The Herero – from the great lakes of East Africa
March 8, 2017
The San – Namibia’s earliest inhabitants
March 9, 2017
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Compiled Sanet van Zijl | Photo Paul van Schalkwyk[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Namibia’s elephant population is increasing, yet cases of human-wildlife conflict have been declining compared to previous years.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I n Namibia people and large animals, like elephants, co-exist in many places. These animals are a unique tourism asset, but they often negatively affect the livelihoods of some individuals. Recent years of crippling drought lead to an increase in incidents of human-wildlife conflict where animals destroyed water sources and crops in order to quell their hunger and thirst. Even with the increase of events due to drought, overall a decrease in conflicts has been noted.
Namibia has the third largest elephant population in Africa comprising 22 754 elephants, making up about 12% of southern Africa’s elephant population.
Comparing the data of increasing elephant populations with that of incidents of conflict, the expectation was that an increase in one would naturally lead to an increase in the other. This, however, is not the case. Statistics have shown that although elephant numbers have increased in the northern areas of Namibia, the number of conflict incidents have surprisingly decreased.
The 22 754 elephants are spread out over an area of 164 069 square kilometres. The majority of the elephants occur in the Zambezi Region where about 13 116 elephants live. Most of the human-elephant conflict cases take place here. An estimated 11 372 events were reported in this area over a period of 15 years.
There are about 4149 elephants in Khaudum National Park and Kavango and 2911 in Etosha National Park. The Nyae-Nyae Communal Conservancy has about 2264 and the Kunene Region 314. The minority of Namibian elephants are found in the Mangetti area. Only about 90 elephants have been observed here since 2016.
The elephant population has been growing slowly, but surely, amidst the poaching crisis. In 1995 the total number of elephants in the country stood at 7 600 and currently it is at 22 000. This is exactly the opposite of what is happening in the majority of African countries.
Data collected over the past 15 years indicate that the Zambezi Region is a high risk area for human-elephant conflict. The Kunene Region has had 3113 cases of conflict recorded between 2001 and 2016 – the second largest number of conflict incidents in the country. The Omusati Region is third on the list with 777 cases reported over the past 15 years. Kavango Region takes fourth place with 304 incidents from 2007 to 2014.
In the Otjozondjupa Region 183 cases have been reported in the two years from 2013-2015. In the Oshikoto Region 142 events were reported from 2010-2014. In the Erongo Region only 84 incidents were reported in 15 years and the least number of incidents occurred in the Omaheke Region where only 6 cases were reported from 2010-2012.
It could be that the number of conflict events seem to have decreased, because not all cases are being reported or perhaps elephant populations are being over- or underestimated. It could also be that measures to prevent human-wildlife conflict are finally working…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
