The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) says tourism in Etosha National Park remains stable despite recent fires that affected parts of the park’s ecosystem.
Addressing Parliament, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Indileni Daniel said that while certain sections of the park sustained damage, there has been no noticeable decline in visitor numbers.
She noted that tourists continue to enjoy wildlife sightings, as many animals have moved to areas with more grass.
“In terms of tourism, we have not observed any reduction in visitor numbers, even during this period. It appears that, because some areas were burned, the animals have moved to regions with more grass, allowing visitors to see more wildlife at once, and they are enjoying that,” she said.
Daniel told Parliament that a management team convened a post-mortem meeting to assess the causes of the fires, evaluate mitigation measures and identify policy or operational gaps.
The findings, once finalised, will be presented to Parliament and made public to ensure transparency and accountability.
Responding to questions on property damage, the Minister said that a comprehensive assessment report had already been submitted to Parliament, along with an earlier statement issued by the Office of the President and delivered by the Prime Minister.
“It is not true that we have failed to provide information to Parliament — the report was submitted, and a statement from the Office of the President was read by the Right Honourable Prime Minister in this August House,” she said.
Daniel also confirmed that an elephant believed to have fled from Etosha National Park during the fires was euthanised in a separate incident to protect human life after the animal strayed into a populated area.
She said the situation became difficult to manage after residents followed the elephant to take pictures, prompting safety concerns.
“Our staff members, together with the Namibian Police, were on-site, but the situation became difficult to manage because the community was out of control,” she said.
