HIGHLY QUALIFIED scientists and conservation groups gathered at a landmark conference in Namibia last week to discuss the future of the iconic African cat: the lion.

The group consisted of members of the African Lion Working Group (ALWG), an organisation that was founded in 1999 because "of this need amongst biologists to communicate in a formal way", Sarel van der Merwe, chairperson of the ALWG, said last week.

Van der Merwe said the rapid decline of free-roaming lion populations in the sub-Saharan African region triggered deep concerns among scientists and has elevated the need to study the lion and to pinpoint solutions which could revive their populations.

Tammy Hoth, the director of the AfriCat Foundation in Namibia, said the two-day conference highlighted the precarious position in which free-roaming lions find themselves today. She said it was important to note that "lion numbers have dropped from approximately 200 000 in the 1970s to below 50 000 currently.

Hoth, whose AfriCat Foundation organised and hosted the event, said the conference participants were informed that some countries' lion populations have dropped so low that there is "little hope of redemption unless the respective governments put into place renewed policy and regulation and take the conservation of their lion populations seriously".

Some of the issues that plague the lion populations include illegal hunting, over-utilisation of trophy-size animals and lack of capacity to control and regulate quotas. Hoth added that "most frightening of all, [is] the increase in the lion bone trade, canned lion hunting and uncontrolled captive breeding".

Most agree that human encroachment of lions' habitat is one of the biggest culprits. With the ever-expanding take-over of land by humans, the natural prey of lions has been "squeezed out", forcing lions to prey on livestock. And, in retaliation, livestock owners kill lions indiscriminately. "It is our responsibility to bring attention to the situation with high-level scientific work," Van der Merwe said.

Hoth said there was an upside, though. A number of the ALWG conservationists reported increased successes with human-wildlife conflict mitigation strategies and increased awareness among communities about the plus side of looking after the lions in their midst.

She said delegates at the conference praised Namibia for its positive contribution to lion conservation by developing communal conservancies. She said conflict between farmers and lions still needs serious attention, though.

http://www.namibian.com.na

AN international protest group against Namibia's annual harvest of seals has called on the world's biggest annual tourism fair to ban Namibia from participating in the event.

As part of several international protest actions, the Seals of Nam protest group last week sent a formal appeal to the organising committee of the ITB Berlin Convention group to exclude Namibia from the conference, which is taking place from March 7 to 9.

Pat Dickens, the Seals of Nam campaign manager, wrote in the appeal that the convention exclusion would form part of an international call to boycott Namibian sport, produce and tourism "based on the country's annual massacre of Cape Fur Seals". To date, no response has been received from the ITB organisers.

Maggy Mbako, a spokesperson for the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB), said as far as they are concerned, preparations for Namibia's participation at the ITB are in full swing. "We have not received any communication from the Messe Berlin with regards to the proposed protest." She said if the issue should come their way, "The ITB security department deals with these issues and we will receive guidance from them on how to deal with such a cases." Gitta Paetzold, the CEO of the Hospitality Association Namibia (HAN), said the protesters' attempt to have Namibia barred from the tourism fair "would be a great pity for tourism as a whole, if this issue would be abused to try and derail an industry that is key for the social upliftment of an entire nation".

Regarding the impact of seal clubbing on Namibia's tourism industry, Paetzold said the issue "has become a very emotional one, and all the scientific evidence and motivations for certain actions take second place when emotions are involved". She said the tourism industry has linked up with experts in the Ministry of Fisheries on the matter in order to form a clear picture on the issue.

Overall, she added, "We from the industry sincerely hope that Namibia's good record on sustainable utilisation of natural resources and the good conservation record will override all sensationalistic activities."

Dickens said in the appeal letter that each year 91 000 seals are "savagely beaten to death on the beaches of Namibia".

He said that the Seals of Nam organisation's protest actions and international call for support are increasingly gaining momentum and attention worldwide.

http://www.namibian.com.na