Millions paid out for human-wildlife conflict

In 2022, communities in Namibia received a total of just over N$9.27 million in human-wildlife conflict offset payments. According to the 2022 State of Community Conservation in Namibia report, communities across the country coexist with wildlife on a daily basis while endeavouring to raise livestock and crops.The report stated that this interface between wildlife and humans results in human-wildlife conflict.“Human-wildlife conflict is a pressing conservation issue in Namibia, and as the drought continues and climate change impacts increase over time, it is expected that human-wildlife conflict will also increase.”Costly burdenAccording to the report, while conflict will always exist, the aim of mitigation efforts is to reduce conflict and focus on building human-wildlife coexistence through the most effective and efficient methods possible.“The people that live with wildlife bear increased costs of conservation through attacks on livestock, crop damage and loss, damage to infrastructure, human injury and loss of life.”The report noted that a balance is needed between long-term conservation priorities and future generations and the short-term needs of people living with large mammals and predators.Incident reportsThe report pointed out that in the Erongo and Kunene regions, the highest number of incidents were caused by cheetahs, with the second and third highest incidents involving jackals and leopards.The higher overall levels of conflict in Erongo and Kunene are indicative of a long-term drought.In Zambezi, elephants caused the highest number of conflict incidents, mainly through crop damage and loss.In this area, an increased human population leads to encroachment into wildlife areas and contributes to the increase in human-wildlife conflict incidents.The ministry has paid over N$31.7 million since 2019 in offsetting losses caused by human-wildlife conflict, it said at the end of last year.Human populations are expanding and there is an increase in demand for space; consequently, people and wildlife are interacting more and competing more for resources, which can lead to increased human-wildlife conflicts.Policy formulation The ministry has hosted a national conference on human wildlife conflict management, bringing together stakeholders to seek solutions to address the conflict, which has resulted in the formulation of a work plan to guide them moving forward.The environment ministry launched the Human-Wildlife Conflict Policy in 2009 and revised it in 2018. The objective of this policy is to provide national guidelines for the mitigation and facilitation of human-wildlife conflict.The policy allows for the management of human-wildlife conflict in a way that recognises the rights and development needs of local communities, recognises the need to promote biodiversity conservation, promotes self-reliance, and ensures that decision-making is quick, efficient and based on the best available information.

Millions paid out for human-wildlife conflict

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Millions paid out for human-wildlife conflict

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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