Bloomberg/Sunday TimesMay 27, 2015The World Bank’s International Development Association approved a $40 million grant to Mozambique to fund conservation efforts, including strengthening the country’s program of selling the rights to hunt wild animals.The IDA approved the grant in November 2014 for a project known as MozBio, run by the Mozambican government, which aims to improve revenue collection from tourism in conservation areas. Of the funds, $700,000 is earmarked to help develop sport hunting in the southern African country.
“Hunting, when properly regulated and when revenues are distributed to communities in and around parks, is an important financing tool for governments working on the sustainable management of their parks and natural assets,” Madji Seck, a World Bank spokeswoman in Washington, said.
“Hunting blocks in Mozambique have played the role of protected areas, hosting important fauna and flora that are under very high threat in unprotected zones.”
A study released this week showing that Mozambique’s elephant population has dropped by almost half in five years because of rampant poaching, including in national parks, underscores the urgent need for the country to upgrade its conservation network.
Mozambique estimates its elephant population has dwindled to 10,300 from just over 20,000, the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement Tuesday.
Mozambique’s conservation areas consist of seven National Parks, 10 National Reserves, 17 controlled hunting areas and two Community Reserves, according to a World Bank document outlining the funding project. While revenue from tourism to the parks trebled to $3 million in 2013 from the previous year, that’s not enough to finance the areas, according to the bank.
Attempts to stimulate income from tourism by allocating part of the funding to developing hunting could backfire, according to critics of the practice.
“Nothing will turn away tourists faster than knowing that the beautiful and majestic animals they have come to watch might be met with a bullet,” Ashley Fruno, a spokeswoman for animal rights group PETA, said.
Exposing the Big Game 
Dear God how appalling
How low will they go?!
I think as low as possible – no limit. 😦
They’ve already destroyed half their elephant population over the past five years:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/26/mozambique-elephants-poaching_n_7444278.html
And I believe rhinos are all but extinct there.
When numbers get this low – hunting to conserve them is even more of a cruel joke. If I ever do visit Africa, I will never set foot in countries that do not protect their wildlife from poachers/hunters, especially American hunters – what a shame on this country for contributing to extinction of species around the world! This was from 2013 about the rhinos:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/rhinos-mozambique-extinct_n_3200840.html
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
This is disgusting. Just like the rest of the stuff the World Bank does, though.
What’s left to hunt in Mozambique I wonder? Rhinos gone, elephants on the way out. Just move on to the next species until they are gone too – until nothing remains.
It’s all money. I suspect the only thing that will make a change is if tourism declines enough out of protest to cost Mozambique more than the World Bank is giving it. Then the country will starting LOVING its elephants.