Less tourists without elephants—Germany
Germany has urged Malawi Government to put in place measures that will deter poachers from wiping out iconic species such as elephants and rhinos as the country would not be able to attract tourists without them.
Speaking during the launch of the Development of National Elephant Action Plan for Malawi in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Deputy Head for Development Cooperation at the German Embassy Kerstine Henke said his country will continue giving financial assistance to countries such as Malawi to fight poachers and help in preserving biodiversity.
Said Henke: “At the moment, Germany is one of the biggest supporters of biodiversity and provides 500 million euros annually for the protection and sustainable management of ecosystems and wildlife support worldwide.
“We are also actively addressing the protection of shared ecosystems by providing support for the establishment of the Sadc regional anti-poaching strategy and the Malawi-Zambia Tran frontier Conservation Area or the Selous Niassa Wildlife Corridor.
“Malawi, Tanzania and other neighbouring countries are of primary importance in the global strategy to tackle illicit wildlife trafficking as both source and, especially important for Malawi, as a transit country.”
Such is the rate of poaching taking place in Malawi that it is estimated that by 2025, the country’s entire elephant population could be wiped out.
To illustrate the seriousness of poaching, Kasungu National Park had over 2 000 elephants in the late 1980s to early 1990s but its population is currently below 50.
According to Henke, illegal wildlife trade and environmental crime is now estimated to be worth US$70–213 billion annually and this means that illegal trade is depriving developing economies of billions of dollars in lost revenues and lost development opportunities while benefiting only a very small number of criminal organisations and individuals.
Henke commended government for acknowledging that poaching levels have increased in all African sub-regions whereby iconic species such as elephants and rhino have fallen victim and the country is taking steps to arrest this development.
“This is very commendable because government is having in mind, among others, the vision of bringing more tourists to Malawi and to contribute to the overall development of the country. To stop illegal ivory trafficking and poaching and to protect biodiversity is an important policy goal of the German government,” said Henke.
Director of Tourism in the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Culture Patricia Liabuba concurred with Henke that it would be very difficult for Malawi to attract tourists without the ‘big five’.
The big five is group of wild animals which includes elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos and buffalos.
She said: “Most tourists who come to this part of Africa are attracted because of the prospect of seeing the big five. So, if poachers continue killing the elephants the way they are doing now, we will be at a huge disadvantage as tourists will be visiting countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Zambia and we will have no revenue to promote tourism.”
Among the organisations which attended the meeting include Stop Ivory of UK who also provided financial support to the process, the Wildlife Conservation Society (UK), the Royal Society for the Protection and Care for Animals International (UK) and several local players in the tourism sector.
