Poor villagers and wild elephants are engaged in an increasingly bitter battle for space and food in Zambia, with animal conservation authorities accused of doing little to end the conflict.
The elephants have claimed lives and destroyed property and vast fields of maize and cassava in the landlocked country.
Terrorized people say Zambia's estimated 25,000 elephants have pushed the hungry and helpless deeper into poverty.
Clashes with elephants increase during the farming season when huge migrating herds from neighboring Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana and local elephants move in search of greener pastures and water.
Mounting reports of destruction wrought by the elephants when huge herds leave their designated game area and invade farmers' fields, destroying crops and property, have been coming from the north, south and east in recent months.
About 10 people have also been reported killed in elephant attacks on villages.
The Mpika district in northern Zambia reported on Tuesday that elephants had destroyed maize and cassava fields.
"Elephants have left the park and are destroying our crops and plunging us into further poverty," said Emelda Mulenga, a villager hit by the havoc.
Local chiefs in affected areas say the elephants have become a menace and were aggravating the situation because they destroyed people's homes and food.
The farming season has reached a critical stage and most of the affected areas have yet to recover from last season's drought.
Many communities still have no food. The Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) says it cannot compensate people whose crops and property have been destroyed by the elephants because it has no provision.
The elephants must be protected for their economic value and their importance for tourism in the southern African state, says ZAWA spokesperson Maureen Mwape.
"We want the elephant because of the value it brings the country. Communities just have to learn to live in harmony with the elephants," she says.
"It's difficult to separate the two and the solution is not in killing the animals," Mwape explains.
However, this approach has brought ZAWA to near-violent conflict with local communities for failure to investigate their plight.
Mwape says that the authority is not happy that people's crops have been destroyed and wants local communities to be pro-active and participate in conserving the animals.
"We don't enjoy seeing people going hungry, but we have a job to protect the elephants, hippos and all wild animals. The goal is in conservation," she says.
Insufficient funding and low manpower has left ZAWA less than capable of responding to calls to clear the animals.
The slaying of elephants in Zambia is illegal and carries stiff penalties and minimum prison sentences of between seven and 10 years.
Mwape explains that high levels of human population growth in affected areas is a critical contributing factor to the conflict between the poor and the elephants.
"People in search of more land have moved and settled in the range and routes of the animals. This has depleted the animal's space," she explains.
Elephant attacks have also been attributed to drought and joint borders with national parks and game management areas in neighboring countries, which force the increased density of elephants to migrate.
"In the process, they eat people's crops in settlements," Mwape points out.
Last May, the government introduced elephant sport hunting to contain the animal numbers and curb the destruction of crops and human life.
However, this has yet to show any significant effect or benefit the local communities.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS