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Emmanuel Koro, [email protected]

British Parliamentarians together with Botswana’s former President Ian Khama are again hell-bent on killing Botswana’s successful international hunting-supported conservation and development model.

They are lobbying for the revival of the proposed British Government hunting trophies imports ban Bill that was not passed in the House of Lords last year.

Other Southern African hunting countries will also be negatively impacted if the Bill is passed this time.

Meanwhile, the spotlight is on Botswana whose former President Ian Khama harmed Botswana’s wildlife by imposing an international hunting ban that cut-off international hunting income for communities and triggered wildlife revenge killings from 2014 to 2019.

This time Botswana hunting communities fear that Mr Khama might repeat the same harm as he has allegedly held meetings with British parliamentarians “supporting their lobby” to revive the hunting trophies imports ban Bill that will harm all hunting countries worldwide, including Botswana.

This has drawn anger and protests from the Botswana hunting communities.

“He (Mr Ian Khama) is crazy,” said Botswana Chieftainess Rebecca Banika of the Pandamentenga/Paleka hunting community which was paid over half-a- million United States dollars in late 2023, for international hunting quotas for the April 1 2024 to September 30 2024 hunting season. 

“He is not concerned with the welfare of the community as we noted during his 2014 to 2019 international hunting ban that he imposed on Botswana during his presidency and poachers enriched themselves while hunting communities and our wildlife suffered.”

Meanwhile, a press statement from the Khama Foundation recently said Mr Khama was in London being “hosted by several members of the House of Commons in their quest to persuade the British Government to adopt and enact into law, a bill to ban trophy hunting, in the context of promoting animal welfare.”

The Khama Foundation revealed that Mr Khama was also holding “one-on-one meetings” with British parliamentarians on the British Government’s revival of the trophies imports ban Bill and one of his main meetings was with Conservative Party’s Sir Roger Gale who is the chairman of an anti-international hunting All-Party Group Parliamentary Group.

The Khama Foundation said Mr Khama “is recognised by both governments and conservation establishments across the globe, for his commitment and advocacy for animal welfare.”

“No one should listen to him,” said Chieftainess Banika, referring to Mr Khama who is currently in exile in South Africa. “He doesn’t represent the Botswana Government nor the country’s hunting communities.”

Chieftainess Banika is not the only one angered and protesting against Mr Khama’s lobby to revive the British hunting trophies imports Ban Bill that is set to be read in the British Parliament on Friday, March 22, 2024.

A Press statement issued by the Ngamiland Council of non-governmental Organisations (NCONGO), co-signed by 18 Botswana hunting communities and NGOs protesting Mr Khama’s joint lobby last month, with British parliamentarians to revive the hunting trophies imports Ban Bill said, “The communities view the former President’s lobbying efforts to persuade the British government to enact a bill banning trophy hunting as a misguided and counterproductive approach.

“The proposed ban overlooks the complex dynamics of wildlife conservation in Botswana and fails to take into account the perspectives and needs of the local communities who have been actively involved in conserving wildlife for years.

“The communities express concerns that a ban on trophy hunting could exacerbate existing tensions between humans and wildlife, potentially leading to negative perceptions towards wildlife conservation.

“Such negative perceptions could undermine Botswana’s efforts to achieve sustainable development goals (UN sustainable development goals), particularly if the hunting trophies (import Prohibition) Bill is passed without considering the local communities’ perspectives.”

Under Botswana’s successful conservation and development model known as community-based natural resources management (CBNRM), eight Botswana hunting communities were directly paid a total of more than US$2 million late last year, for the 2024 hunting season which starts on April 1 and ends on September 30.

These communities also have significant amounts of money in their bank accounts and continue to invest some of the money into conservation and community development projects.

“The communities decide what they want to do with the money without interference,” said the NCONGO Chief Executive Officer, Mr Siyoka Simasiku, showing that Botswana has democratised natural resources management.

“The Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area 2023 elephant survey established that Botswana has the largest elephant population in the world (131 000), yet its carrying capacity is only 50 000.”

The Botswana hunting communities use international hunting income to significantly support community conservation and socio-economic development projects. These include employing community game scouts to protect wildlife from poachers, supporting students with bursaries, buying grinding/hammer mills, erecting electric perimeter fences to protect crop fields from wildlife damage, investing hunting revenue into agricultural projects, habitat conservation, building mortuaries, churches, roads, solar power supply, water supply, buying ambulances, constructing community shops/stores and building up-market lodges that contribute towards employment creation.

Botswana hunting communities arguably earn the largest payments from international hunting, compared to other southern African hunting communities’ earnings and would be the biggest losers if the ongoing international hunting bans threats worldwide, including the UK hunting trophies import ban Bill, succeed.

From 2014 to 2019, former President of Botswana, Ian Khama banned international hunting in the southern African country, without consulting the local hunting communities.

This triggered the local hunting communities’ wildlife revenge killings that included a shocking incident in which four lions were poisoned and died in one day.

This later developed into a country-wide wildlife revenge killings crisis which was stopped by current President Mogkweetsi Masisi, when he was elected President of Botswana in 2019. He immediately lifted the Khama international hunting ban, sending local hunting communities into wild celebrations.

Now, the hunting communities are worried that the ban on trophy hunting imports will progressively diminish the current significant benefits from international hunting and the conservation attitudes will “inevitably shift to poaching” as the costs of co-existing with wildlife outweigh the benefits.

If international hunting bans are imposed, all the hunting projects not only in Botswana but in other southern African hunting countries will stop,” said Chieftainess Banika. 

“Once people realise that they are no longer benefiting from their wildlife, they will resort to poaching and other means of retaliating like the use of poison on problem animals which will exterminate the species, even those that aren’t in conflict with humans like the vultures.”

She said all hell would break loose as the once absolute conservationists would be turned into absolute poachers or collaborators with poaching gangs.

The communities said in the NCONGO press statement that they “fear that the lobbying efforts of the former President (Mr Khama) could undo the progress made by Botswana communities, the government, conservation experts from the University of Botswana and international organisations in promoting sustainable wildlife management practices.”

Meanwhile, the Botswana hunting communities are appealing for “a more inclusive and balanced approach to wildlife conservation that takes into account the needs and perspectives of local communities who are directly impacted by conservation policies and decisions.”

“In our united stance, we firmly assert that dismissing the potential community benefits of trophy hunting without directly engaging with the communities involved, reflects an attitude of superiority that contradicts the shared commitment to ensuring the future conservation of the planet,” said the NCONGO press statement. 

“We stand united in our dedication to both the welfare of our communities and the conservation of our invaluable natural resources.”

ν About the writer: Emmanuel Koro is a Johannesburg-based international award-winning journalist who writes independently on environmental and developmental issues in Africa.