Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe occupies 390,757 km² of land in south central Africa, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The land-locked country is bounded by Mozambique to the east, Zambia to the north and north west, South Africa to the south, and to the south west by Botswana. It lies wholly within the tropics and is part of the great plateau which traverses Africa.

The climate of Zimbabwe is temperate. The winter season from May to August is cool and dry, with temperatures between 13 to 20 degrees Celsius. Summer, which is from December to February temperatures vary between 25 and 30 °C and the rainy season normally stretches from November to March. Parts of the country suffer regular periods of drought.The average monthly rainfall is 196mm in summer and 10mm in winter.

Zimbabwe has a population of 12,754,000 (latest census). The official and business language is English, with Shona and Ndebele also widely spoken. Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe, a vital commercial and industrial business Centre; other centres include Bulawayo and Mutare. Formerly Southern Rhodesia, Zimbabwe attained independence from Britain in 1980. Elections are held every 5 years and the President is the Head of State.

Zimbabwe's economy is dependent on agricultural products including tobacco, cotton and sugar cane. Major export commodities are tobacco and horticulture. Smaller crops like sugar, tea, coffee, cotton, seeds, maize, small grains and oilseeds are also exported. The sector is an important contributor to the country’s export activities, with markets in America, Europe, Africa and the Far East. Mining contributes 4.3 % to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employs 7 % of the country’s labour force and earns 40 % of the foreign exchange. Zimbabwe is richly endowed with mineral resources, over 40 different types of minerals are mined in the country, including the major minerals gold, chrome, asbestos, coal, iron ore, nickel, copper, diamonds and platinum. Other contributors to the economy are industry and cattle farming. The principal manufactured exports include ferro-alloys, clothing, metal products, chemicals, plastics and cotton-lint. Livestock agriculture (cattle) is one of the country’s foremost economic activities. At present Zimbabwe is facing severe socio-economic difficulties including hyper-inflation, negative real interest rates, and a chronic shortage of foreign exchange.

Tourism contributes about 5 % of GDP and directly and indirectly employs over 83,000 people. Zimbabwe has one of the more diversified tourism resource bases in the SADC region. However, despite all its tourist attractions, very limited development has occurred since 1996 owing to inadequate support and few promotional activities for the sector. Wildlife and ecotourism are the mainstays of the sector but, in addition, the majestic Victoria Falls, the Great Zimbabwe National Monument, home tothe ancient rulers of Zimbabwe, the Matopos National Park, Lake Kariba, Mana Pools, and the scenic Eastern Highlands are some of the most favoured tourist sites.

GLTFCA Partners Forum

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Mon, 11/10/2021 - 16:47

The JMB has also embarked on a process to facilitate the re-establishment of the GLTFCA Secretariat. The first phase of the process was to design for the form and function of the proposed GLTFCA Secretariat through an extensive stakeholder consultation process. At the macro-level, stakeholders identified three key, interconnected areas of delegated authority and autonomy whereby the Secretariat could enable and catalyse significant progress towards the identified strategic outcomes of the GLTFCA.

WWF in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Mon, 11/10/2021 - 16:45

Delivering on WWF’s goal of KAZA of ‘A connected, climate resilient, economically viable conservation landscape for people and nature’ ís built on three pillars. These are to: 1) Protect KAZA’s key biodiversity assets through securing ecologically connected landscapes with diverse, healthy, resilient ecosystems; 2) Improve the governance and management of natural resources through empowered and resilient rural communities; and 3) Unlocking the economic value through a viable, sustainable regional economy supported by an environmentally sensitive regional planning.

Development of GLTFCA Fence Strategy

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Mon, 11/10/2021 - 16:35

The development of the proposed strategy will take into consideration the following factors: 

  1. Safety and Security issues, including current surge in wildlife crime;
  2. Veterinary issues, including disease control and management;
  3. Development of wildlife corridors; and
  4. Support of alternative livelihoods / livelihoods diversification programmes.

1) Animal Health Sub Working Group; 2)Carnivore Conservation Coalition Sub Working Group; 3)Human Wildlife Conflict project

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Mon, 11/10/2021 - 16:07

1- Increased crop yields due to agricultural interventions for improved livelihoods in four communities
2- Guardian and community volunteers/Eco Rangers trained in safe incident handling and SMART platform, disaggregated by gender and disability 
3- Disseminated information on challenges, successes and suggestions from village heads and traditional leadership from 4 communities through biannual meetings with the 4 community guardians and supervisor.

COVID Support

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Mon, 11/10/2021 - 09:20

As Above

Conserving Leopards in KAZA

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Mon, 11/10/2021 - 08:59

1) Organise manufacturing and delivery of faux traditional garments to Lozi, 2) Conduct counts of wild cat skins at Lozi cultural gatherings and conduct survey's with attendants, 3) Produce educational video(s) highlighting the detrimental effects of the illegal skin trade & promoting the use of synthetic alternatives, 4)  Engage with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and other relevant departments at all levels, 5) Repeated camera trap surveys done at six sites across Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe to monitor population trends to facilitate increased law enforcement, 6

Monitoring and Evaluation Support Programme

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Fri, 08/10/2021 - 16:25

1) Develop the KAZA Indicator Framework, 2) Technical assistance to the KAZA Secretariat, 3) Development of the online tool, 4) Online tool maintenance, 5) Socio-economic survey planning

Habitat Preservation, Wildlife Protection, and Anti-poaching Project

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Fri, 08/10/2021 - 14:41

Covid-19 Emergency Support

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Fri, 08/10/2021 - 10:56

-HWC mitigation 
-Support for  Covid 19 health services
-Food for work programme
-Support for protected area field rangers allowance
-Support for Conservation agriculture 
-Rehabilitation of community clinics 

Trans-Kalahari Predator Programme, WildCRU

Submitted by Kago Morobane on Fri, 08/10/2021 - 10:42

1)    Provide baseline information on lion population dynamics, ecology and behaviour to guide conservation actions and management of Hwange’s lion population, and serve as a reference point for conservation actions and management of lions elsewhere in Africa
2)    Extensive camera trap surveys to estimate lion and other large carnivore numbers using spatially-explicit capture recapture methods. 
3)    Collaring and monitoring dispersing males from resident prides in core protected areas to identify used corridors between protected areas

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