Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve
Zimpapers Reporter
THE Government has announced that the long-awaited Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) Fund is set to become operational by the beginning of 2027, as the authorities move to address the escalating number of attacks on communities by wild animals.
In a recent interview with Zimpapers in Victoria Falls, Environment, Climate and Wildlife Minister Dr Evelyn Ndlovu said the Government is presently working on establishing baseline resources and drafting the legal instruments required to operationalise the fund.
The fund was established following the amendment of the Parks and Wildlife Act, which was passed by Parliament to address growing tensions between humans and animals in areas bordering national parks and wildlife corridors.
This year alone, Zimbabwe has recorded a number of tragic incidents involving crocodiles and elephants.
In recent months, several villagers along the Zambezi Valley have lost their lives to crocodile attacks while fishing or fetching water. At the same time, elephant herds have destroyed crops and homes in Manicaland and Mashonaland East provinces, leaving families destitute.
Dr Ndlovu confirmed that the ministry is working to ensure the fund is properly structured before it is launched.
“The Parks and Wildlife instrument is now an Act . . . The Act is now looking at how best we can manage the conflict among our communities, between the people who live within the corridors and the animals. We decided within the Act to put a fund. We are going to establish a trust for this fund, and we are moving fast. This year, I think, within the Budget, we will call for funding from Treasury as seed money that will assist us in building up this fund,” she said.
“Usually, when we are starting a new thing, you need to have your own base of sources. And then you can invite your partners to come in with a base. So, we are looking forward to that during the September submission of our budget. We will then submit to the Ministry of Finance that we need this fund so that we can mitigate, to be honest, the human-wildlife conflict.”
She said the ministry, together with its parastatals, is already drafting the constitution that will govern the fund.
A stakeholder workshop was recently held in Harare to gather input from communities directly affected by wildlife incursions.
“I think immediately after the Bill was approved by Parliament, we had a workshop where we called upon our stakeholders to come with us at a hotel in Harare to come and tell us exactly what it is that we should be doing, what we should pay for. If a person is hurt by the animal or is killed by the animal, what is it that we should do? So, we are collecting all that information from our people so that we can come up with a constitution that will be approved again through a consultative process.
“So, once that constitution is approved, then we will make sure that we set up that fund by the beginning of the year 2027. I’m sure we are going to do that,” she said.
Communities living in high-conflict zones are calling for the fund to be expeditiously operationalised.
They believe that it will provide compensation for victims and resources for preventative measures such as fencing and early warning systems.
