WILD BW: BOTSWANA ELEPHANT MANAGEMENT PLAN REVIEW: IT’S YOUR CALL RRE BATSHABANG

Oshinka Tsiang

Forget Wynter Mmolotsi, forget Abigail Khumoyame, the spotlight this week is on Moemi Batshabang, the Director of Wildlife and National Parks. He is the man whose responsibility it is to put his finger on the upcoming Elephant Management Plan and plan of action that will emerge post a stake holders’ workshop in Maun.  Whether he will stay long enough in the civil service to see through its implementation is debatable. Odds are he may not. But be that as it may, the plan he will be presenting for the next five years demands robust thinking in the face of a complex environment in which the elephant numbers are not relenting. The habitat they require keeps shrinking. The elements are conspiring to unleash a drought of biblical proportions and communities continue to be denied maximum benefits from their wildlife. And these are only domestic issues. Internationally, the usual suspects are reaching crescendo pitch in their chorus against hunting. So as stakeholders from across the country and abroad are meeting in Maun this week to review the Botswana Elephant Management Plan and Plan of Action 2021-2026, we will all be looking at Batshabang in his usual smiley demeanour to pull a rabbit out of the bag and give us a plan that will keep us ahead of the curve in elephant conservation, resolving human wildlife conflict, community beneficiation and silencing our detractors. The gathering is expected to come up with recommendations on the way forward for the next five years. This is not your normal workshop because it deals with one of the most controversial, highly emotive resource in this country. As we all know, Botswana is home to the world’s largest number of elephants-approximately one hundred and sixty thousand. This is a blessing and a curse in equal measure.  A blessing because it speaks to the phenomenal success that this country has achieved in protecting and multiplying a species that has all been rendered extinct in other parts of the continent.  A blessing because of its iconic status that attracts thousands of visitors who pay good money to come and enjoy the sight or to hunt. In short a major tourist attraction which supports our economy. On the down side, it is a curse because of the devastation and misery it continues to cause when it comes into conflict with people. The ecological damage it causes on the environment as the numbers explode is yet to be accurately quantified. The negative noise it attracts from animal lovers across the globe who squirm at the suggestion of hunting in the name of sport and conservation. It is for these reasons that the plan, which is now being reviewed having been in place since March 2021, had as its vision, “to conserve optimal elephant populations while ensuring the maintenance of habitats and biodiversity, promoting the contribution of elephants to local economies and to National development while minimising their negative impacts on rural livelihoods.” The plan targeted three areas, maintaining viable populations of elephants in Botswana through minimal interference and where necessary by adaptive management, ensuring that elephant populations do not adversely impact on biodiversity conservation goals and community livelihood goals and involving all sectors to realise the full economic potential of elephants and other wildlife resources outside the protected areas through sustainable utilisation. The review will be taking stock of how these targets have been met if at all. A lot has happened since the plan was first put in place. Four Ministers have overseen the plan, three Permanent Secretaries, and at least two Directors of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks which is the implementing department. Not to mention the small matter of a change of government after sixty eight years of rule by the same party. Still, the one constant has been the growth in the number of elephants, the conflict with human beings and among human beings over the elephants and the controversies over beneficiation. With the first, it is clear that the elephants continue to expand their habitat south ward every year. The Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, the Gantsi and Kgalagadi area, parts of the Kweneng, Kgatleng, and Southern districts are becoming familiar territory for the elephants. It is not by accident that annual quotas for elephant hunting are no longer confined to the traditional areas of Ngamiland, Chobe, Bobirwa and North East. The next plan cannot ignore this. The impact on livelihoods and the ecology of these areas by this growth can no longer be ignored.

Human elephant conflict is still a major concern, if not growing exponentially. The review must unequivocally and honestly reveal the numbers and the extent of the conflict. It must honestly demonstrate mitigations, their successes and short comings. In the final analysis, this is the most critical part. It is tempting to highlight the economic value of live elephants at the expense of traumatized, maimed or extinguished lives. It is easy to glorify and romanticize the principle of “co-existence” as if an elephant’s life can be weighed on the same scale as a human life. The fact is, human lives come first. The next plan must embrace this principle. Only then can people living alongside these animals continue to be at the forefront of conservation.

The review also comes amidst disturbing circumstances surrounding hunting quotas at NG13 and CT27. The former involves a controversy over control of the trust and assets thereof including hunting licenses that have led to legal battles. A President has had to intervene for the community to get their quota. Even that hasn’t been enough. It seems powerful and moneyed forces are defying the President and a court order to frustrate the community and thus impacting on beneficiation. With the latter, again the hidden hand of money appears to be manipulating communities into accepting a deal that is way less than their quota at CT27 is worth. In view of these and other concerns, the review must explore a standardized approach to setting value to these assets to guide communities in their drive to benefit from elephants. These are issues that concern Rre Batshabang as he grapples with this plan.

The review comes at a time when the vision of a “goose” that is called tourism looms large in the national economic horizon. The plan under review has seen elephants as being at the heart of tourism. A premium has since been placed on land that hosts these species and there is consequently a jostling for control of this resource, threatening to undermine the peace this country has enjoyed over the six decades of its existence. This review cannot afford to ignore these claims. It nevertheless must synergize a proposition that addresses the bigger picture.  A picture that embraces our collective accountability as a nation to the assets that our forefathers have bequeathed to their posterity. A picture that places communities which live alongside these animals as the front liners, and thus the first among equals when it comes to the beneficiation from these assets. A picture that makes no apology for making Botswana’s interest come first, in the global context and that understands that no outsider, no matter how well meaning, can protect our interests better than we can.

 The review also comes at a time when there is a ramping up of the noise by the anti-hunting brigade. We learnt recently that an organisation backed by scores of privileged unelected elite has launched a petition to the international community and requisite bodies to ban trophy hunting. The figures backing this move include, movie stars, sporting icons, musical artists, writers, and former heads of States including our own Kgosi Seretse Khama Ian Khama, the Roman Catholic Church, the Dalai Lama and other persons of interest. They apparently want the United Nations to ban hunting. The review cannot ignore these voices. But it cannot equally be held captive by these noises to the detriment of Botswana’s interests.

And finally, this review comes at a time when there are reports of a looming drought which will undoubtedly impact on the elephants and their movements. The action plan that accompanies the management plan must address this. It must also acknowledge that many species will be under pressure which will lead to quite a number of deaths. A lot can be saved however, just as past droughts have not led to extinction of the species. The plan must instill hope and not doom. Now I know that such a plan is a collective effort. But hey, there’s only one signature on the dotted line and it will be Rre Batshabang. The world is watching sir.  Do us proud.