PRESIDENT Mnangagwa arrived in Botswana yesterday for the Kasane
Elephant Summit which is expected to bring together three other Heads of State
whose countries are part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area
to discuss a common policy towards the management of jumbos.
He was received at Kasane International Airport by the host
country’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Ms Unity Dow,
and Tourism, Environment and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira.
The President was accompanied by Acting Minister of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade Ambassador Cain Mathema, who is also the
Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage.
The summit kicks off today. Presidents Mokgweetsi Masisi
(Botswana), Edgar Lungu (Zambia) and Juao Lourenco (Angola) are also expected to attend the summit.
Minister Mupfumira and her Permanent Secretary, Mr Munesu
Munodawafa, are already here for this inaugural summit which has generated
intense debate with most non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Western
media criticising countries in the region over alleged wanton poaching of
wildlife.
The summit is expected to generate better understanding of
elephant management and associated challenges from the view of Southern Africa,
which is home to the world’s largest elephant population.
The leaders will discuss the impact of wildlife on humans,
legal and illegal trade in elephant products with the aim of generating
concrete interventions to address challenges posed.
Kasane lies in a riverine woodland at the meeting point of
four countries that are part of the KAZA TFCA countries, namely Botswana,
Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The four countries have the largest elephant
population in Africa.
The summit will also be attended by ministers, KAZA, NGOs,
conservation organisations, wildlife researchers, donors and philanthropists to
raise awareness on the current state of elephants in Southern Africa.
The summit will also share ideas and explore ways of
curbing, poaching of elephants and illegal trade of elephant products.
The African elephant has been a subject of discussion on
international meetings such as the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The conditions for trade in elephants and their products
has been a subject of acrimonious debate with stringent conditions being
imposed on those whose populations are on CITES Appendix II. Herald
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