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Message: [QUOTE="Queen, post: 85179, member: 27"] Wildlife tourism makes bank, locals eat the damage, and Dumelang Saleshando basically told global policymakers that Maun is done carrying the costs in silence. Why this moment mattered [LIST] [*]On January 19, 2026, Dumelang Saleshando stepped into the International Parliament Roundtable on Human Wildlife Coexistence [*]The conversation was framed through real life in Maun, not abstract policy talk [*]Daily survival, not theory, drove the tone of his contribution [/LIST] What life looks like on the ground [LIST] [*]Human wildlife conflict hits food security, income, and personal safety all at once [*]Delays from authorities turn damage into long-running stress [*]Farmers and livestock owners absorb losses while waiting for answers [/LIST] Where compensation keeps falling short [LIST] [*]Payouts regularly miss the true cost of wildlife damage [*]Some predators are left out of compensation rules entirely [*]Trust erodes when institutions shift conservation costs onto subsistence households [/LIST] What he keeps pushing in the Botswana parliament [LIST] [*]Policy reform has been a constant fight, not a new interest [*]The buffalo fence came up as a long-running problem with no durable fix [*]Temporary responses keep cycling while communities deal with the fallout [/LIST] Who should shape the solutions [LIST] [*]Communities were framed as decision-makers, not afterthoughts [*]Local knowledge was treated as a resource, not an inconvenience [*]Governance that ignores lived experience was called out as fragile [/LIST] The tourism money problem [LIST] [*]Wildlife-rich areas generate serious tourism revenue [*]Poverty still dominates the surrounding communities [*]That gap exposes who benefits and who pays [/LIST] What fair conservation should look like [LIST] [*]Equitable benefit sharing was pitched as non-negotiable [*]Revenue sharing and local jobs were highlighted as pressure releases [*]Community-led tourism models were framed as practical, not idealistic [/LIST] Why livelihoods change everything [LIST] [*]Better livelihoods lead to stronger conservation support [*]Protection works when people see returns, not sacrifices [*]Social sustainability was framed as the missing link [/LIST] How he wrapped it up [LIST] [*]Conservation and development were treated as inseparable [*]Farmers and rural households need protection, not lectures [*]Long-term legitimacy depends on communities backing the system [*]Global praise means nothing without support at home in Botswana [/LIST] [/QUOTE]

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