Desperate villagers drive cattle into Zimbabwe’s Matopos National Park

As first appeared in Zim Morning Post, here. Written by Farayi Machamire.

March 22 2022

Human-wildlife conflict, spread of disease likely if the situation continues

Hyena, leopard roam the park, and livestock would be easy target for these predators.

Image by Alan J Hendry.

Zimbabwean villagers say they are driving their cattle into Matopos National Park for grazing as a last resort in response to depleted pastures.

Their continued human encroachment leaves their cattle vulnerable to contracting diseases and more precariously once wild animals have a taste of their cattle, it fuels human wildlife conflict.

Park officials note that encroachments have seen some cattle contract catarrhal fever from coming into contact with Wildebeest.

Hyena and leopard attacks on livestock are frequently reported, as are baboon raids on village crops, as well as baboon attacks on chickens and children, particularly in wards 15, 16, and 17.

Matopo resident Thulani Zulu claims that friction between Park authorities and villagers has pitted communities surrounding the park against wildlife “creating a scenario of them versus us.”

“The relationship between villagers and park authorities is strained because villagers feel authorities have not done enough to ensure that they benefit from living alongside wildlife,” Zulu claims.

Matopos National Park, which boasts of the Matobo Hills – one of the highest concentrations of rock art in Southern Africa dating back at least 13,000 years – was established in 1926. As part of a compromise between the colonial authorities and the local people, areas were re-designated for settlement.

Villages in close proximity to Matopos National Park include Gulati area which is about 5 kilometres away from the park’s boundary, Silozwi, Chapo, Bazha, and Dewe areas which are all within 5 metres from the park’s boundary.

Professor Edson Gandiwa, Director Scientific Services at the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks), says that there are currently two distinct types of human encroachment at Matopos National Park: settlements and movements, or illegal entry.

“Community encroachment in terms of settlements has only been experienced within the Park buffer zone where the communities are building adjacent to the park boundary,” says Professor Gandiwa.

“The park’s boundary is not fenced; hence locations of illegal entry are possibly everywhere. It is more prevalent at the eastern park boundary and less at the boundaries close to the park’s Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ).

“Efforts are being made to erect the boundary fence (parts of Hazelside and Whitewaters have been done so far) and prevent cattle encroachment as well as human illegal entry.”

Movement of people from their ancestral homes which made it impossible for them to access the pastures and hunting areas they had previously used, lowered public support for the park, leading to disregard for its limits and encroachment, say officials.

“When the National Park was established, it included public roads which made it difficult to identify illegal entry and control human or vehicle movements. Some people were also relocated, hence could not access previously utilised pastures and hunting grounds. This could have decreased acceptance of the park by people, resulting in disregarded boundaries and encroachment,” says Professor Gandiwa.

Matobo Rural District Council chief executive officer Elvis Sibanda says the council is aware of the problems the park is facing. However, in response to inquiries, he remained silent regarding the council’s interventions and remedies.

“The boundary fence in some sections of the community bordering the park is no longer there as it was removed way back. There are no grids in some roads leading to the parks. All this results in livestock straying into the national parks and animals also crossing to the community,” says Sibanda.

“…There is a need to attend to areas of challenge such as repairing the fence and resuscitating grids so that good relations are maintained,” he adds.

Given the central location of the park in relation to the communities, ZimParks recognizes that there will inevitably be challenges involving human–wildlife conflict and poaching for the pot.

Baboons, monkeys, wildebeest, crocodiles, hyenas, and occasionally leopards, jackals, and snakes are among the animals that are frequently reported and regularly brought up in communal areas during human wildlife conversations.

“In the Park human wildlife conflict takes many forms, including baboons raiding crops, attacking chickens and kids especially in wards 15, 16 and 17,” says Professor Gandiwa.

Loses incurring to villagers due to the ongoing conflation between humans and wildlife are varied. For instance, in Gwandavell, Lushumbe, Boomerange, and Chapo, monkeys raid crops, hyenas and leopards attack cattle.

Jackals have been reported killing cattle, such as in Boomerang. In Silozwi, Gwandavell a secondary school, for example, pythons have been reported feeding on chickens. Crocodile attacks on humans, such as the one in ward 17. Catarrhal fever, for example, is transmitted to cattle by wildebeest.

Local communities say the high cost of living with wildlife coupled with limited alternative ways to make a living and meet basic needs often ignite cases of wildlife crime.

At the same time, compensation remains a contentious issue. Zimbabwe does not have a compensation law, although there is a Human Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund being set up by the Government to provide medical expenses and funeral costs to human wildlife conflict victims.

The Relief Fund is awaiting approval by the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and hospitality Industry.

“Matobo National Park itself has no compensation policy for the victims of human wildlife conflict. However, there are unrelated benefits that include, but are not limited to cooperative social responsibility by the Park,” says Professor Gandiwa.

“These benefits are accrued from the National Park by the surrounding communities. In addition, Matobo District has a CAMPFIRE status, hence the communities benefit from wildlife in their area through CAMPFIRE. On a national level, there is a Human Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund being set up to provide compensation to human wildlife conflict victims.”

Matobo National Park maintains that it enjoys a friendly relationship with the nearby communities who they appreciate as they offer important sources of information, labour, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and cultural guidance.

Community benefits from the park include “donations such as in 2021 – the proceeds from hay bales worth $2000 (£1600), thatching grass for Silozwi Clinic, Silozwi Secondary school as well as roofing poles, monetary donations to villages from Matopo Rhino conservation, water provision for example from Mtshelele dam, Curios (provision of market), building of houses for community members in Silozwi and white waters and issuing of permits for free harvesting of firewood to use during funerals and other events.”

Matopo resident Zulu, however, says living adjacent to the national park is not as rosy as it is cranked up to be. This stresses the need for holistic engagement between Parks and villagers.

“The communities surrounding the Parks are actually required to pay $4 (£3.20) for park entry and this causes strain and conflict,” says Zulu.

“Villagers’ source of income is mainly agriculture but their farming produce is often wiped out by baboons and monkeys. In response, poaching for the pot becomes a desperate necessity, indicating a need for greater engagement and understanding between Park Authorities and the local people.”

Livestock and human settlement encroachment into protected areas and associated interactions with wildlife is a global issue with implications for sustainable development particularly in developing countries.

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.