Since its establishment in November 1994, Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust (CECT) is said to have played a crucial role in transforming the livelihoods of the Chobe Enclave communities through a rigid developmental agenda.
Addressing the SADC Transfrontier Conservations Areas (TFCA) Network Annual Meeting in Kasane recently, CECT chairperson Poniso Shamukuni revealed that for the past 30 years the Trust has transformed the Chobe Enclave communities and made significant achievements.
CECT is based in Chobe, in an area known as the Chobe Enclave consisting of five villages of Mabele, Kavimba, Kachikau, Satau and Parakarungu.
On behalf of the Chobe Enclave communities, the Trust manages the CH1, a wildlife conservation or hunting control area that was allocated to it by the government. CECT sustainably uses all the natural resources as an inclusive approach to developing the tourism industry and also to create employment, skills development and transfer within the conservation space. Its other objective is to improve the livelihoods of its beneficiaries by equitably sharing the benefits that are approved from the use of the rich area in the natural resources.
Shamukuni highlighted that one of the notable achievements was building from their savings an iconic Ngoma Safari Lodge, further noting that the lodge is one of the leading brands in Botswana and doing well in terms of employment creation, skills transfers to beneficiaries and developing their people at large.
‘‘We also have other partners in our area, we have a small camp called Linyanti Bush Camp which we have subleased. Within our hunting space we also have a beautiful hunting camp and all these entities combined have more than 200 permanent employees,” he said.
CECT has also managed to drill boreholes for farmers in some of the Chobe Enclave villages. He further stated that following their annual general meeting (AGM) and financial audits, they always ensure that the funds acquired by the Trust are approved and equally distributed to the five villages. Shamukuni further revealed that in their last AGM that was held in March this year each village received not less than P2million from the trust.
However, Shamukuni has lamented that human-wildlife conflict remains a major challenge in their area since Chobe harbours the biggest elephant population. He indicated that their villages are seating right along the Chobe River which is a huge magnet for wildlife and by virtue of that all the animals come down the river to drink water passing through their villages, therefore causing human wildlife conflict.
“Through the help of KAZA and other stakeholders we have put in mitigation measures to try alleviate the conflict. We also call upon other different stakeholders to support us in mitigating the conflict as it affects livelihoods,” he pleaded.
Shamukuni has revealed that the issue of human-wildlife conflict has led them to spread their wings and get across the neighbouring countries and foster collaboration with them. He highlighted that they have collaborated with CBOs in Namibia and Zambia by initiating Forums knows as Trust Boundary Natural Resource Management (TBNRM).
‘‘These forums are bearing fruits in the sense that governments of these countries are coming in to do road shows, Kgotla meetings with our beneficiaries in both countries, sensitising our communities on how we can resolve some of the issues,’’ he said.
