Africa-Press – Namibia. President Nangolo Mbumba has called for the collaboration of member countries within the Kavango Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA) to address the challenge of illegal hunting, particularly of elephants and rhinos, in Africa.
The president made these remarks at the KAZA Summit in Livingstone, Zambia, which aims to review and track progress of KAZA-TFCA since the establishment of the programme.
“Illegal hunting, especially that of elephants and rhinos remains a challenge on the continent. The protection of wildlife essentially involves crime prevention and there is an urgent need for government and communities to work together to strengthen measures for crimeprevention in order to protect our wildlife. Collaboration in this regard, particularly through joint intelligence operations is therefore imperative,” he said.
President Mbumba added that within the context of KAZA, Namibia is actively participating in various efforts coordinated by the KAZA Secretariat to disrupt illegal wildlife trade and poaching.
The president also emphasized that to continue making progress in the sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage resources for environmental conservation and socio-economic development, KAZA member countries need to create effective synergies to generate mutual benefits for all.
“I therefore call upon ourselves as partner countries to allocate adequate human and financial resources in order to attain the goals and objectives of the Kavango Zambezi Trans Frontier Conservation Area. I believe that through concerted efforts, we will strengthen the Kavango Zambezi Trans Frontier Conservation Area initiative and ensure it yields fruitful impact and results for many years to come,” the president said.
President Mbumba also emphasised that KAZA-TFCA is an important regional conservation and development program that seeks to use sustainable tourism to promote rural development in the participating countries. He commended the progress made regarding this program.
“Namibia has made significant strides towards protecting fragile ecosystems. Presently, 44% of our country’s total surface area is classified as protected areas, conservancies, tourism concession areas and game farms, in line with our environmental conservation laws.
Namibia’s unique conservation program is comprised of 86 registered conservancies and 43 community forests, covering 180,083 square kilometres and over 227,802 residents,” he highlighted.
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