Partnerships pay dividends in Zimbabwean wildlife conservation

As first appeared in Community Podium News in Zimbabwe, here. Written by Calvin Manika.

November 29 2022

Gonarezhou National Park in the south east proves that public private collaboration reduces wildlife crime and empowers communities

Zimbabwe has eleven state-protected national parks and reserves, but the government lacks funding to manage and operate them.

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mage by Tobin Rogers.

A rise in wildlife crime in Zimbabwe and the need to reverse losses in biodiversity has resulted in key stakeholders forging alliances to eliminate challenges facing national parks around the country. 

The partnerships have proven to be game changers in wildlife conservation but in national parks operating in isolation, the wildlife conservation efforts and rangers’ welfare is a challenge as more resources are required.

Covering 14,650 square kilometres, Hwange National Park (HNP) is host to the big five, but over the years poaching and lack of resources have resulted in the loss of biodiversity. Speaking to the media this year, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said the national parks are not getting money from the government but rely on their own activities.

“These visitors come from foreign countries from both overseas and Africa. During COVID 19 the industry was literally dead,” said Farawo.

In an interview with Community Podium, Victor Ncube, a conservation activist in Hwange said it was high time that the government of Zimbabwe took conservation issues seriously enough to allocate meaningful budgets for conservation efforts.

“There is a need for money to cater for the parks’ operations and services. With or without clients, national parks must be run smoothly. The support could improve conservation efforts and the fight against wildlife crime,” said Ncube.

On 24 November 2022, Zimbabwean Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube announced the 2023 national budget. The budget is however silent on important aspects of wildlife conservation and support of national parks including the biggest national park, Hwange. He  spoke about fencing as a mitigation factor at Gonarezhou National Park in the south east.

“In order to minimise cases of human and wildlife conflict and the outbreaks of diseases through animal movement, such as anthrax and foot and mouth, ZWL$514.2 million (£1.16 million) has been set aside targeting fencing of the remaining 42 kilometres at Gonarezhou National Park.

During the first half of 2022, the country registered a 115% rise in tourist arrivals to 352,719 compared with the same period in 2021. Domestic visits into national parks rose by 90% from 90,909 in 2021, to 172,481 during the period January to May 2022. As a result, the tourism receipts increased by 121% in 2022 to US$337.5 million (£275 million) , compared to the same period last year,” said Ncube.  

Zimbabwe is rich in biodiversity, and sustainable management of these resources is key for stable ecosystems to support present and future generations. In a bid to conserve nature and loss of biodiversity, partnerships to bridge the gaps and ensure sustainable management of resources have started to emerge all over Africa.

With most of the national parks struggling to make ends meet, Gonarezhou National Park has been transformed through a partnership. The partnership has resulted in the park recording fewer incidences of poaching and other wildlife crime. Gonarezhou forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park which is 30,000 square kilometres and the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (100,000 square kilometres).

Wildlife conservation needs adequate human resources from administration to rangers themselves. The resources for field equipment includes vehicles, aircraft, patrol equipment while staff welfare involves salaries, houses, offices, uniforms and medical. Other resources in communication like radios and the internet are also important.

“We need support services like workshops, human resources, finance, fire prevention and infrastructure development of roads, bridges, fences. Research to know what is happening in these areas is vital. Without partnerships even logistics are difficult; most PA’s are in remote parts of the country making all of the above even more challenging,” said Evious Mpofu, Gonarezhou Conservation Trust senior area manager.

Gonarezhou National Park is run by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) and Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), a Germany-based international NGO with 29 projects in 18 countries supporting the conservation of large Protected Areas.

According to a GCT report, the partnership brought life to the operations of the national park by supporting the law enforcement and improving field equipment, communications, bring in vehicles and maintenance, ranger training, monthly fuel, monthly patrol rations, accommodation, road access, aerial support, canine (K9) unit and LE Monitoring.

In 2013 ZPWMA invited FZS to review the then existing partnership model and suggested a new structure that would ensure long-term financial sustainability for the park, tourism infrastructure development and investment.

“This included sufficient and effective staff, increased security that can lead to a safe elephant population and reintroduction of rhinos, increased connectivity and healthy buffer zones. The new model could lead to reduced conflicts with communities through increased job opportunities and benefit-sharing mechanisms,” said Mpofu.

After obtaining a Trust Deed in 2016, GCT became operational in March 2017. 

Since the partnership began,$5.5 million per year is injected per year, a fleet of 35 vehicles, road building equipment and aircraft has been purchased. There is a staff complement of over 300 permanent staff.

A report gleaned by this publication shows some key achievements under the partnership. The budget increased 243% from the previous model with a total investment of $22.87 million (£18.63 million) over the five years from 2017 to 2022. Staff complement increased from 77 to 308, of which 207 are Park Rangers and 72% from the local community. Tourism income increased by 57% from 2016 to 2019. The 2022 forecast is up 149% against 2016. Poaching was reduced with 2021 only one elephant poached in Mozambique and died in Gonarezhou.

This article is reproduced here as part of the African Conservation Journalism Programme, funded in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe by USAID’s VukaNow: Activity. Implemented by the international conservation organisation Space for Giants, it aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate. Written articles from the Mozambican and Angolan cohorts are translated from Portuguese. Broadcast stories remain in the original language.