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Sifelani Tsiko
Agric, Environment Editor

Just as Zimbabwe and many African countries appeared to have gained control over the Covid-19, the outbreak of the omicron variant in Southern Africa has further worsened recovery prospects for the wildlife conservation sector.

The fourth wave has dampened the recovery of the tourism sector as well as all conservation efforts aimed at safeguarding natural resources.

The detection of the omicron variant has led to a surge in Covid-19 infections forcing most governments in Africa to impose restrictions.

Travel bans by western countries on the southern African tourism route has had a debilitating impact on tourism and revenue for conservation agencies that rely solely on the affluent tourists from the West.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) is one of the hardest hit conservation agencies.

Loss of revenue from wildlife tourism has had major impact on its operations and how it manages wildlife species and habitats.

The impact of the pandemic has been massive as loss of revenue has reduced the agency’s capacity to fund conservation operations and support the benefit sharing schemes.

In addition, it has also undermined the importance of conservation in competing with alternative economic activities which destroy the country’s biodiversity.

The result is quite scary: increased unemployment and household poverty due to closure of businesses has pushed up wildlife crimes and unsustainable activities.

Wildlife expert even warn that contributions from donor-funding organisations and development partners are no longer guaranteed as revenues could be diverted to support other sectors including health.

The Covid-19 has had unprecedented effects on the conservation and protection of wildlife in protected areas.

This has forced Zimparks and other conservation agencies in the region to look inward and find innovative ways to build safety nets and financial reserves to support conservation operations.

For Zimbabwe reeling under the added burden of sanctions, it has been an uphill battle to fund Zimparks adequately.

Travel restrictions and the resultant socio-economic shocks have reduced funding for the conservation agency.

The impact on wildlife – based tourism and reduced foreign investment in the tourism sector has limited the ability of Zimparks to effectively protect the country’s wildlife and to support communities that rely on wildlife tourism.

The economic downturns also mean that rural communities are left with no option except to rely on extracting natural resources to safeguard their livelihoods.

In the midst of all doom and gloom, it was quite heart-warming to hear that the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) handed over a Toyota Hilux GD6 double cab for use by the ZimParks conservation team combating poaching in the Marongora area of the Zambezi Valley.

Support for Zimparks is very critical in strengthening the country’s fight against poaching of wildlife species along the Zambezi River.

This week, AWF handed over new infrastructure to ZimParks that included a new office block, operations room, entertainment centre, ranger accommodation, new vehicle workshop as well as a new vehicle to shore up conservation efforts and help ease problems facing rangers in their operations.

Zimparks hardly receives adequate budgetary support from the national fiscus and any support from partners such as the AWF, will help strengthen the conservation agency’s operations.

The greatest impact of the support is in safeguarding Zimbabwe’s natural habitats and protecting biodiversity.

At the official handover ceremony, ZimParks director-general, Fullard Mangwanya hailed AWF for demonstrating its commitment and passion in plugging various conservation gaps which his organisation could not cover on its own.

“The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is indebted to your continuous and unconditional support which has yielded positive outcomes for conservation in the Zambezi Valley and beyond,” he said.

“Our relationship is growing from strength to strength since way back in the 90s.

“Today, we are here at the Zambezi River Specialized Anti-Poaching Unit (ZARSAU) D Camp where we are all witnessing the good infrastructure that has been set for our staff and the establishment of a sub-station which qualifies to attain full status of a fully-fledged station.

“For those of us who know this site as D Camp, it used to operate more like a simple patrol picket or base with no buildings save for the old wooden office close to the river. Today AWF has helped us to transform this site into a modern station of which it compares favourably amongst the best stations we have in the Zambezi Valley.”

AWF country director, Olivia Mufute reiterated her organisation’s commitment to supporting ZimParks and the country to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in the wildlife sector.

“Last year when Covid-19 struck, day to day life as we know it changed profoundly, shutting down industries, crippling economies and demanding re-organisation of systems and structures.

“Our sector, the conservation sector, was among the worst hit along with our local communities who depend directly on natural resources for their livelihoods. The global travel lockdowns crushed tourism overnight significantly diminishing revenues for protected area operations. We are still feeling the effects of the pandemic to date,” she said.

Mufute said the AWF responded proactively and launched the Covid-19 Emergency Response to support Zimbabwe’s conservation operations.

“We have provided support to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority in the form of fuel for anti-poaching deployments, patrol rations, PPEs and allowances for rangers in the Zambezi Valley and for community wildlife scouts from the Mbire District,” she said.

“Zimparks has been extremely proactive in introducing measures to protect the lives of staff and citizens and adapting to the emerging challenges surrounding the global pandemic.

“Working together, we have managed to protect our conservation gains, and to prove anyone wrong who thought that African protected areas would not manage to whether the Covid-19 crisis.”

With this nature of support, Zimbabwe should be able to ride over the omicron variant storm minimising the impact on conservation operations, the socio-economic environment and benefits that accrue to local communities.

AWF support is making a huge difference. It must be commended.

The support and the partnerships is helping to safeguard the Zambezi Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site rich with biodiversity – teeming bird species, a wetland, stunningly beautiful landscape and home to rare and endangered species such as elephants, lions, wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs.

The area has more than 400 bird species, high water bird density and rich aquatic fauna mixed mopane-miombo woodlands.