A local safari guide Oaitse Nawa has formed a non-governmental organization called Elephants Protection Society which strives
to prevent deadly contacts between communities with elephants.
The organisation incorporated this year aims to create a pleasant environment between animals and humans to safeguard human life and
conservations ideals.
The organization formation comes as the country and the
district continue to experience incidents of human deaths caused by elephants.
Nawa’s organisation aims to prevent this worrying trend. “I have been active in Boro area scaring
elephants away from becoming in to contact with farmers in the area. This is a
dry period and therefore competition for water resources between wildlife and
humans is expected to increase.’
‘Majority of people affected by the increasing movements of
elephants into the farm areas is mostly the poor farmers who do not have the
means to fend for themselves. These are the people who need help for elephants
to be chased back into the protection areas set for them.’
Nawa continued: ‘people these days are no longer free to
visit their cattle posts freely as it used to happen in the past years. This can
affect food security at a family and even at the national level and therefore
our organization aims to help the situation.’
He explained that currently the Department of Wildlife and
National Parks is this on the ground as the Anti-Poaching is incapacitated to
even drive the elephants back from farming areas on a regular basis. Nawa
explained that recently he has been singularly driving elephants in Boro and in
Botshabelo just behind the Maun airport. ‘Part of the problem we have is that
DWNP is failing to drive away elephants from contact with humans.’
Nawa said his organization will soon be launched saying part
of the launch activities will including a walk to raise funds to sink boreholes
in protected to prevent elephants from going into human settlements in search
for water.
