Botswana leaders in anti-poaching

The United States Congressional delegation which recently toured four Southern African nations to learn about wildlife conservation and regional security issues has rated Botswana as a regional leader in counter-poaching efforts.

In a post-trip analysis interview with the Botswana Press Agency, delegation leader Senator John Flake expressed “serious concerns” about the lack of effective counter-poaching measures in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia, where the syndicated poaching of elephants and rhinos have reached levels as catastrophic as in South Africa.

“Of all four countries we visited in the region, Botswana is doing a great job to counter poaching. In the other countries, we found that poachers are heavily armed and dangerous.

“It is important that strong and credible means to deal with them are put in place.

“In Mozambique, there are areas where some animal species have become extinct,” Flake said in Gaborone.

Botswana was also the regional leader in the implementation of broad efforts in the management of the human-wildlife confl ict, as well as ensuring that communities benefitted directly from the exploitation of wildlife resources through tourism and other consumptive businesses, he said.

While communities living in wildlife areas in Zimbabwe were helping poachers in poisoning the animals, Botswana was different because communities understood their lead role as custodians of the wildlife.

Flake said the rest of the sub-region had a serious problem of cross-border ivory trafficking and trade in live animals and animal products, a situation which he said called for a co-ordinated regional strategy to counter wildlife crimes.

The delegation expressed serious concerns over trafficked minors from Angola and Zimbabwe. – ANA