Namibian Defense Base Raises Concerns of Ecotourism Operators |
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| The Namibian Defense Force
(NDF) has confirmed that it is clearing forest to build a military fort along
a road that provides the only access to many camp sites and an ecotourism
lodge in an area near Caprivi. The NDF says the action is necessary to ensure
protection of the "strategic" Kongola Bridge. The new fort will be located
within a pristine nature conservation area containing hippos, elephants,
lions, and leopards.
Local ecotourism operators have expressed concerns that the NDF has already been associated with poaching activities elsewhere in Namibia though very few cases had reached court and ask why the fort is necessary now that UNITA rebels in neighboring Angola have recently been demobilized after 25 years.
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However, Deputy Minister Peter Iilonga
of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has dismissed the concerns and
stated that the ecotourism operators were "nowhere to be seen" during the
years when the government battled banditry attacks in the area. "There were
some elements [in the NDF that poached] but we cleared them out. That was
a long time ago, maybe a year, two or three ago," the Deputy Minister
added.
There are also concerns the heavily armored vehicles used by the NDF will cause environmental damage and that the fort will create the impression among visitors that the area is not safe. A spokesperson for the Namibian Ministry of Defense points out, "Even the tourists need to feel covered".
Source: Christof Maletsky of The Namibian
(online) - September 2, 2002 and The Namibian (online) September
5, 2002. |
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