Botswana invests in wildlife translocation exercise

Botswana has put measures in place to donate wildlife, particularly elephants and rhinos, to some countries as part of a translocation exercise that first started in 2014. Director in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Bakang Senyatso has indicated that following the recent intention to donate 500 elephants to Mozambique, other countries made requests, which they had accepted. “We have received requests and are finalising the planning and logistics,” he said, noting that the expenses for the translocations would be incurred by both parties. While he could not reveal the cost of the exercise and the beneficiary countries for now, Senyatso made assurances that these translocations would not affect the country’s wildlife population and biodiversity. In Botswana, translocations are often carried out in instances where there is a high rate of human- wildlife conflict and threats of poaching. Botswana has benefited from other countries too, particularly South Africa, following the translocation of the black rhino. The biggest translocation exercise was in 2015, dubbed the Botswana Rhino re- introduction project, spearheaded by Wilderness Safaris and it included Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique. Rhinos have been trans- located to South Africa, and even locally, from the Okavango Delta to Khama Rhino Sanctuary and Khutse Game Reserve, among others. African elephant range states, which Botswana is part of, have since 2014 been working to address elephant conservation through the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan ( AEAP), which was approved at the CITES CoP 15 in Doha, Qatar in 2010. The African Elephant Fund was established to operationalise the implementation of the AEAP, and has to date, raised a little over P30 million, which is still far off the mark for the set target of P1.2 billion. Contributions came from Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, and other countries have pledged commitment to contributing to the Fund. Botswana has also received about P35 million to monitor elephants roaming outside their traditional range. Furthermore, efforts are underway through the Elephant Protection Initiative ( EPI) to fully implement the AEAP, which includes Botswana, Chad, Ethiopia, Gabon, Tanzania, Malawi, Liberia, Uganda, Congo, Angola and Sierra Leone, with a growing number of countries have expressed interest in joining the EPI. The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species Parties agreed at the CITES CoP 17 to continue reporting on stockpiles to develop and implement ivory demand reduction strategies and to close domestic ivory markets. The parties have also been urged to report the seizures and collect samples to ascertain the age and source of the ivory and also secure ivory stockpiles and improve stockpile inventory and monitoring systems. Botswana has also made considerable strides in re- introducing rhinos to the wild following the near extinction of black and white rhinos in the 1980s. The government has indicated that “while South Africa remains a stronghold of the rhino on the continent, there has been an alarming increase in rhino poaching across the continent since 2009, with other 6000 rhinos reported to have been poached.” In his statement on Botswana’s biodiversity efforts at the International Conservation Caucus Foundation, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said Botswana’s conservation policies are widely recognised to be progressive and effective, resulting in the conservation of vast wildlife estate and increasing community involvement in wildlife- based land uses. “This success has been achieved through allowing a blend of protection and sustainable use. While it is recognised that some wildlife population numbers may be falling, the causes of the declines could be a combination of factors that include centralisation of tenure and ownership rights over land and wildlife resources; increasing and persistent demand for wildlife products; increasing human pressures on natural habitat that wildlife depends on, and insistence on continuing traditional practices such as subsistence hunting for socioeconomic reasons.”

While elephant and rhino protection is a high priority for protection due to its vulnerability - wanted for their tusks - the Government has indicated that there is evidence that there is also demand for bushmeat poaching of other wildlife species, as well as animal smuggling, which has spurred the Government to make investments in improving the visibility of monitoring bodies, particularly around border areas.

Botswana also abides by the SADC Law Enforcement and Anti- Poaching Strategy, developed to enhance the ability of SADC members to combat wildlife crime. Furthermore, to support this strategy, the National Anti- Poaching Coordination Unit was set up and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks anti- poaching unit was strengthened with additional manpower to enable improved vigilance.