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GREEN Party president Peter Sinkamba has expressed concern over the decision by Government to lift the ban on big cat hunting in the country.
Tourism and Arts Minister Jean Kapata last week announced the lifting of the ban on cat hunting in the country on account that it greatly affected the wildlife resource livelihoods of local authorities in game management Areas.
But Mr Sinkamba said in a statement in Kitwe yesterday that the decision by Government to lift the ban on hunting lions and leopards was wrong.
He said the ban was initiated when conservationists warned that a wildlife population, especially in the cat family, was facing a greater threat than at any time since the 1980s.
“We all know that the number of lions and other big cat species in Zambia’s major parks is depleted and limited due to poaching and other anthropogenic activities,” Mr Sinkamba said.
He said the total population of lions in the country as at 2013 was estimated to be between 2,500 and 4,700.
These, he said, were unreliable estimates since successive governments after UNIP, have not sustained a continuous wildlife census system.
He urged Government to reverse lifting of the ban and instead come up with other revenue generating schemes.
But the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) commended Government for lifting the ban which was enforced two years ago.
ZAWA public relations officer Sakabilo Kalembwe said the lifting of the ban on hunting of big cats will ensure a great improvement in Government revenue.
Kalembwe said ZAWA will make sure that hunting of cats was carried out according to statutory regulations.
Government lifted the ban on cat hunting on condition that the guidelines were grafted into a statutory instrument so that they become part of the wildlife law.
Ms Kapata explained that lion hunting should only resume in the 2016/2017 hunting season and not this year.
She, however, said leopard hunting could resume this year 2015/2016 but with very precautionary quotas.
The two-year hunting ban was among others, necessitated by the weak regulatory mechanisms, declining lion populations in some areas due to over-harvesting, hunting of underage lions and depletion of habitats for lion.
Other reasons were the increased lion deaths in human-lion conflicts and lack of solid statistics upon which to base quotas.
The leopard ban was effected due to lack of serious monitoring lapses by ZAWA, which had since been rectified.
TimesofZambia
Economic Sustainability:
This is based on creating long-term revenue in communities supporting employment and development in rural areas. In doing so the positive impacts will help build strong economies. Tourism brings foreign exchange to a destination which is generated into the economy and also makes substantial contributions in a country. This results in expenditure changes causing a shift in the market shares impacting export earnings which results in increased GDP and employment. The host of a destination or area provides the required structure for developing tourism as an export industry. Tourists purchasing products and services benefit and the foreign exchange contributes to the multiplier effect of a country. This in turn creates employment, pays salaries, pay suppliers, and accelerates development in that area. Economic growth can add value to a host community and offer long-term benefits that improve the quality of life and the environment. Tourists who visit a destination and give contributions or donate money to projects such as building a clinic create stable economic growth to a destination and help fostering good international relationships boosting international relationships. Combating poverty, decreasing child mortality and empowering woman, increasing education are all indicators that are essential for an economy.
Trophy Hunting is a short term economic goal and will do nothing for Zambia’s tourism economy and will end up destroying it. Having an education in tourism in both a diploma and a degree will help alleviate the issue they claim for tourism not generating enough revenue. Marketing is a real issue as no one does a good job of doing it as well money generated is pocked by management. Zimbabwe although shares the Victoria Falls is far more known than Zambia. Jean Kapata has a diploma in nursing and not sure how that qualifies her as tourism minister and where the issue of people in government promoting friends hurts the economy. This is where the problem is and why drastic measures such as trophy hunting come to play based on how things were done in the older days dating back to the 80’s as this is what they think is tourism. The world has changed now and keeps changing and why education is key to keep up with current events and development. Killing animals is irreversible and can have negative effects on the Eco system. There are many ways of generating revenue and murdering animals is not one of them. I highly encourage the minister to go back to school and educate herself in hospitality management by getting a diploma or a degree in tourism management. This is a very bad move that can lead to extinction.