US$50 million boost for Zimbabwe conservation

Ivan Zhakata Herald Correspondent

ZIMBABWE Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) has signed a historic 25-year agreement to secure a US$50 million partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to support wildlife conservation in Hwange National Park.

The agreement, which builds on the successes of the existing five-year partnership between IFAW and ZimParks mainly focused on Hwange National Park which is Zimbabwe’s largest national park with a coverage of 14, 651 kilometres².

Mr Jimmiel Mandima, IFAW vice president for Global Programmes and Institutional Giving said the revised agreement begins immediately and commits their partnership to a further 25 years with an expected investment of about US$50 million over that time.

“It is a vote of confidence in our joint achievements and extends our vital work to secure Hwange National Park by significantly increasing IFAW’s investment in wildlife security, conservation, management, community development and tourism development,” said Mr Mandima.

ZimParks Director General Dr Fulton Mangwana said the partnership will go a long way in transforming Hwange National Park.

“We are excited about this long term partnership with IFAW as it sets us for lasting impact to turn around Hwange National Park and its environs to earn back the ‘go to tourism destination’ status where local communities and wildlife thrive together,” he said.

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.

Mr Mandima said the development in the private/public partnership will benefit both parties, enabling each to learn from the expertise and experiences of the other.

The new agreement started yesterday and will be focused on the main camp management area of Hwange National Park which at 10, 765 kilometres² represents 70 percent of the park.

IFAW first entered its first conservation partnership with ZimParks in late 2019 shortly before Covid-19 struck.

It immediately shifted focus to support ranger welfare enabling key staff to remain at their posts with not a single incident of elephant poaching recorded in Hwange National Park in the past three years.

Among other activities, the partnership has also built a full-service ranger base in the Makona section of the 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.