China, Nam to take hands on poaching
China, Nam to take hands on poaching

China, Nam to take hands on poaching

The Chinese charge d'affaires Li Nan says that wildlife protection is very important to China and no national of their country will receive protection if guilty of wildlife crimes.
Ellanie Smit
A proposal has been made for Chinese and Namibian authorities to cooperate in eliminating poaching and cracking syndicates that operate in both countries.

The news has been welcomed following the announcement that 14 rhinos have been poached in Namibia this year, making it almost one animal each week.

According to Chinese charge d'affaires Li Nan the Chinese embassy to Namibia has made a joint proposal to both countries for collaborative efforts in curbing poaching.

“We need joint efforts to fight criminals and deter poachers,” said Li.

According to him the countries must still decide whether they are interested in collaborating.

Li stressed that wildlife protection is very important to China and this is also clearly expressed among Chinese nationals.

He pointed out that China this year totally banned all ivory products.

China has long been one of the world's biggest markets for ivory, but as of this year all trade in ivory and ivory products in the country is illegal.

“No ivory products are allowed to enter China anymore according to our new laws. Here in Namibia you can still purchase ivory, but not in China. That indicates China's strong stance on wildlife protection,” said Li.

He added that lawbreakers are punished very seriously when it comes to wildlife protection.

“We will never provide protection to lawbreakers and have zero tolerance when it comes to this. If a Chinese national is involved in these crimes they must be subjected to the local law. We fully respect the law.”

However Li said that an entire community of people cannot be painted with the same brush because of the crimes of a small group of individuals.

His remarks follows dozens of poaching cases and other illegal activities involving Chinese nationals over the past few years that have led to pervasive views that all Chinese nationals in Namibia are involved in poaching.

Li said the Chinese community in Namibia contribute to the economy. “They are good people. The pay taxes and they provide jobs.”

According to the embassy's estimates there are only about 3 500 Chinese nationals living in Namibia. Li said that many Chinese left the country because of the economic crisis.

He continued to say that the Chinese embassy had embarked on a public awareness campaign to inform Chinese nationals about wildlife laws in Namibia.

Li said that the embassy has also made donations to the environment ministry and created a wildlife fund in an effort to assist in the fight against poaching.

According to Li the embassy will donate items to the value of N$14 million next month to the ministry which will assist with anti-poaching efforts. These items will include 30 bakkies and also tents for rangers.

He further said that the embassy was working together with the CEO of the Namibian Chamber of Environment, Dr Chris Brown, on projects which include rhino site inspections.

According to Li these site inspections were already planned for last year but due to unforeseen circumstances they would hopefully be concluded this year.

The spokesperson of the environment ministry, Romeo Muyunda, confirmed to Namibian Sun that a total of 14 rhinos and 23 elephants have been poached this year.

Last year 35 rhinos and 23 elephants were killed by poachers. In 2016 a total of 60 rhino were poached while in 95 rhino were poached in 2015 and 56 rhino in 2014.

In 2016 a total of 101 elephants were poached, while 49 elephants were poached in 2015 and 78 in 2014.

