Mukudzei Chingwere
Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S wildlife conservation efforts have received support from the United Arab Emirates through the provision of four-wheel-drive vehicles to ZimParks, alongside community interventions aimed at improving access to water, food and education.
In a statement, UAE Embassy Chargé d’Affaires in Harare Mr Rashed Juma Al Shamsi said the partnership sought to connect environmental protection with community development and sustainable tourism, with Victoria Falls offering opportunities to advance that cooperation.
“The UAE has contributed to these efforts through support to ZimParks, including the provision of four-wheel-drive vehicles to strengthen wildlife protection and monitoring operations,” he said.
For Zimbabwe, whose wildlife and natural landscapes are central to its tourism appeal, the cooperation links the protection of national assets with the livelihoods of communities living alongside conservation areas.
Mr Al Shamsi said conservation should deliver benefits to those communities, whose participation was essential to protecting wildlife.
“Communities are not peripheral to the protection of nature; they are essential to it.”
He said UAE support had also included solar-powered groundwater wells to improve water access in remote communities, food assistance and bicycles for students facing long distances to essential services.
“These initiatives may respond to different needs, but they are connected by a clear principle: sustainability becomes meaningful when it delivers tangible and lasting benefits for people.”
The diplomat identified climate-resilient agriculture, improved water management, renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure as areas in which Zimbabwe and the UAE could broaden cooperation.
Such interventions, he said, could strengthen local economies while reducing pressure on natural resources.
On tourism, Mr Al Shamsi said Victoria Falls’ development potential extended beyond attracting visitors, with responsible investment offering opportunities for hospitality businesses, local enterprises, employment and supporting services.
“Sustainable tourism can generate economic value precisely because the natural environment is preserved, creating a direct link between conservation and prosperity.”
He said communities should be active beneficiaries of the economic value generated by the natural environment around them.
“The ambition should therefore extend beyond individual projects. It should be to create a model in which conservation supports investment, investment creates opportunity, and local communities are active beneficiaries of the value generated by the natural environment around them.”
Mr Al Shamsi said the two countries could build on existing cooperation to position Victoria Falls as an example of how wildlife protection, community development and tourism investment can jointly protect national heritage and create lasting economic opportunities.
