Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve
ZIMBABWE is set to host the SPACES Funder Roundtable on Biodiversity and Sustainable Development as it takes a leading role in reshaping conservation financing
The high-level gathering set to run from 19 to 21 in Victoria Falls will bring together Government representatives, multilateral institutions, philanthropic foundations, and implementing partners to align priorities and coordinate financing streams across Zimbabwe’s six Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs).
The three-day roundtable is being convened by the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife—coordinated by Professor Patience Gandiwa, Zimparks Director of International Conservation Affairs in partnership with ZimParks and the KAZA Secretariat.
The roundtable aims to position Zimbabwe as a structured pioneer for landscape-level alignment across the region, establishing a coordinated implementation pathway that could serve as a model for other TFCA member states.
The Government is pursuing an integrated SPACES-style planning process to translate the country’s strategic importance within TFCA landscapes into a coherent national investment framework.
This approach consolidates analysis, aligns funding flows with institutional capacity, strengthens inter-ministerial coordination, and clarifies priority geographies and financing pathways.
Furthermore, the roundtable will help prevent duplication, link conservation and development outcomes, integrate biodiversity priorities into national planning frameworks, and reinforce land-use governance systems.
Zimbabwe is a member of six TFCAs, including the vast Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) TFCA, and a significant share of the country’s wildlife, protected areas, and ecological corridors falls within these landscapes.
Despite substantial existing investment from bilateral programs, EU regional support, SADC TFCA trust funds, NGOs, and blended finance mechanisms, outcomes have been constrained by structural fragmentation.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Mr Luckmore Safuli said the roundtable will bring everyone to the same table to map current investments, identify gaps, and agree on shared priorities.
“The principal limitation is not the availability of funding or partners, but the absence of an overarching framework that aligns investments across geographies, sectors, and institutions. This roundtable represents a critical opportunity to change that—bringing everyone to the same table to map current investments, identify gaps, and agree on shared priorities. We are confident this process will unlock greater impact from every dollar invested in Zimbabwe’s conservation landscape,” said Mr Safuli.
Expected outcomes include a shared map of existing projects and funding flows, agreement on priority landscapes, identification of long-term financing mechanisms, and a clear governance model for implementation.
The SPACES coalition, comprising McKinsey and Company, Campaign for Nature, and SYSTEMIQ will support the process, which ultimately aims to create a foundation for coherent transboundary approaches across all six of Zimbabwe’s TFCAs.
