The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Features Reporter
ON 3 March 2023, Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in celebrating World Wildlife Day. It was on this day in 1973 that it became the signature day for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and this year marks its 50th anniversary.
The United Nations General Assembly decided to create this day to raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants and the importance of protecting them. The CITES Secretariat is the facilitator for the global observance of this special day. CITES @50 recognised the important role that CITES played over the years in building strong and strategic partnerships for wildlife conservation.
This day also became a platform to raise awareness on the importance of protecting wildlife, amplifying the voice of the multitude of benefits brought about by biodiversity conservation. This day also served as a reminder of the importance of stepping up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced species reduction.
However, not only did the 50th anniversary make this year’s commemoration special, but the theme which was, “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation”, reminded wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists about the excellent fruits of these partnerships in various countries.
Zimbabwe boasts of having one of the most thriving conservation partnerships in the region. Last week, the International Fund for Animal Welfare announced a historic 25-year partnership extension that will see a US$50 million boost for Zimbabwe conservation.
The agreement builds on the successes of the already existing five-year partnership between Ifaw and Zimparks, mainly focused on the Hwange National Park at 14 651 square kilometres. Hwange is Zimbabwe’s largest national park.
Ifaw Vice-President for Global Programmes and Institutional Giving Mr Jimmiel Mandima said: “The revised agreement begins immediately and commits our partnership to a further 25 years with an expected investment of about US$50 million over that time.”
Ifaw first entered into a conservation partnership with Zimparks in late 2019 shortly before Covid-19 struck. Ifaw immediately shifted focus to support ranger welfare enabling key staff to remain at their posts with not a single incident of elephant poaching recorded at the Hwange National Park in the past three years.
Among other activities, the partnership has built a full-service ranger base in the Makona section of the Hwange National Park including an operations centre and staff housing for the 25 rangers and their families who will live there permanently to protect the park and wildlife, and to provide a swift response to incidents of human-wildlife conflict in bordering community areas. The partnership has also seen the refurbishment of various tourism facilities at the Hwange National Park including chalets at the Main Camp as well as the Sinamatela picnic sites, among other developments.
An old people’s home in Dete was also refurbished courtesy of the partnership. Commenting on the extension of the partnership, Zimparks Director-General Mr Fulton Mangwanya said it would complement efforts to develop the Hwange National Park into a go-to destination.
“It’s a vote of confidence in our joint achievements and extends our vital work to secure the Hwange National Park by significantly increasing Ifaw’s investment in wildlife security, conservation, management, community development and tourism development.
“We are excited about this long-term partnership with Ifaw as it sets us for lasting impact to turn around the Hwange National Park and its environs to earn back the ‘go-to tourism destination’ status where local communities and wildlife thrive together,” said Mr Mangwanya.
The Hwange National Park is a key part of the Kavango-Zambezi-Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), forming an integral part of Ifaw’s Room to Roam initiative to secure landscapes and maintain connectivity for elephants and other wildlife.
Uniquely, the conservation and investment partnership goes one step further by including both Ifaw and Zimparks officials on a six-person steering committee — three from each partner — to direct activities. The new agreement starts immediately and will be focused on the Main Camp Management Area of the Hwange National Park, which is 70 percent of the park.
Ifaw is part of the four leading Zimparks partners. The other partners include African Parks, Frankfurt Zoological Society as well as Global Environment Facility. These partnerships have seen significant strides being made in conservation of the environment and wildlife across the country.
African Parks, in partnership with Zimparks, signed a 20-year agreement to manage Matusadona National Park in November 2019. Matusadona National Park gets its name from the rolling Matusadona hills that form part of its water-rich landscape. Flanked by Lake Kariba in the north, and two perennial rivers, the Ume and the Sanyati, this remote and rugged park is the first in Zimbabwe to fall under the African Parks mandate.
Proclaimed a National Park in 1975, it was once a conservation stronghold for African elephant and black rhino, and a sought-after tourism destination.
But over the years, financial resources slowly diminished, which impacted the parks’ wildlife. Limited road networks and manpower left some areas entirely unpatrolled resulting in rampant poaching which virtually eliminated the black rhino population and severely reduced the elephant population.
While Matusadona’s wildlife has suffered, fortunately, its integrity as a wilderness landscape has remained undiminished, providing an exceptional opportunity for this park to be restored.
As such, the Zimparks and African Parks partnership has seen significant strides being made towards fully restoring the park, through implementing good infrastructure, law enforcement, conservation and community development programmes as well as restoring wildlife populations through reintroductions of indigenous wildlife. Once a stronghold for black rhino, the park is being secured and re-established as a sanctuary for these critically endangered animals and other key species. Matusadona holds a special place for Zimbabwe as a tourism and heritage area, with its spectacular position on Lake Kariba.
Kariba Dam
Apart from over 240 bird species, a healthy variety of mammal species still occur within Matusadona, including lion, buffalo, elephant, water-buck and impala. The lake’s shoreline is guarded by a kilometre-wide, iconic drowned forest, and when combined with the park’s unique vegetation, a unique tourism potential through game viewing, fishing and other lake and park activities is offered.
The third partnership that has paid dividends is the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust, a conservation partnership between the Zimparks and the Frankfurt Zoological Society. The Trust became operational on 1 March 2017.
Gonarezhou National Park, in Zimbabwe’s South-East Lowveld, covers just more than 5 000 square kilometres of spectacular scenery incorporating the iconic Chilojo Cliffs, wide meandering rivers, and extensive woodlands. Widely known for its unique wilderness character, the Park’s reputation as a premier destination for quality wildlife sightings is also growing.
Elephants
Home to an estimated 11 000 elephants, the Gonarezhou National Park truly deserves its vernacular name as “Place of Elephants”. The Park forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Parks, one of the largest protected areas on the continent, spanning three countries.
The Gonarezhou Trust thus, is an innovative model for protected area management drawn up between the Zimparks and the Frankfurt Zoological Society. Built on the back of a strong relationship developed over nine years of support by FZS for Gonarezhou, the Trust is directly responsible for the management of the Park for a period of 20 years.
The fourth partnership which Zimparks has is with the Global Environment Facility. The partnership has witnessed the strengthening of biodiversity and ecosystems management and climate-smart landscapes in the Mid to Lower Zambezi Region of the country.
