Kikwete: Govt will insist on responsible hunting

2006-06-22 09:30:24
By Patrick Kisembo


The government has said it will only allow responsible hunting that is ecologically?friendly and economically sustainable.

The remark was given by President Jakaya Kikwete on Tuesday during a fund raising gala dinner organised by the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam.

Kikwete admitted: ’’I am a conservationist at heart. I am one of your own. I love nature because I believe all of us are made of nature and we are sustained by it. In this regard, conservation of nature including flora and fauna is for our own good.’’

He said his love for nature did not entail denial of others to consume the products of nature including hunting wildlife.

’’But I support responsible hunting that takes into account the cardinal tenets of wildlife conservation,’’ said president Kikwete.

He said the government was happy to learn that there was an increased awareness within the hunting community for the sustainability of the industry.

He said the government was ready to work with the industry to ensure that the objectives are realised.

’’If people benefit form conservation or hunting they become the best guardians against poaching and other forms of destruction of wildlife and its habitat.

’’If they do not, they can easily become part of the forces of destruction or apathetic to the destruction or simply a people condoning such acts,’’ he noted.

In another move he said the government was also committed to maintain the size of the wildlife protected areas in the country.

The President added: ’’We do so with keen awareness that the existence of sizable wild animal populations is good indicator of the availability of a healthy natural environment.’’

He said, however, that it was not an easy task for the government alone to achieve effective management of the size of wildlife protected areas.

’’We must admit that it is a daunting task to achieve effective management in these vast areas using government resources alone,’’ said Kikwete.

He told the gathering that the government was aware of the relationship between economic growth and environmental conservation.

’’We are of the view that the two aspirations can be pursued simultaneously without compromising each other,’’ noted Kikwete, adding: the country’s historic environmental protection obligations are embedded in the national policies and programmes particularly the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSDRP)/MKUKUTA.

Tanzania has approximately 38 per cent of its land area designated for wildlife protection and conservation.

SOURCE: Guardian

So,...what is he really saying behind all of the mumbo jumbo?

Good things are happening to our industry. To date, since his election, the president has "shaken" the civil service and stood firm on his promise to clean up essential state services. His "no nonsense" approach with his own government has been a breath fo fresh air.

One of the most important directive he has given is to instruct the Director of Wildlife to implement a system of "honorary wardens" whereby employees of hunting companies (and other stakeholders) that are involved with Anti-poaching will have similar power of arrest and prosecution as a Wildlife dpt game scout. These individuals will have to go through a specific course on the law, etc and then they are legit. This will allow those companies that carry out anti-poaching efforts to be more efficient and more cost effective.

I believe this is the catalyst for a much needed cleaning -up exercise that will cover the entire industry.

Sounds good so far. Hopefully Kenya follows their sothern neigbours on wild life management.

President Kibaki vetoed the bill that came before him last year. However with the evidence presented it will be just a matter of time. Special interest groups have a strangle hold on the Kenyan government and their "investment" in Kenya as a poster child for non hunting safari's will be tough to break.