Hunt for Africa. Ahead of the CITES COP17 meeting to be held in South Africa in September, members of the European Parliament and various stakeholders involved discussed the important relationship between well-regulated international trade legislation and sustainable trophy hunting as a tool. to support communities and conservation in Africa.
Should the EU completely ban imports of trophies from developing countries? This was one of the questions MEPs asked African government officials, international wildlife trade experts and conservationists at the 'Wildlife, use it or lose it?' which was held on January 26 at the European Parliament.
Seeking to dispel prejudices in order to better understand policy options useful for wildlife conservation, the conference chaired by MEP Renata Briano was aimed at discussing the EU's strategic objectives for CITES COP17.
"Trophy hunting is an important economic driver for our country," said the Namibian Minister of the Environment and Tourism, Hon. Pohamba Shifeta. “Our model enables local communities to sustainably manage wildlife with economic incentives directly derived from hunting management. In this regard, initiatives to ban trophy hunting not only represent an unacceptable modern form of moral colonialism, but will have negative effects on our local communities and our wildlife, which will end with the proliferation of poaching. We all must strive to support the benefits of CITES as an appropriate regulatory tool to ensure the sustainable use of wildlife ”.
Shifeta made a final appeal: “We are facing international criminals who want to destroy our wildlife. We need concerted efforts to combat poaching. It will run counter to our joint efforts if decisions are not based on empirical evidence and do not take communities into consideration. We promote sustainable use instead of banning it ”.
The other speakers at the conference stated that in Africa to tolerate the survival of wildlife outside protected areas (and even within) populations must have strong incentives, or ideally understand wildlife as land use. In this regard, trophy hunting is a major industry in parts of Africa, creating incentives for wildlife conservation over large areas, which could otherwise be used for less useful alternative land conservation uses.
Furthermore, it has been argued that trophy hunting gives "conservation value" to large areas of land. For example, over 1,4 million km2 in sub-Saharan Africa are used for trophy hunting, which is more than the state provides for wildlife. This makes trophy hunting valid in large areas where there are no other profitable activities, including areas with little infrastructure, relatively low wildlife densities, and those with political instability.
Regarding wildlife crime, one of the world's biggest threats to biodiversity loss, the speakers identified priorities and actions to address this challenge with a look at the EU's agenda for CITES COP17 . The speakers agreed that the sustainable use of wildlife must be considered as a tool for conservation, economic development and anti-poaching policy, fully recognizing the role of local communities and the international market.
Mrs Renata Briano stressed the importance for policy makers, internationally and locally, to be able to choose the most appropriate political option, moving away from prejudice. “It may seem counterintuitive to many, but well-regulated hunting allows for better wildlife management. In fact, trophy hunting contributes to conservation, effectively combating crime linked to wildlife, so politicians are obliged to consider it among the available policy options ”.