We have small pieces of land for the poor rural communities, but they are being coerced into agreeing to projects and conditions that are never meant to benefit them but only those who are pushing for them. Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania was started by the British, by bringing dangerous animals in the area inhabited by the people and therefore forcing the people out of those areas. Is this the game being played by the Desert Lion Project with the support of Wilderness Safaris, Okahirongo Lodge and many other companies with vested interest in this venture?
When one analyses the recent killings of the lions, it is a clear indication that the people are fed up with the situation. When one’s livestock is killed by a predator, one gets no compensation. My question to all in the conservation and tourism industry therefore is: What is the incentive for the locals to tolerate predators in their areas? Is it not a mistake to allow them to live within the same area as our people? A young man from Sesfontein was killed and eaten by a lion about two years ago. What did the conservation or the likes of Diethelm Metzger say? When does the protection of the environment come into conflict with the protection of the people? Who is there to protect the local people? We speak about home ranges for wild animals but do we know the home range for a Damara, Riemvasmaker, Herero, Himba or an Ovambo? Or don’t they matter?
Where and when will we draw the line on continuous expansion of animal ranges in poor, rural and communal Namibia? The people are not at fault in living in those areas, they simply have no other place to go. It is easy for the tourist to go and appreciate the animals like lions in the rural areas and return to the safety of their homes in towns and cities, but it will be a different matter when you’re losing out as result of this irreconcilable association that is victimising you at all times.
Is the grand plan, to make the whole of Rural Namibia an amusement park by 2030 or what? This issue need to be addressed in earnest if we don’t want to marginalise our people further.
Concerned Namibian
Via e-mail
Note: We hope there will be a reaction from the conservation community on this crucial issue - Ed