San oppose the introduction of livestock farming at Tsumkwe

TWO Government Ministries appear to have conflicting policies on the utilisation of an area between the veterinary cordon fence and Aasvoëlnes in the Tsumkwe area of the Otjozondjupa Region.

This 10 000-square-kilometre area forms the N#a Jaqna Conservancy. The conservancy was gazetted three years ago and at the moment the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and some non-governmental organisations are reintroducing wild animals, developing water sources and training game guards.But recently, the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement proposed that livestock farming be introduced in the area, a move that has been condemned by the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (Wimsa).”The ground water is not enough to sustain farmed animals, especially cattle.Over-grazing land would endanger the traditional way of life, even the survival of local San families,” Wimsa said in a statement last week.This, argued Wimsa, would undermine work to reintroduce game, “which will bring in large income to the conservancy from hunting.”Wimsa says it resists any plan to take away these benefits from local people by introducing farming in the area and insists that local people should have the final say.”Their interests will be harmed by an influx of people from other areas bringing cattle,” it added.Wimsa and the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) have written to the Government to express their concern about the farming proposal.”It is a great alarm and concern to the local people,” Michael Stark, who heads Wimsa’s Namibia Support Unit, told The Namibian at the end of last week.Lands Deputy Minister Isak Katali has declined to comment on the allegations.He said he could only do so if Wimsa raised its concerns with him in writing.Katali said he was not aware of any letter written to Government on the issue.Conservancies in Namibia are being established under The Environment Ministry’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme, which gives rights to communities to manage and benefit from natural resources in their areas.At the moment there are 44 registered conservancies in Namibia.The conservancy was gazetted three years ago and at the moment the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and some non-governmental organisations are reintroducing wild animals, developing water sources and training game guards.But recently, the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement proposed that livestock farming be introduced in the area, a move that has been condemned by the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (Wimsa).”The ground water is not enough to sustain farmed animals, especially cattle.Over-grazing land would endanger the traditional way of life, even the survival of local San families,” Wimsa said in a statement last week.This, argued Wimsa, would undermine work to reintroduce game, “which will bring in large income to the conservancy from hunting.”Wimsa says it resists any plan to take away these benefits from local people by introducing farming in the area and insists that local people should have the final say.”Their interests will be harmed by an influx of people from other areas bringing cattle,” it added.Wimsa and the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) have written to the Government to express their concern about the farming proposal.”It is a great alarm and concern to the local people,” Michael Stark, who heads Wimsa’s Namibia Support Unit, told The Namibian at the end of last week.Lands Deputy Minister Isak Katali has declined to comment on the allegations.He said he could only do so if Wimsa raised its concerns with him in writing.Katali said he was not aware of any letter written to Government on the issue.Conservancies in Namibia are being established under The Environment Ministry’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme, which gives rights to communities to manage and benefit from natural resources in their areas.At the moment there are 44 registered conservancies in Namibia.