Drought-hit Namibia set to auction its national parks' wild animals

Drought-stricken Namibia will sell about 1,000 wild animals from its national parks to avoid losing them through starvation, as well as to generate conservation funds.

Stanley Simataa, Namibia's minister of Information, announced the plan on Saturday.

The animals to be auctioned of include 600 disease-free buffaloes, 28 elephants, 20 impalas, 65 oryxes, 150 springboks, 60 giraffes, 35 elands and 16 kudus, according to Agence France-Presse.

Namibia has about 960 buffaloes in its national parks, as well as 2,000 springboks, 780 oryxes and 6,400 elephants, AFP reported.

The government hopes to raise $1.1 million from the sale. The proceeds are to be put in the Game Products Trust Fund's account to help in wildlife conservation and management of parks.

Romeo Muyunda, the spokesman for Namibia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, told the newspaper The Namibian that the sale was a response to the drought, which has affected the grazing and water points in some game reserves and national parks.

Muyunda said the move was meant to reduce the number of wildlife in national parks to manageable levels.

Namibian President Hage Geingob declared a state of emergency over the drought in May. He promised that offices, ministries, agencies and all stakeholders will be mobilized to ensure that necessary assistance is provided to affected communities.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund, also known as UNICEF, the drought is affecting about 556,000 people.

The hardest-hit regions, according to UNICEF, are Kunene North, which has lost 12,200 head of cattle, goats and sheep, and Erongo, which has lost 11,800. Those regions are followed by the Ohangwena and Otjozondjupa regions, both of which have lost more than 4,700 head of cattle, sheep and goats in the past six months.

The Omaheke, Omusati and Oshana regions each lost around 2,500 head of livestock, while the Kunene South, Khomas and Oshikoto regions combined lost about 1,270, UNICEF reported.

According to a report released in March by Namibia's Ministry of Agriculture on crop prospects, food security and the drought, the country is expecting a reduction in harvest of at least 53 percent compared with last season.

The report says grazing conditions continue to deteriorate in most parts of the country, with below average rainfall nationwide.

This is the fifth time in six years that the country has faced a drought. The phenomenon is reported to be caused by the La Nina effect, which causes periodic warmer winters and drought spells in Namibia.

The southwest African nation has 20 state-run protected areas covering about 17 percent of the country's land surface.

Namibia incorporated protection of the environment into its Constitution-the first African country to do so. The government then gave people living in communal areas the opportunity to manage their natural resources through the creation of communal conservancies.

Conservancies exist in order to protect wildlife and habitat. Game guards from the community are employed by the conservancy to patrol the area, deter poachers and assist the ministry to monitor wildlife numbers during annual game counts. The ministry also sets a quota for hunting so that wildlife populations are stable or can grow.