- This as andBeyond Travel donates a drone to the department
The Director of the department of wildlife and national parks, Dr Kabelo Senyatso has said the drone recently donated by tour operator andBeyond will help address poaching in Botswana as it will make it easy for their anti-poaching unit to identify and monitor poachers.
andBeyond Travel recently donated a drone worth P200 000 to the department that will be used by the department to address poaching and human wildlife conflict.
The drone which has already been deployed to the anti-poaching missions has been regarded as a great achievement in using technology to fight wildlife-crime. The drone will also be used in monitoring the issues of human wildlife conflict which are prevalent in Ngamiland.
In the context of digitalization, Senyatso revealed that the drone signified their move to the digital space as they will be using technology to tackle wildlife crime to support their law enforcement endeavours.
Botswana Wildlife Training Institute (BWTI) Principal Officer, Moemi Batshabang said the donation marked a milestone in the relations between DWNP and andBeyond. He explained that the drone will basically be used for wildlife management particularly anti-poaching, adding that there was no better place to hold the ceremony rather than in Ngamiland which has high biodiversity especially around the Okavango Delta.
“The presence of the drone will go a long way to compliment efforts by wildlife rangers and other securities organs in fighting poaching,” said Batshabang.
According to him, the drone has shifted a balance of power in the fight against poaching looking at the fact that its advanced abilities to identify the poachers in low visibility periods will enable them to detect poachers under the cover of darkness as poaching usually occurs at night. “We should all know that no matter how much technology the equipment has, it does not arrest poachers, therefore we still need boots on the ground,” he stated.
andBeyond Managing Director Jason King noted that the donation was testament to keeping a healthy balance in caring for the land, wildlife and people. King said they believe in partnerships with various stakeholders, among them law enforcement on wildlife conservation. He added that they have already trained four anti-poaching unit members on the operation of the drone.
King noted that the drone technology will go a long way in assisting the department in its conservation efforts.
“We understand that poachers are getting more sophisticated and it is very important that those responsible for protecting our wildlife also become more sophisticated and stay ahead of them,” King added.
