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SADC TFCA Newsletter - 1st Edition March 2026
25 March 2026
Dear TFCA Colleagues,
There is a moment at ITB Berlin 2026, the world's largest tourism trade fair – when the logic of transfrontier conservation becomes almost self-evident. A delegate from a Frankfurt tour operator sits across from a Boundless Southern Africa representative, and the pitch is not about a country, or even a park. It is about a landscape. About an idea quietly reshaping how Southern Africa presents itself to the world, that the lines on the map are not the point - the spaces between and around them are.
That pitch landed well in Berlin this March. The SADC region's TFCAs drew real attention, more than sixty tourism development partners engaged, cross-border itineraries presented, a side event co-hosted with Sothern African Tourism Alliance (SATA) that drew senior government representatives and reinforced an increasingly coherent regional tourism identity.
There is a moment at ITB Berlin 2026, the world's largest tourism trade fair – when the logic of transfrontier conservation becomes almost self-evident. A delegate from a Frankfurt tour operator sits across from a Boundless Southern Africa representative, and the pitch is not about a country, or even a park. It is about a landscape. About an idea quietly reshaping how Southern Africa presents itself to the world, that the lines on the map are not the point - the spaces between and around them are.
That pitch landed well in Berlin this March. The SADC region's TFCAs drew real attention, more than sixty tourism development partners engaged, cross-border itineraries presented, a side event co-hosted with Sothern African Tourism Alliance (SATA) that drew senior government representatives and reinforced an increasingly coherent regional tourism identity.
Nowhere was momentum more visibly demonstrated than in the launch of the Great Kavango Zambezi Birding Route, arguably the most tangible cross-border tourism product the region has yet produced. Five countries, twelve key sites and over 650 bird species. Ancient river corridors that have never respected colonial boundaries, now finally marketed as the unified ecological asset they have always been. An international media familiarisation trip recorded 215 species ahead of the ITB Berlin launch, including 43 first-time sightings – the travel trade noticed.
What makes these developments more than marketing exercises is the institutional scaffolding being built around them. The EU NaturAfrica programme is committing €10 million through the SADC TFCA Financing Facility into green economy activities spanning sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and community ecotourism. Across the Great Limpopo, Chimanimani, MAZA, KAZA, and Kgalagadi TFCAs, individual projects will address real challenges, human-wildlife conflict, illegal logging, water scarcity – each tailored to its landscape, all built around the same conviction: that conservation works best when it works for people, and nature across political borders.
Into this evolving ecosystem comes the updated Diagnostic Tool for Transboundary Conservation Planners - refined through application from Southern Africa to South-East Asia. More than a technical instrument, it builds the shared understanding that makes transboundary cooperation possible. The impact of this tool is harder to quantify than a bird species count, but arguably just as important as possible new TFCAs are identified.
These stories in this first edition of the year describe a region learning to tell its own story on the global stage, through market-ready products, through financing built for scale, and through the daily work of building trust across shared landscapes.
We are very happy to welcome and introduce Mr. Branquinho Manhonha who has begun work as the Chimanimani TFCA International Coordinator. We anticipate that his appointment and the dedicated EU support to Chimanimani will result in renewed implementation of the vision and promise of this TFCA between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Lastly please take note that our Annual SADC TFCA Network Meeting will be held in Skukuza, South Africa from the 10th to the 12 November 2026. We will be sharing logistics details soon.
Your TFCA Network Coordinator,
Steve Collins
What makes these developments more than marketing exercises is the institutional scaffolding being built around them. The EU NaturAfrica programme is committing €10 million through the SADC TFCA Financing Facility into green economy activities spanning sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and community ecotourism. Across the Great Limpopo, Chimanimani, MAZA, KAZA, and Kgalagadi TFCAs, individual projects will address real challenges, human-wildlife conflict, illegal logging, water scarcity – each tailored to its landscape, all built around the same conviction: that conservation works best when it works for people, and nature across political borders.
Into this evolving ecosystem comes the updated Diagnostic Tool for Transboundary Conservation Planners - refined through application from Southern Africa to South-East Asia. More than a technical instrument, it builds the shared understanding that makes transboundary cooperation possible. The impact of this tool is harder to quantify than a bird species count, but arguably just as important as possible new TFCAs are identified.
These stories in this first edition of the year describe a region learning to tell its own story on the global stage, through market-ready products, through financing built for scale, and through the daily work of building trust across shared landscapes.
We are very happy to welcome and introduce Mr. Branquinho Manhonha who has begun work as the Chimanimani TFCA International Coordinator. We anticipate that his appointment and the dedicated EU support to Chimanimani will result in renewed implementation of the vision and promise of this TFCA between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Lastly please take note that our Annual SADC TFCA Network Meeting will be held in Skukuza, South Africa from the 10th to the 12 November 2026. We will be sharing logistics details soon.
Your TFCA Network Coordinator,
Steve Collins
More information: https://tfcaportal.org
