Connect with us

In the community

In Hwange, conflict escalates between elephants and humans

Published

on

BY DERICK MATENGARWODZI

For months, the idea of her crops being unable to pass another night in the field unperturbed while she dozed indoors rattled Flora Mangwana so much.

Advertisement

These days, the 40-year old farmer sleeps in a makeshift hut outside her home in Siyalwindi, northwestern Zimbabwe.

For more than a dozen years now, herds of elephants from the nearby Hwange National Park invade her family plot every other night, devouring the planted maize before it reaches maturity.

That has often left Mwangana, her family’s breadwinner, scrambling to find other food sources to feed her family of six. Ahead of harvest this April, she is worried about a repeat scenario.

Advertisement

“The elephants are coming to our fields in large numbers and we are not going to harvest much this season,” she said.

“Every year, we don’t harvest much because of the elephants. This year, there was little rainfall and elephants are still becoming a big problem, destroying our fields.”

The Hwange National Park is the biggest wildlife reserve in the southern African nation.

Advertisement

In 1928, it was declared a game reserve. Stretching over 14,600 square km and located in the eastern part of the Kalahari Desert, a low rainfall area, it is home to more than 100 mammal and 400 bird species.

During the dry season, the competition for food and water intensifies, resulting in conflicts among the animals.

For years, some of these animals, the elephants, have also been straying into residential areas around the park.

Advertisement

The invasion has led to loss of crops on farmland and lives across the country.

Things have worsened as the elephant population in the game park increased over the years to more than 50,000, far beyond its holding capacity of 10,000, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management (ZimParks) told the BBC.

In 2020, there were more than 50 injuries and 60 deaths due to growing wildlife-human conflict, according to ZimParks’ website.

Advertisement

It was an increase of more than fifty percent from the previous year.

In search of good pastures and water holes, the villagers drive their livestock into the game park.

Thomas Tshuma (47), a cattle herder has encountered elephants while tending to his livestock in the game park.

Advertisement

“Each time we go into the game to herd our livestock, the elephants are harassing us, attacking and chasing away our livestock at watering holes and pastures,” Tshuma told Al Jazeera.

“The grazing lands are now scarce and we have to look for better pastures to feed our animals.”

To protect their crops, the villagers have formed watch groups to scare away the elephants using primitive weapons and bonfires.

Advertisement

When the animals emerge from the park, the watchmen start beating metal tins loudly to frighten them.

But experts also say that this human activity is part of the problem.

“Land use change and continuous human encroachment near and sometimes in protected areas is the driving factor to the increase in Human-Wildlife Conflict”, said Shamiso Mupara, executive director of Mutare-based nonprofit Environmental Buddies Zimbabwe.

Advertisement

“And it likely results in both parties suffering.”

The increase in demand for land use around Hwange has seen communities encroaching on the game park.

“Before the conflicts started, there was a fence dividing the community and the park. However, it was removed and the elephants have access to the community farmlands,” said Ndlelende Ncube, the founder of Tikobane Trust, a Hwange-based conservation volunteer group.

Advertisement

 “Also, the increase in population has resulted in the occupation of buffer zones, sometimes a kilometre wide, resulting in conflicts in 27 villages.”

Survival of the fittest

Due to poor rainfall, the current farming season is likely to yield a poor harvest  even as the elephants continue to launch regular raids.

Advertisement

So the villagers are doubling down on crop protection, saying farming as a primary source of livelihood in Siyalwindi is being threatened.

“We don’t sleep in our homes at night, we stay awake trying to keep away the elephants that are coming for the little crops we have,” Mangwana added.

Others have resorted to trapping wild animals for meat or for sale of their body parts to poachers.

Advertisement

ZimParks, which manages the country’s national parks, said it is trying to “create a balance between people and wildlife”, according to Tinashe Farawo, a spokesperson for ZimParks.

“Both the animal and human populations are increasing.”

“Communities who share borders with parks must desist from herding cattle in the parks because their livestock is at risk of contracting diseases and being attacked,” added Farawo.

Advertisement

Previous studies done in the Kruger National Park in neighbouring South Africa to test the repellents have proved that “elephant repellents, chili bombs and beehive fencing are effective in deterring elephants,” according to Mupara.

Last year, Tikobane Trust tested an elephant repellent it made with the help of local advocacy groups, in one village.

The main ingredients were cow dung, water and garlic. It proved to be a “success, repelling elephants from 200 meters away”, said Ncube.

Advertisement

There also seem to be concerted efforts to reduce poaching through skills training and entrepreneurship education for communities near the parks to aid them in participating in the tourism value chain.

