Namibia has revised its human-wildlife conflict policy and will now compensate families of people killed by wild animals including crocodile and hippos with up to 100,000 Namibian dollars ($8,297).
According to statistics provided by the ministry of environment and tourism, nine people were killed by wild animals in 2016, and six in 2017.
In 2018, four people have so far been killed, three by crocodiles and the other by a hippo.
However in an interesting twist of events, the government has issued a disclaimer on those to receive compensation.
The environment minister Pohamba Shifeta says ”we will not pay N$100 000 for people killed by crocodiles and hippos while swimming or bathing in rivers, because that situation can be avoided”.
The minister further urged parents, traditional and community leaders to warn children against swimming and bathing in rivers as this puts their lives in danger of being attacked and killed by crocodiles and hippos.
While launching a conservancy dedicated to elephants and crocodiles in the Kavango West Region, Shifeta welcomed the community’s co-operation in establishing the conservancy saying they stand to benefit economically from the revenue that accrues from wildlife tourism.
The human-wildlife conflict policy was drawn up after a consultative workshop in February 2017 and makes provision for the establishment and implementation of technical solutions to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
