Maputo, 10 Jul (AIM) – At least 200 people have died as a result of human-wildlife conflict since 2019, according to the Mozambican Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibaze.
According to the minister, speaking on Saturday in Maputo during the First National Meeting on Human-Wildlife Conflict (CHFB), which took place under the motto: Local Communities Involved in a Peaceful and Harmonious Way with Wildlife, the deaths often occur in riverbeds, where communities seek water, and during the growing season.
“This often happens in riverbeds, which is where communities have access to water. The largest number of cases of loss of human life results from this conflict of territory between animals and the activities of people, which means they want to share the same space”, she said.
Maibaze added that the figures are also linked to the country’s socio-economic development, characterized by an increase in population and, at the same time, in the number of wild animals.
As a solution to the problem, the Minister said, the government has ongoing actions to mitigate the impacts of this conflict, among them, the allocation of resources to the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC).
Given the natural increase in the reproduction of animals, Maibaze added, a doubling of the resources and funding allocated for actions to alleviate this type of conflict is required.
(AIM)
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