Farawo said the villagers are benefitting from Communal Areas Management for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE), a government programme to support community-led development.

Government officials said the funds from the programme are used for development purposes, such as building schools, clinics and roads.

Advertisement

However, some farmers say the perennial losses incurred by the animals trampling on their crops are having a toll on them and they see little direct benefits from the CAMPFIRE funds.

Community members, including Mangawana and Ncube said their neighbours appointed to the committees do not know how it works because they do not run the project.

For example, when a rowdy elephant is shot by ZimParks, communities allegedly get only a small share, Ncube said.

Advertisement

Last year, Dete, another affected area, reportedly received less than US$100 payout, he said.

After years of confronting the elephants, Mangwana is running out of patience and wants quick solutions, rather than new policies and programmes.

“The elephants should rather be taken away from the area,” she said. “We are losing and we are under a lot of stress because we are not sleeping at night.

Advertisement

“The CAMPFIRE funds are only benefitting a few people who are administering the programme.” – Aljazeera 

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

In the community

Painted Dog Conservation and Uncommon bring free coding school to Gwai Valley Primary

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC), in partnership with technology-driven organisation Uncommon, is set to establish a free coding school at Gwai Valley Primary in Lupane District, marking a new chapter in community empowerment and education.

Advertisement

Speaking during an interview with VicFallsLive, PDC operations director, David Kuvawoga said the initiative stems from the organisation’s long-term work with local schools through its children’s bush camps.

“In our quest to find solutions to the poaching crisis, and building on the work we’ve done with schools over the years, we identified Gwai Primary as a good location to start a coding school,” he explained. “We partnered with Uncommon, which already runs facilities in Harare and Victoria Falls, to bring this opportunity closer to rural communities.”

The school will be housed in container units equipped with computers and other necessary technology. According to PDC, the project will be led by youths from the Gwai community who underwent year-long training in Victoria Falls and are now prepared to teach children — and adults — the fundamentals of coding.

Advertisement

“This is not just for schoolchildren,” the operations director said. “Anyone in the community with the passion to learn can join. What matters is the interest and commitment, not formal qualifications.”

Importantly, the programme will be free of charge. Both organisations confirmed that tuition, equipment, and running costs are fully covered through fundraising efforts.

“No one is going to pay a cent,” he said. “Just like our bush camps, which host over a thousand children every year without charge, this coding school is fully funded. All the community needs to do is embrace it.”

Advertisement

PDC has previously supported communities through projects such as boreholes and gardens, but this marks its first major investment in technology. The director said the initiative has the potential to address unemployment, improve education, and give local youth world-class digital skills.

“Coding is a highly sought-after skill across the world,” he noted. “If young people here can learn it, they can secure jobs or even create employment for others. This is a brick in the foundation of uplifting Lupane, Hwange, and beyond.”

The coding school is expected to open in December at Gwai Valley Primary.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

In the community

Lupane police officer sentenced for tampering with mbanje evidence

Published

on

BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

A 21-year-old constabulary officer in Lupane has been convicted after admitting he tampered with evidence in a drug possession case, effectively helping a suspect conceal part of the stash.

Advertisement

The officer, Nqobile Mutale, was on duty at Lupane Terminus Base on the 18th of September when he arrested Thulani Sibanda, who had been implicated in unlawful possession of dagga/imbanje. Instead of handing over the full exhibit, Mutale struck a deal with Sibanda and hid part of the recovered drugs behind the police base.

Detectives later uncovered the hidden dagga, with Mutale leading them to the site during investigations.

Standing before the Lupane Magistrates’ Court, Mutale pleaded guilty to obstructing the course of justice. He was handed a 24-month sentence, with nine months suspended. The balance of 15 months was also suspended, provided he completes 525 hours of community service.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

In the community

Avoid nightime movement and stoning elephants, communities told

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Following a recent spate of human-wildlife conflict incidents, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo has urged communities to exercise caution when encountering wild animals.

Advertisement

Farawo emphasized the importance of avoiding confrontations with elephants, particularly when they encroach into community areas. “We would like to urge members of the communities to avoid throwing stones at elephants,” he said. “This action agitates them, leading to attacks on people.”

In addition to avoiding confrontations, Farawo advised community members to minimize movement at night, as this is when wild animals are most active. “We would like to urge communities to avoid moving at night to minimize casualties,” he said.

Farawo’s comments come after a 79-year-old man from Hwange was killed by an elephant yesterday. The incident is still under investigation by rangers. This is the second fatal incident in the area, following the death of another man who was attacked by an elephant while on his way to work in Hwange town several weeks ago.

Advertisement

 

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 VicFallsLive. All rights reserved, powered by Advantage