Chronicle Editor
Simba Jemwa, Sunday News Reporter
A BALOONING elephant population, the tiff with international conservation organisations such as CITES, the scourge of poaching that has continued to decimate the country’s wildlife, the ensuing human-wildlife conflicts due to fight for space, an acute shortage of resources to finance conservation projects and activities are all part of the challenges that the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has to contend with.
The challenges do not make conservation of the country’s biodiversity easy but it somehow has to be done.
But for the task to be executed and bring conservation pride to the country there was need to have a strategic management plan that would be followed with detailed discipline by personnel not divorced from the environment, human capital development and geo-political goings on both on a national, regional and international scale.
And when ZimParks Director General Fulton Mangwanya joined in August 2017, it was a priority to address the challenges mentioned above and other administrative issues that were affecting operations. He came in at a time when a number of challenges have been noted by ARS Progetti Consortium, an independent consulting firm contracted by the Government of Zimbabwe and supported by the European Commission during 2015-2016 to evaluate the operations of ZimParks and a final report was submitted in February 2017.
A number of challenges affecting the performance of ZimParks were identified in that process. Some of the challenges needed urgent intervention, whilst some needed strategic intervention in the medium to long-term depending on complexity and internal dynamics.
Dr Fulton Mangwanya (FM) spoke to Sunday News Reporter, Simba Jemwa (SJ) about some of the key challenges that needed urgent redress.
SJ: What were the major challenges facing Zimparks when you were appointed Director General in 2017?
FN: When I arrived at Zimparks in 2017, the organisation was faced with many problems that were affecting the effective management of the organisation. At the top of this list was low staff morale amid reports of abuse, intimidation and harassment. The working conditions were poor and the staff was not adequately resourced, both rangers and management. We also had seven-month salary arrears which caused the staff to struggle to go to work and even take care of their families. There were other issues like poor financial management and lack of prioritisation of key operational activities, authority accounts being garnished, a lack of strategic planning and strategic direction within the organisation. There was a growing debt, including a legacy debt of US$25 million which we managed to clear in December of 2019. But there were many problems that need to be attended to.
SJ: What have been your key achievements since your assumption of duty as Director General?
FN: We put in place new financial management systems and achieved a positive balance sheet which allowed us to clear the seven-month salary arrears and bonus for staff for 2016 and 2017.
This also allowed us to purchase uniforms for all employees and improve the image of the organisation while also improving vehicle workshop service, strengthening capacity, allocating adequate funding for fuels, oils and other lubricants.
Zimparks reduced poaching of key species (elephant, rhino and large carnivores) significantly within the first six months of 2018 and managed to sustain the trends in 2019 and 2020. There was a massive recruitment and training of rangers in 2018 and 2019, strengthening our enforcement efforts
But most importantly, we developed a five-year Strategic Plan for ZimParks (2019-2023) which was approved in 2018. We also successfully mobilised resources to sustain and intensify resource protection operations in all protected areas, formalising agreements and implementation thereof.
We even established ParksMed Health Fund in 2018 and it’s preforming very well on the market. Resource mobilisation efforts increased, and a lot secured for supporting/sustaining conservation operations including EUR 1 million post-Covid-19 cushion grant from the German Development Bank, with EUR 600 000 being for funding community conservation initiatives, a lot more donations were also sourced (a detailed list can be shared if required).
There was a significant decrease in expenditure from $35 013 487 in 2016 to $28 967 685 in 2017 with below $20m projected in 2018 and we successfully negotiated debt write-offs of $13 031 by CIMAS and $214 269.37 by First Mutual Life.
SJ: How else have you impacted the organisation since your arrival?
FN: The financial status of the Authority has improved, and the Authority has become a competitive employer among other parastatals. Despite the 70% loss in revenue in 2020, we have managed to sustain operations and paid up on salaries and allowances, including honouring adjustments as required by the National Employment Council (NEC).
