Wildlife crime prevention high on ministry’s agenda

WINDHOEK – Wildlife crime prevention, law enforcement and human-wildlife conflict are among the top priorities of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

During her budget statement in Parliament last Thursday, Environment Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah requested about N$186 million to fund the Wildlife and Protected Area Management Programme.’The major impacts from this programme will be to increase the legal and protection status of protected areas, expand the protected area network, and increase the ecological integrity as well as biodiversity and tourism value of protected areas,’ she said.The requested funds will also cover conservation of wildlife and habitat-management, farm inspections, community-based natural resources management, regulation of hunting and other utilisations of wildlife, and game monitoring.The ministry needs about N$65 million to conduct research on movement patterns of elephants, lions, spotted hyenas, wild dogs, crocodiles, and buffaloes to develop and implement management plans for priority animal and plant species.Aerial surveys are planned for the Etosha, Mahango, Waterberg and Namib-Naukluft national parks as well as in conservancies.These activities fall under the Protection and Management of Key Species and Natural Resources Programme of the ministry, which aims to improve natural resource base in conservancies, and increase access for formerly disadvantaged Namibians to wildlife that will complement forms of land use.Also under this programme, the ministry will continue to support new product development, for example commercial trade in medicinal plants while protecting indigenous knowledge.The ministry further requested about N$128,6 million for its Community-Based Natural Resource Management, and Gambling and Tourism Development programmes.’The major impacts from this programme will be continued growth in the tourism sector, increased revenues to the State, employment creation, community participation and ownership in tourism enterprises on communal land, and improved service delivery,’ the minister said.-Nampa