ELLANIE SMIT

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-19

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 154.21/OZ DOWN -0.0037 | Copper US$ 4.05/lb DOWN -0.0127 | Zinc US$ 2 498.40/T DOWN -1.62% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.00/BBP DOWN -0.0005 | Platinum US$ 900.98/OZ DOWN -0.0169 Sport results: Six Nations: France 33 vs 31 England | Ireland 17 vs 13 Scotland | Wales 21 vs 24 Italy Premier League: Brighton 0 vs 0 Manchester City | West Ham 1 vs 1 Aston Villa | Everton 0 vs 0 Liverpool | Fulham 3 vs 0 Tottenham Hotspur | Manchester United 0 vs 0 Sheffield United | Luton Town 1 vs 1 Forest | Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 vs 0 Bournemouth | Crystal Palace 0 vs 0 Newcastle | Burnley 2 vs 1 Brentford | Arsenal 0 vs 0 Chelsea LaLiga: Atletico Madrid 0 vs 3 Barcelona | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 0 Real Betis | Las Palmas 0 vs 1 Almería | Villarreal 1 vs 0 Valencia | Sevilla 1 vs 2 Celta Vigo | Athletic Club 2 vs 0 Deportivo Alaves | Getafe 1 vs 0 Girona | Osasuna 2 vs 4 Real Madrid | Mallorca 1 vs 0 Granada SerieA: Internazionale 1 vs 1 Napoli | AS Roma 1 vs 0 Sassuolo | Atalanta 0 vs 0 Fiorentina | Hellas Verona 1 vs 3 AC Milan | Juventus 0 vs 0 Genoa | Frosinone 2 vs 3 SS Lazio | Salernitana 0 vs 1 Lecce | Monza 1 vs 0 Cagliari | Udinese 0 vs 2 Torino European Championships Qualifying: Leeds United 2 vs 0 Millwall FC | West Bromwich Albion 2 vs 0 Bristol City | Plymouth Argyle 0 vs 1 Preston North End | Rotherham United 0 vs 0 Huddersfield Town | Stoke City 0 vs 3 Norwich City | Middlesbrough 0 vs 0 Blackburn Rovers | Birmingham City 0 vs 1 Watford | Ipswich Town 6 vs 0 Sheffield Wednesday | Sunderland 0 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Swansea City 2 vs 0 Cardiff City FA Cup: Manchester United 4 vs 3 Liverpool | Chelsea 4 vs 2 Leicester City | Manchester City 2 vs 0 Newcastle United | Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 vs 3 Coventry City English Championship: Leeds United 2 vs 0 Millwall FC | West Bromwich Albion 2 vs 0 Bristol City | Plymouth Argyle 0 vs 1 Preston North End | Rotherham United 0 vs 0 Huddersfield Town | Stoke City 0 vs 3 Norwich City | Middlesbrough 0 vs 0 Blackburn Rovers | Birmingham City 0 vs 1 Watford | Ipswich Town 6 vs 0 Sheffield Wednesday | Sunderland 0 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Swansea City 2 vs 0 Cardiff City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 37° Rundu: 20° | 38° Eenhana: 20° | 36° Oshakati: 23° | 35° Ruacana: 21° | 36° Tsumeb: 21° | 37° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 35° Omaruru: 20° | 37° Windhoek: 19° | 34° Gobabis: 19° | 36° Henties Bay: 19° | 24° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 06:31, High tide: 12:45, Low Tide: 18:51, High tide: 01:21 Swakopmund: 17° | 19° Wind speed: 16km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 06:29, High tide: 12:43, Low Tide: 18:49, High tide: 01:19 Walvis Bay: 18° | 26° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 06:29, High tide: 12:42, Low Tide: 18:49, High tide: 01:18 Rehoboth: 18° | 35° Mariental: 24° | 37° Keetmanshoop: 22° | 37° Aranos: 24° | 37° Lüderitz: 24° | 36° Ariamsvlei: 27° | 38° Oranjemund: 17° | 29° Luanda: 27° | 29° Gaborone: 23° | 37° Lubumbashi: 16° | 26° Mbabane: 18° | 22° Maseru: 15° | 33° Antananarivo: 16° | 25° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 23° | 27° Windhoek: 19° | 34° Cape Town: 20° | 27° Durban: 22° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 32° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 28° Harare: 15° | 32° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 24.03 | EUR to NAD 20.58 | CNY to NAD 2.63 | USD to NAD 18.97 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.34 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.73 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.76 | RUB to NAD 0.21 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.33 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.06 | USD to KES 132.98 | USD to NGN 1572.01 | USD to ZAR 18.98 | USD to ZMW 25.67 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 72430.44 Down -0.77% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1504.69 Down -0.83% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13085.63 Up +0.17% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29091.29 Down -6.34% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9055.2 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 154.21/OZ DOWN -0.0037 | Copper US$ 4.05/lb DOWN -0.0127 | Zinc US$ 2 498.40/T DOWN -1.62% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.00/BBP DOWN -0.0005 | Platinum US$ 900.98/OZ DOWN -0.0169