In a statement to the Lusa agency, the researcher linked to the Lubango Herbarium and the University of Hamburg, which carried out a study in five regions of the country, admits that it has other priorities at this time, such as combating hunger and poverty, but if "immediate measures" are not taken, many species may disappear soon.
"If immediate action is not taken, many species, which we have not yet had time to catalogue, may be at risk of extinction. There are areas in the country, however remote they may be, where practically no flora can be seen. We have some animals in some conservation areas, which still have some security, but even there are very high hunting problems", says Francisco Maiato Gonçalves, giving a well-known example.
"The giant sable antelope, a charismatic species in Angola that has been on the verge of extinction, runs many risks due to poaching, but also due to the process of hybridization, due to crossing with another species", he adds.
The team, with German and Angolan researchers, made a road trip along the coast from the city of Lubango, through the provinces of Benguela, Kwanza Sul, Luanda, Bengo, ending in Uige. A road they already knew well.
"We often make this journey because of the projects we maintain with the University of Hamburg and other institutions with which we work. Mainly because there is no information related to this issue of hunting, we decided to go deeper into the subject, so that we could present a general idea for future studies, motivating other working groups", he adds.
Poaching has increased in recent years, partly due to the end of armed conflict that began in 1975 and ended in 2002.
"Populations in general have begun to have access to very remote areas, which has raised the concern of several researchers. This raises questions of regulation and oversight," he stresses.
According to the researcher, "during the war, populations had to flee some areas for security reasons, which ultimately contributed to the preservation of species and their habitats. With the end of the armed conflict, they returned to their areas and had access to some that they did not have before. Therefore, since 2002, more or less, there has been a very large increase in the use of these natural resources, fauna and flora".
"Angola is emerging from a complex situation, it has immediate problems of poverty, for example, which must be combated. I believe that issues like this do not receive much attention from the authorities. On the other hand, we see that the legislation regulating hunting is still from the colonial period, despite some amendments, and is no longer suited to today's times", the researcher from Huíla's Higher Institute of Educational Sciences and the Institute of Plant Sciences and Microbiology of Hamburg University stresses.
Maiato Gonçalves warns about the existence of a "double responsibility" of several ministries, which must be quickly clarified.
"We have a document from the Ministry of the Environment that points out the species that are forbidden to be hunted, but, on the other hand, the Ministry of the Interior issues hunting licenses. How is it possible to prohibit if there is another entity that allows it? There are a number of issues that need to be resolved at government level," he explains.
In the study, carried out in September 2018 and published in December 2019 in Nature Conservation magazine, the team revealed that Angola is one of the richest and most diverse countries in Africa, with an estimated number of 6850 native and 226 non-native species.
"We want to draw attention to the fact that there is greater responsibility and accountability for individuals or companies that still practice poaching, which has very serious consequences for the country's biodiversity," he concluded.