We have also continued developing Private Public Partnerships with like-minded wildlife conservation institutions regionally and internationally. This resulted in the finalisation of the African Parks partnership in Matusadona National Park in 2019. The partnership agreement was approved by Cabinet after two years of negotiations and conducting feasibility studies. The Memorandum of Understanding was also finalised. An implementation framework was established and to date an interim Project Manager has been appointed. A total of US$11.5 million will be invested in Matusadona National Park for rehabilitation of the park over the first five years.
Since 2017, more than US$12 million has been invested in Gonarezhou National Park under the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust, bringing a total investment of US$24million since establishment of this partnership. Plans are at an advanced stage to re-introduce black rhinos in the park and the funding for the project was secured during the 2019-2020 period.
SJ: How has Zimparks been faring in terms of bookings?
FN: We began looking into the very important need to effectively market ourselves as an organisation. And to this end, we established social media platforms which have been growing our reach – we created Twitter, Instagram and Facebook platforms – which did not exist before the appointment of a new head of the department. We grew the numbers exponentially from zero to over 30 000 combined followership.
Domestic tourism in protected areas grew from 438 561 in 2018 to 454 140 in 2019. This translates to 3.5% increase of local tourist arrivals in the various parks in line with Government’s thrust to promote domestic tourism. Game Drives at Hwange generated a total of US$ 36,298 compared to US$26,501 in 2018 which is 36,9 % increase.
SJ: How have you dealt with poaching and restocking the animal herds?
FN: All poaching incidents (from poisoning and riffles) declined. There was a decline from a high of 135 elephants poached in 2013 to as low as 15 in 2018. About 84% of the targeted patrol effort was achieved in 2019.
There was a decrease in the number of foreigners arrested for fishing illegally from 1107 in 2018 to 107 poachers in 2019 due to more pro-active approaches to law enforcement as opposed to reactive approaches
After the introduction of 100 buffaloes in Sidinda in 2018, 56 more animals were introduced comprising of 19 Zebra (7 males and 12 females), 20 Kudu (4 males and 16 females) and 17 Waterbucks (11 males and 6 females). These animals were captured in Robins Camp between 9 -12 December 2018 and released in Sidinda Community Conservancy. The community conservancy is being implemented well.
SJ: How has Zimparks represented Government?
FN: We represented the government at various Multilateral Conventions such as Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) making sure that Zimbabwe`s legacy in sustainable wildlife conservation is protected and acknowledged at global level, safeguarding national interests and rights of local communities living with wildlife
We also represented the government at various regional assignments at bilateral and multilateral level within SADC, including the Technical Committee on Wildlife, Trans-frontier Conservation Areas-TFCA regional institutions as well as at the African Union (AU) level.
We also managed to earn local and international recognition receiving some of the following awards: Green Era Award for Sustainability (2019), Berlin Germany; Most Inspiring Organisation (2019), California, USA; Excellence in Quality and Management (2019), Cannes, France (For exemplary management, business ethics and aspiration to the international standards of quality); Arboretum Accreditation (Level 1) for Ewanrigg Botanical Gardens, Illinois, USA (2019) (recognition of professional standards and capabilities, advancement of tree-focused public gardens) (ArbNet); World Leader Business Person (2019) San Francisco, USA (for being a successful leader who works in an innovative, knowledgeable and systematic manner); 1st Runner Up Award: Project Management Certificate in recognition of the work ZimParks is doing with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (2020). Working with Non-profit making category; Public Relations and Communications Excellence Award: Best campaign Digital Communication, 2nd Runner Up (2020); 1st Runner Up Award: Project Management Certificate in recognition of the work ZimParks is doing with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (2021); Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Certificate of Recognition: Top Zimbabwe Responsible Public Sector Organisation (2021); Green and Environmental Stewardship Winner for promoting responsible use of earth resources for future generations sustainably, Mark of Excellence (2021).–@RealSimbaJemwa
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