BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
The Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has signed a historic 25-year agreement to secure a US$50 million partnership to support wildlife conservation in Hwange National Park.
The agreement builds on the successes of the existing five-year partnership between International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and ZimParks, mainly focussed on Hwange NP—at 14,651 kilometres² Hwange is Zimbabwe’s largest national park
“The revised agreement begins immediately and commits our partnership to a further 25 years with an expected investment of about US$50M million over that time,” says Jimmiel Mandima, IFAW VP for global programmes & institutional giving.
“It’s a vote of confidence in our joint achievements and extends our vital work to secure Hwange NP by significantly increasing IFAW’s investment in wildlife security, conservation, management, community development and tourism development.”
“We are excited about this long term partnership with IFAW as it sets us for lasting impact to turnaround Hwange National Park and its environs to earn back the ‘go to tourism destination’ status where local communities and wildlife thrive together, “ says Fulton U. Mangwanya, director general of ZimParks.
Hwange NP 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.
Mandima said this 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 starts immediately and will be focused on the Main Camp Management Area of Hwange NP, which at 10,765 kilometres² represents 70% of the park.
IFAW first entered its first conservation partnership with ZimParks in late 2019 shortly before Covid- 19 struck.
IFAW 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 NP 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.