17-Sep-09 7:00 PM CST

Zimbabwe: Punish Poachers - Nhema

Harare — Environment and Natural Resources Management Minister Francis Nhema has called for stiffer punishment of poachers.

Minister Nhema urged the police and the judiciary to play their role to weed out poaching that has for long been threatening to wipe out the country's wildlife.

The minister said this in a speech read on his behalf by the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority board chairman Mr Ngoni Chinogwenya in Hwange on Tuesday, during the official opening of a week-long workshop on wildlife crime.

"I call upon the law enforcement agents to leave no stone unturned during investigation of such cases and for the judiciary to handle the cases with expertise and diligence that they are known for," said Minister Nhema.

He urged the courts to impose deterrent sentences on poachers. Minister Nhema recalled that the 55th Animal Standing Committee Meeting, held in Switzerland in June 2009, had lamented the lack of deterrent sentencing of wildlife criminals.

To this end, he noted the need for the police and judiciary in the country to meet the expectations of those in the wildlife management sector.

Southern Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular suffered tremendous pressures on its natural resources through poaching, tree felling, veld fires and illegal extraction of minerals. Wildlife such as the rhino, elephant and zebra have become a major target of poachers.

Minister Nhema said wildlife was the backbone of the country's tourism. Thirteen percent of Zimbabwe's land is reserved for wildlife while 95 percent of its wildlife were found on reserved land.

The workshop, being held under the theme "Fighting wildlife crime through collaboration with stakeholders", has drawn various stakeholders including magistrates from the country's 10 provinces.

Officials from the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Interpol, the media and various stakeholders are attending the workshop, which comes against a backdrop of a reported increase in wildlife poaching.

Some of the issues covered by the workshop include an assessment of the impact of wildlife crime on tourism.

The workshop is also deliberating on the benefits of wildlife for communities, legislative provisions on rhino and elephant, the role of Interpol in wildlife crime, and the provisions of the Indemnity Act.

At the end of the workshop participants are expected to come up with resolutions on a holistic approach to eradicating wildlife crime.

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Source: allAfrica.com
http://allafrica.com/stories/200909170013.html