WINDHOEK, April 15 — At least 33 people were killed and 54 others injured due to the human-wildlife conflict (HWC) in Namibia since 2019, a government official said Thursday.
“Within the period, the Ministry has administered 33 claims for loss of life, of which 15 were in 2022 and four so far in 2023, with crocodiles, hippos and elephants being the main culprits,” Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta told the National Assembly during an update on the current status of HWC in the country, adding that 54 people were injured within the same period, including 15 in 2022 and three in 2023 to date.
The incidents due to HWC mainly involve infrastructure damages, livestock losses, crop damages, and in some unfortunate incidences loss of lives and injuries to people, Shifeta said.
In terms of crop damages since 2019, around 2,637 hectares were destroyed by wild animals, while 270 hectares were destroyed in 2022 and 60 hectares so far in 2023 mainly by elephants, Shifeta said. “Since 2019, a total of 862 livestock were killed by predators mainly crocodiles, hyenas, lions, wild dogs, leopards and jackals, of which 204 were recorded in 2022 and nine in 2023 to date.”
“To manage and address the impact of HWC, the ministry has developed the national policy initially implemented in 2009 and revised in 2018,” he said, adding that the policy provides specific interventions to manage specific conflicts in different areas.
According to Shifeta, the ministry has since 2019 paid offset amounts to losses caused by wild animals amounting to 24 million Namibia dollars (about 1.3 million U.S. dollars).
“The Ministry will host a national conference in May, where stakeholders will dissect the issue of human-wildlife conflict and propose a long-lasting solution to address it,” he said. (Xinhua)
