Trophy hunting an integral part of Namibia's conservation strategy: minister

Namibia's Minister of Environment Pohamba Shifeta has said that trophy hunting is an integral part of the country's conservation strategy and the broader economy as it is the country's lifeline for the rural communities.

Shifeta said this at the occasion of the 13th conference of the Parties to the United nations convention on Biological Diversity in Mexico on Sunday.

In a statement seen by Xinhua on Monday, Shifeta said community conservation, tourism based on the sustainable use of wildlife, particularly trophy hunting, is the leading income source for communal conservancies.

"Trophy hunting, or conservation hunting as we prefer to call it, is a key pillar of our broader approach to the conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources," he said.

According to Shifeta, Namibia has been able to establish a comprehensive and interlinked network of protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity, which now covers over 45 percent of the country.

"It is Namibia's view that it is not enough just to conserve wildlife in isolation in protected areas but that we must manage and utilize it with the full involvement of our communities and for the benefit of our people, economy and environment," he added.

Meanwhile, Shifeta said that, without hunting, wildlife will not remain a viable form of land use in rural Namibia, and may be replaced by other forms of land uses more damaging to our ecosystems. Endit