African Indaba Articles - wildlife-baldus.com

concession trophy quota”, thus factually eliminating “problems with problem animals” as experienced in otherAfrican countries.Every bidder had also to specify the type and number of local staff, the duration of the employment and theestimated monthly salaries in addition to a discretionary offer concerning the successful bidder’s willingnessand ability to contribute, assist and work closely with the communities within the concession area indeveloping and managing hunting in Bwabwata. The meat from the hunted animals will be distributed to thevillages according to specific guidelines.The Kyaramacan Association reserved the right to award the hunting concession to the safari operatorsthat the association deemed the most advantageous to the long-term operation of both hunting concessionand the welfare of its local communities. The highest tender price, while being very important, was notnecessarily the final determining factor. Equally important in the selection of a safari operator are commonviews of conservation ethics and the willingness to engage pro-actively and work cooperatively with thecommunities in establishing Bwabwata as a renowned hunting destination in Africa.Tenders had to be submitted to the WWF office in Windhoek on June 9 th . The tender review process wasdone during the following week and the participating parties were informed of the tender status on June 14 th .This was followed by an interview process of applicants who qualified for closer consideration. The decisionof the Kyaramacan Association was announced on June 21 st after contract details had beenapproved by MET.It is interesting to note that payments made by the concessionaires have to be made in Namibian Dollarswith the exchange rate applicable at the day of payment. Due to the recent drop in the Namibian Dollaragainst the US-Dollar (which formed the basis for the tender), the Khwe Community (and not just theconcessionaire) will receive a welcome windfall profit.Trophy Hunting in Bwabwata NPThe tenders were awarded to two well-known and respected members of the Namibian ProfessionalHunters’ Association (NAPHA). The “Buffalo Concession”, named after the Conservation Core Area,went to John Wambach and Allan Cilliers’ bid for the “Kwando Concession”, named after the KwandoRiver, was the other successful offer. The two Namibian safari operators were selected from a pool of morethan a dozen applicants.The hunting season runs from 1 st February to 30th November, but hunting will effectively start onlytowards end of July in 2006 due to the drawn out tender adjudication process with the respective clearanceof many administrative hurdles. Tourist hunters must be accompanied by a Namibian registered Big GameProfessional Hunter and a designated Association Ranger and/or MET staff member.Hunting in the Bwabwata Concessions is subject to a set of norms and regulations which are specified indetail in the “Operational Conditions & Guidelines” and certain Park Rules and Regulations as prescribed byOrdinance 4 of 1975. All hunting will be conducted “on foot”. No hunting will be permitted within sight of apublic road, in any case not nearer than 500 meters to a public road. Crocodiles and hippos may be huntedat or in the rivers, but hunting for any other species must be conducted at least one kilometer away fromsuch rivers. Driving vehicles on floodplains is not permitted, and any animal killed there must be removed byboat or porters. In any case there will be no driving on places other than existing roads, although harvestedanimals may be recovered by vehicle. There will be designated non-hunting zones and no hunting or baitingwill be allowed within a kilometer of an international boundary unless prior permission is obtained from MET.Whilst driving on roads used by tourists, fire arms and game carcasses must not be visible to tourists.Wounded animals must be followed up and destroyed by a Professional Hunter, with or without the client,within 7 days. The assigned staff members must accompany the hunt, and identify the wounded animal. Ifthe wounded animal is destroyed by a Professional Hunter in the absence of the client, the trophy willbecome the property of the State.MET, through the Association, reserves the right to suspend, cancel or terminate the operations of aConcessionaire if he/she has made himself/herself guilty of unethical ways of hunting, non-compliance withthe regulations, the concession agreement, the Nature Conservation Ordinance (Ordinance 4 of 1975) orsubsequent legislation.96