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In Hwange, conflict escalates between elephants and humans

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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“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.

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 “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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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In the community

Zambia Limits Worship Time To Two Hours To Curb Cholera

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BY AFRICANEWS

Churches across Zambia have received a mandate to restrict worship sessions to a maximum of two hours.

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The directive, issued by Ndiwa Mutelo, a high-ranking official overseeing religious affairs, also prohibits the sale of perishable and ready-to-eat foods within church premises.

To further minimize the risk of disease transmission, worshippers are strongly advised to refrain from handshakes and hugs. In an official statement, Mr. Mutelo emphasized the importance of maintaining hygiene within worship centers.

Churches are now required to provide safe drinking water, designated hand washing points, and make available alcohol-based hand sanitizers to their congregants.

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The urgency of these measures is underscored by the significant cholera outbreak in Zambia, with more than 7,800 reported cases since last October. Over the past 24 hours alone, the health ministry has recorded over 400 new cases and 18 fatalities.

This latest intervention aims to mitigate the impact of the cholera epidemic, emphasizing the collective responsibility of religious institutions in safeguarding public health.

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SOURCE: AFRICANEWS

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Lubangwe villagers walk over 30KM to access nearest clinic

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BY LWANDLE MTHUNZI

Access to primary healthcare remains a major challenge to communities in Lubangwe resettlement area in Hwange where the nearest clinic is more than 30km away for some.

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Lubangwe Railway Farm 55 resettlement was established in 2000 during the country’s land reform when scores of villagers, mostly families of war veterans, were settled in the area.

Government did not construct schools and clinics and old farm buildings were converted into learning facilities.

While some schools are now available as a result, although far away from some villages, the communities remain with no health facility which makes access to health a major challenge.

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The worst affected are pregnant women and people living with chronic diseases such as HIV and TB who have to regularly get their monthly allocation of life saving tablets.

Edwin Nyoni, head of village 1 said had it not been for village health workers mortality could be high for people with chronic illnesses.

“We don’t have a clinic and people walk 25km to 30km to Ndlovu clinic because most have no money for transport. We risk our lives through the wildlife infested bush to Ndlovu hence we appeal to the government to help us establish a clinic nearby. We have village health workers who assist to reduce mortality and prevent home deliveries by making sure pregnant women and the chronically ill are assisted to go to hospital,” he said.

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In village 2 villagers are patiently waiting for the opening of a clinic after a building was identified for use as a health facility.

The structure has no electricity and water, said village head Joseph Munsaka.

“They promised to bring some nurses to use a building that is lying idle. They said they want to connect water and electricity and we hope this will happen soon to save lives,” he said.

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Gilbert Munkuli said sometimes health authorities visit with a mobile clinic at the nearby Nyongolo primary school.

He said some of his villagers walk more than 30km because they have no money for transport making access to health difficult.

“It is more than 30km to go to Ndlovu Clinic and health workers sometimes come to Nyongolo Primary School to give tablets especially to the chronically ill. Those with money sometimes hire cars but some die at home or fail to go to hospital which worsens the burden of diseases such as TB,” he said.

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Because of proximity to Hwange coal mining town where most people in Hwange worked at the Hwange Colliery Company, the burden of TB is high around the district as many families have lived in Hwange town at some stage before retiring to the rural areas.

Nesi Mpala of village 2 appealed to the government to open a clinic to save chronically ill community members.

“The clinic is far and people who seek medical attention suffer, with pregnant women and those with chronic diseases the worst affected. People living with HIV and Aids are better because health workers come to give them tablets but those with TB have to go to the clinic and struggle to travel because transport is expensive. We wish the government can give us a mobile clinic so that TB patients and pregnant women get help,” said Mpala.

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Government is working on a national health policy whose vision is to ensure primary health care is accessible to all communities although the plan has been in the pipeline for many years.

Health is a critical human right and key to attainment of Sustainable Development Goals.

 

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In the community

VFWT partners with Mvuthu villagers to tackle human-wildlife conflicts

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust (VFWT) has announced that they have secured funding to work with the communities of the new scheme of herding cattle, amid growing concerns of human-wildlife conflicts in the Mvuthu’s jurisdiction.

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This was announced by the VFWT Community Liaison officer Bongani Dlodlo on Tuesday at a village assembly meeting in the Mvuthu area.

He said the scheme aims to reduce the continuous attack of the domestic animals, mainly the cattle by predators such as the lions.

 

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The organisation will actively involved in various environmental issues in the area, including the introduction of mobile bomas years ago, making of chill dung to deter elephants among other rehabilitation projects.

“This will be a programme to run for three years, where we are going to create mobile kraals where the whole village, those who are willing will bring their cattle there and we will hire some willing community members above 22 years of age to look after them during the day and night,” Dlodlo said.

“We are trying to reduce the problem of your livestock getting killed and while under this scheme, we shall ensure that they get treated whenever they present some symptoms of not being well and we will also vaccinate and feed them so that they can increase the value in the market whenever you want to dispose of some of them.”

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Dlodlo also added that this will be done throughout the year.

“During the off-cropping season, we will be rotating them from one field to the other so that we also mitigate the issue of poor soils this community is faced with. By this, we hope that even your yield will improve for these coming years.”

Although some at the meeting met with skepticism, Dlodlo insisted that the villagers were not under duress to let go of their cattle and that the preparatory planning and strategies to be adopted were going to be done together with the communities.

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Fears were around the issue of religious beliefs around the rearing of livestock.

Other concerns were around the issue of having to walk long distances to milk cows and even having them to perform some day to day chores such as the fetching of firewood.

According to the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers, cases of human-wildlife conflicts have been increasing since 2016 by over 216 percent and Mvuthu villagers have often paid the price without compensation.

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Others also queried about what will happen if their livestock gets attacked while with the hired herders and Dlodlo responded: “We will not be paying for any compensation because ours to try and help this community, but because the herders and the place of herding will be chosen by you, we hope that this will be a holistic community project where you can always check on what is happening as we work together.”

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