Pangolin poaching and trafficking are on the rise in the country.
This is contained in the 2023 National Report on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement in Namibia.
The number of pangolin trafficking cases decreased in 2022 following the preventative sentences handed down by the Special Courts dedicated to wildlife cases.
The report further states that pangolin protection presents an ongoing challenge because the drivers of local trafficking are not well understood and the dynamics of the national pangolin population remain poorly known.
"Pangolin seizures showed a sharp increase during 2023, following a significant decline in 2022. The drop in 2022 may be due to the strong sentences handed down during the Special Courts held during the year. Again, this challenge has been addressed by the Office of the Prosecutor General, which has planned and is indeed undertaking Special Courts during the current year," said Major General Anna-Marie Nainda, who shared the details of the report.
Namibia has further done well to keep elephant poaching at low levels for the past five years due to the anti-poaching presence of national security forces in elephant ranges.
The rhino-poaching losses in Namibia were 29% lower than those experienced in 2022.
"Namibia's elephant population has steadily been increasing, and the efforts of the anti-poaching forces in key elephant ranges have ensured minimal poaching incidents during the past year."
Meat poaching, on the other hand, also remains a complex challenge requiring ongoing law enforcement.
Therefore, the report says, countermeasures should include addressing the underlying drivers of the trade, including subsistence poaching for survival, rather than hoping that the arrest of suspects is a long-term solution.
Another concern is the exploitation of indigenous plants, which appears to be expanding.
Investigations have revealed that international syndicates are involved in the poaching of live plants, which are trafficked for online sale to ornamental plant collectors.
Hence, countermeasures must include community involvement in protecting these and other valuable resources.