The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Abigail Khumoyame, has revealed that Botswana is exploring alternative ways to sell its ivory stockpile outside the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
While the government holds a massive, state-controlled ivory stockpile, global commercial trade remains strictly banned under CITES.
Botswana’s numerous campaigns to have these restrictions lifted and to secure permission to legally trade in ivory remain unsuccessful.
Appearing before the Standing Committee on Government Assurances this week, Khumoyame revealed that the elephant ivory stock continues to pile up every year.
According to the director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), Moemi Batshabang, the state holds about 300 tonnes of elephant ivory. Some tusks are confiscated from poachers, while others come from elephants that either died naturally or from incidents of human-wildlife conflict.
Although Batshabang wanted to remain tight-lipped on the value of the ivory stockpile, when pressed hard by committee members, he revealed that a kilogram is estimated to be between 100 and 200 USD. “The value is estimated looking at the fact that the tusks are not allowed to be traded, therefore it cannot be proven factual. There is a market value used by people who are trading illegally,” he clarified.
Earlier, the permanent secretary emphasized that the stock continues to pile up every year, maintaining Botswana’s position on lifting the ban. “For us, we believe that they should make returns for us. We don’t agree with the international community that we should make non-commercial disposal of ivory stocks,” she said.
Khumoyame indicated that though they are looking at other ways to sell them outside the CITES convention, it is however still difficult to determine how they can do it.
According to her, one of the things agreed upon at last year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) was that nations in agreement should build domestic beneficiation industries and value chains within the wildlife economy.
By pursuing this path, Khumoyame stated it would no longer be necessary to market ivory outside the country, but rather sell it within the country.
The permanent secretary emphasised that Botswana is home to a large number of elephants, hence the yearly increase in their ivory stockpiles.
With the country struggling financially to cover basic needs, the Standing Committee on Government Assurances views the commercial sale of elephant ivory as a measure that can mitigate the current situation.
Khumoyame also acknowledged that the ministry faces budgetary constraints, as it is not allocated adequate money on a yearly basis. She however indicated they continue to make efforts to augment the budget, highlighting the strengthening of partnerships with other entities.
Meanwhile, when maintaining Botswana’s stance on hunting, the permanent secretary emphasized that the exercise is done in a sustainable manner for the beneficiation of local communities. She revealed that from the allocated quota, they generated P31 million in 2022, P37 million in 2023, and P67 million in 2025—funds which she emphasized go straight to communities.
Khumoyame added that hunting also assists to mitigate incidents of human-wildlife conflict, which continues to be a problem throughout the country.
“With regards to conservation, we are leading the global community in megafauna management, hosting the largest population of the African elephant with a population of over 140,000. We continue to come up with strategies that will help us conserve our wildlife,” she assured.
