Minister of Tourism Pohamba Shifeta at the National Stakeholders' forum
Since controlling a surge in poaching in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Namibia has experienced comparatively low levels of the illegal killing of wildlife, particularly of rhinos and elephants.
The changes in protected areas and wildlife management policies that followed independence, and the rapid growth of the community-based natural resource management and the conservancy and community forest programme in particular have no doubt contributed to the upward population trends shown by most wildlife species in the country, including rhinos, elephants and pangolins.
However, criminal activities related to wildlife and other natural resources are now expanding and escalating, despite concerted countermeasures. This is as true for Namibia as it is at a global level.
The poaching of rhinos continues to be a major concern, and 2023 saw a slight increase in rhinos poached compared to 2022, with 79 poached in 2022 and 83 in 2023.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, along with its partners, have developed a range of tactical responses to deal with this, and we are hopeful that during the current year we will dismantle key syndicates. Although the data for the past year is not encouraging, I need to acknowledge the work of our staff and operatives on the ground, as well as the Blue Rhino Task Team for the number of pre-emptive arrests of poaching syndicate members who were intercepted before gaining access to rhino areas, including the Etosha National Park. These efforts have certainly prevented the killing of a significant number of rhinos.
Pangolin seizures showed a sharp increase during 2023, following a significant decline in 2022. The drop in 2022 may be due to the strong sentences handed down during the special court sessions held during the year. Again this challenge has been addressed by the Office of the Prosecutor General, who has planned and is indeed undertaking special courts during the current year. The key drivers to pangolin trafficking are not fully understood, and there are efforts to gain a greater understanding of the illicit trade.
Namibia's elephant population has steadily been increasing and the efforts of the anti-poaching forces in key elephant ranges has ensured minimal poaching incidents during the past year. This is in stark contrast to poaching in neighbouring countries.
We are mindful that continued vigilance is required as illicit ivory trade in the region shows alarming trends. These are demonstrated by the spike in seizures during this reporting period when 102 tusks were seized. Namibia, especially the north-east regions, remains an important transit country for traffickers, but we remain committed to our responsibility of countering this trade no matter the source country of the ivory.
Three significant seizures contributed to almost 60% of tusks seized, and this is as a result of vigilance and intelligence-led operations by inter-agency investigative teams who collaborate with colleagues from neighbouring countries. Further investigation and research regarding the origin of the source and destination of illegal ivory remains a priority.
One of the largest causes for concern during the reporting period has been the dramatic increase in the trafficking of live plants for the international ornamental plant market. This worrying trend has been apparent for the past few years, but I am pleased to inform you that significant progress has been made in understanding the "nodes and flows" of this trade.
I am even more pleased to share with you the news that an international kingpin from Tanzania was arrested at Opuwo, Namibia, for the possession of the near-endemic Adenia pechuelii plant, or elephant's foot, as it is commonly known. Again this was possible due to the vigilance of local law-enforcement officers and the analytical support from the Blue Rhino Task Team.
This species has high international demand and deserves close attention, along with a few other species, as the real possibility exists that local populations could be wiped out by illegal harvesters.
Poaching can have severe economic implications. As a government we will continue strengthening our efforts in effective crime prevention and law enforcement through the coordination and integration of clusters of activities such as planning, monitoring and adaptive management, a strong and effective presence on the ground, dedicated investigation units that focuses on criminal syndicates and organised crime, use of technology, collaboration between the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the police, the army, the judiciary, the intelligence service, communities, farmers and others, and the training and retraining of our staff members and the operatives on the ground.
Today we are also launching the 2023 National Report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement. This report is a demonstration of Namibia's intersectoral commitment to fight environmental crime with three government agencies forming the integrated focal points of wildlife protection and law enforcement. Besides the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the Namibian Police Force and the Office of the Prosecutor General are working in close cooperation, while the Namibian Defence Force continues to play a unique role within its mandate of defending the state and its resources against threats. Other government agencies play an important role in our inter-agency partnership. These include the Namibia Central Intelligence Service, the Namibia Revenue Agency and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
The Namibian partnership approach includes valued funding partners and other non-government entities along with the private sector making vital contributions to ensure significant positive impacts. The role of communities across the Namibian landscape needs to be acknowledged too.
We place a high value on transparency regarding wildlife crime, and we provide weekly updates on wildlife crime statistics while we give regular updates on rhino and elephant poaching. This report gives context to these weekly reports while the narrative of this report aims to build a greater understanding of the key drivers of environmental crime, as well as the challenges faced by the partnerships and steps taken to counter these.
The prevention and investigation of wildlife crime is time consuming and costly and the partnerships continue to deliver outcomes of which we can collectively be proud. While the investigation of key species is headed by the Blue Rhino Task Team, who have been acknowledged as setting the benchmark for the inter-agency approach, parks and regional ministerial and police teams continue to deliver good outcomes. I am pleased to hear of the close collaboration of these teams and the support of the Namibian Defence Force. Their efforts are evident in this report.
This data-rich report is a collaborative effort, and I need to acknowledge these efforts. Establishing and maintaining Namibia's wildlife crime database has been one of the most noteworthy achievements during the past four or five years. It is the reason why we are able to provide such data-rich detail of wildlife crime investigations and prosecutions. A dedicated team from the intelligence and investigations unit in the ministry and the Blue Rhino Task Team manage and maintain the database, with countless investigators and prosecutors providing data in close to real time.
The data team meets once a week to clean and verify data. This is a monumental effort, and I would like to acknowledge their role in ensuring that Namibia is at the forefront of having a reliable wildlife crime database that is widely recognised in the region and beyond.
Compiling the report has also been a collective effort, and many individuals from the partnership have contributed with the admirable observations and details. Their efforts have been complimented by the insights and elegant pen of Mr Helge Denker. Rooikat kindly coordinated the production, while printing was financed by the German Development Cooperation agency through KfW Development Bank.
Partnerships have long been one of our great conservation strengths. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism expresses its sincere gratitude to its international funding partners, including the German government through KfW, the United States government through the United States Agency for International Development and INL, as well as the Wildcat Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Environment Facility for their continued financial support to achieve the goals we set in the national strategy on wildlife protection and law enforcement.
We thank our own Game Product Trust Fund for the continued intervention and support for wildlife protection and law enforcement. We thank the national and international non-governmental organisations, civil society, community forest and conservancy representatives, rhino custodians, the private sector and the general public for their ongoing commitment to wildlife conservation, under challenging circumstances.
Your work contributes to the prosperity of our wildlife, national parks, the national economy, and our international biodiversity commitments.
As I close, let me thank the men and women on the ground out there, who are protecting our wildlife resources - sometimes not sleeping for an entire night, sometimes walking and running the whole day, working under cold conditions in the open, working in extremely hot conditions, and sometimes working in rainy conditions. It is not an easy job, but they are doing it. Well done to them, wherever they are in this beautiful country of ours.
I thank the Integrated Wildlife Protection Project of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, co-funded by the German government through KfW, for making it possible for our national stakeholders' forum to meet on this important subject matter, which needs all our attention and action.
I also want to once again condemn such ill-intentioned activities of wildlife poaching and call upon those involved to refrain from such activities, or risk the chance of being caught and facing the full wrath of the law.
I now declare the 2024 National Stakeholder Forum on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement officially open, and wish you success in your deliberations.
I also take this opportunity to launch the 2023 National Report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement.
