adminStephen Ephraem
RE-ELECTION of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi to a second term as chairman of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Regional Commission for Africa by African countries during the 57th CAF meeting that took place on September 14, 2015 in Medellin, Colombia on the occasion of the 21st Session of the UNWTO General Assembly is a clear sign that Zimbabwe is a pacesetter as far as tourism is concerned.
Fifty-four African countries can not endorsed minister Mzembi to stir the regional tourism locomotive if they have no confidence in how Zimbabwe is driving its tourism.
In our preceding article, I outlined that Zimbabwe tourism is evolved by our unique culture of wildlife conservation. The country’s tourism train is moving soundly, its engine being lubricated by wildlife conservation.
Africa is eager to learn a lot from us, thus the re-election of minister Mzembi as chairman. When Africa is applauding us, it is surprising that some self-proclaimed animal right groups are busy derailling Zimbabwe’s tourism locomotive.
Last April, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under the influence of Friends of Animals suspended imports of sport-hunted African elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Tanzania. USFWS argued that wildlife in Zimbabwe is not well managed when 300 elephants in Hwange National Park succumbed to cyanide poisoning by poachers last year.
The USFSW ban on sport-hunted trophies in simple term is categorising both our government (which gives hunting licences) and the client (sport-hunter) as poachers.
How can a government poach own resources? Isn’t it sensible that the culprits behind the poisoning are some greedy elements of society (be they local or foreign) who took camouflage of the Hwange community to execute their ruthless activities?
Since Americans constitute most of Zimbabwe’s sport-hunting clients, the USFWS ban is a huge blow to the country’s tourism and economy. Whoever triggered the ban knew exactly what they were doing to make the common man suffer on the ground. The common man benefitted directly from tourism under a programme called Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE).
CAMPFIRE is a concept that was established in the mid 1980s to empower local communities to benefit directly from wildlife resources existing in their land. The programme today protects about 50,000km2 of land in Zimbabwe. As a result, communities take pride in the ownership and custodianship over their wildlife.
CAMPFIRE communities receive at least 15% of the revenue attained from tourism in their areas. The money is managed by the local RDC (Rural District Council) which will in turn disburse money for community development projects and to some extent, household dividends.
Development projects funded by CAMPFIRE money differ from one community to the other. These include rural electrification, school and clinic construction, road maintenance, vehicles and equipment acquisition, scholarships, borehole drilling and dip tank establishment, poverty alleviation (food security) and livestock breeding.
Net income acquired from the lease of hunting rights and commercial safari operators under CAMPFIRE has been growing. It increased from US$1.5 million in 2009 to US$2.2 million in 2013.
CAMPFIRE communities know the benefits of tourism so they preserve wildlife.
It is only an intruder who doesn’t have the sense of wildlife ownership who can have the guts to poison 300 elephants in a short space of time like the Hwange case.
In addition to the CAMPFIRE benefits, communities know that wildlife conservation means employment creation. Directly, staff like game wardens, scouts, vets, and researchers is roped in to day to day running of a wildlife conservancy. Indirectly, the hospitality, transport, creative (art) and culture industries are kept alive due to the influx of tourists who come for sport-hunting or photographic safaris.
The communities are aware that some tourists engage wildlife conservancies for animal research. The Painted Hunting Dogs Project which seeks to protect, rehabilitate and re-introduce the species in Hwange National Park is one research project. Another one is Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit has been operating in Hwange National Park for over a decade studying lions’ behaviour and how best people can live along with lions. It is the project that had the slain Cecil lion as one of the lion under research. In addition the animal research tourists, others are kept in bond with our wildlife reserves interested in flora.
Pharmaceutical industries depend on nature reserves for research. It is a fact that 80% of medicine is acquired from the forest. The companies thus research and develop medicine from undisturbed natural sources like wildlife conservancies.
Wildlife conservation truly brings in tourists. Communities are playing their part in preserving wildlife. Apart from waiting for CAMPFIRE dividends, can the communities establish community based tourism enterprises? The question shall be discussed in the forthcoming article.
Online Reporter