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Sifelani Tsiko
The Interview
The growth of the tourism and wildlife sector in Zimbabwe and most other African countries has in recent decades presented huge opportunities to spur the continent’s economic growth. However, the industry has been devastated by the impact of Covid-19, possibly more so than most other economic sectors as total shutdown of borders and of the aviation sector — no flights meant no visitors at all.

In this report, Sifelani Tsiko (ST) our Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor speaks to Olivia Mufute (OM), the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) Zimbabwe country director on how her organisation is helping Zimbabwe’s wildlife sector to respond to the Covid-19 crisis.

ST: What has been the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on Zimbabwe’s wildlife and tourism sector?
OM: The novel coronavirus has had far reaching consequences on wildlife conservation across Africa and with devastating impact on Zimbabwe’s wildlife and tourism sector and the economy in general. The local tourism and hospitality industry took a massive hit following the ban on international travel due to Covid-19. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe’s premier tourism destination literally shut down together with the entire tourism value chain during the national lockdown. The massive losses in tourism revenue have huge implications right up to family, household and individual levels. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), which is the statutory authority mandated to protect and manage national parks, safari Areas, recreational parks and botanical reserves relies heavily on international tourism and lost significant funding for its operations. This funding is critical for wildlife management activities which include anti-poaching operations as well as support for rangers and other parks personnel. In short, Covid-19 has inflicted a huge financial blow to the wildlife sector.

ST: ZimParks largely depends on tourism revenue inflows to manage its parks. Sources on the ground say desperate people are now turning to wild animals for food and other endangered plant and animal species for survival. To what extent do you think this could lead to an upsurge in poaching activities if no urgent measures are taken to support the wildlife sector?
OM: If communities have no alternative livelihood, they can turn to poaching. A large percentage of the Zimbabwe population including local communities is food insecure. At the grassroots level, many local communities who were dependent directly on the tourism and wildlife industry also lost significant income and livelihoods. Lack of benefits and incentives for communities living adjacent to protected areas leads to a desperate situation which can push communities to turn to protected areas for survival, for example, search for food including game meat for both subsistence and commercial poaching. If no measures are put in place, there might be an increase in poaching.

ST: In Zimbabwe and Africa, wildlife is one of the continent’s biggest attractions with game reserves and national parks welcoming millions of visitors every year to experience wild animals up close. ZimParks and other wildlife conservation activities are hardest hit and in dire need of support. Can you tell us how the African Wildlife Foundation is supporting ZimParks and local communities affected by the Covid-19 crisis?
OM: The African Wildlife Foundation reviewed its work programmes and committed USD $1,6 million of own funding for 13 landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa to address Covid-19. For Zimbabwe’s Middle Zambezi Valley landscape, AWF has already committed USD$200 000 for the next six months in efforts to ensure that conservation gains are not lost. AWF is partnering with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and the Mbire Rural District Council to support anti-poaching activities. Funding from AWF is supporting salaries for 75 community wildlife scouts in Mbire District and 133 Government wildlife rangers from ZimParks working in the Zambezi Valley. Funding support also includes fuel for anti-poaching deployments, patrol rations, ranger incentives and community wildlife scout salaries and personal protective equipment (PPEs). For the Mbire District, AWF is also supporting human wildlife conflict mitigation, community health and awareness, working in partnership with the District Civil Protection Unit and supplying the communities with Covid-19 PPEs. Items include face masks, hand washing stations, gloves and sanitisers. AWF is also supporting the vulnerable communities in eight wards in Mbire District with alternative livelihood support for horticulture and small livestock production input schemes.

For Protected Areas anti-poaching support, AWF has committed funds to support national parks stations in the Zambezi Valley that include Mana Pools National Park, Marongora, Chewore Safarai Area and the Zambezi Valley Reaction Unit (ZAVARU) with anti-poaching support. The anti-poaching support includes fuel, patrol rations, ranger incentives, hand washing facilities, sanitisers, face masks, gloves and other PPEs.

ST: Do you think the support you are giving ZimParks and local communities is enough to at least help them to stop the tide of poaching activities?
OM: Obviously, there are some gaps, but as the AWF we strongly believe that the funding support will go a long way in motivating the community wildlife scouts and rangers who are the frontline staff in the fight against illegal wildlife trade and trafficking.

ST: For the long term, what are your plans to support ZimParks and local communities in the post — Covid-19 period? What nature do you think the support will take?
OM: AWF has both immediate and long term plans for Zimbabwe and has developed a Country Conservation Strategy in line with AWF’s new Strategic Plan, which was developed before the Covid-19 crisis, with a vision of an Africa where sustainable development includes thriving wildlife and wild lands as a cultural and economic asset for Africa’s future generations. The vision is to engage and support leadership at all levels in their efforts to stabilise Africa’s wildlife habitats, protect wildlife and wild lands, eliminate illegal wildlife trade and ensure the development of Africa is inclusive and green. Building a foundation for a “new normal” for Africa, where conservation and development are not mutually exclusive — and conservation is a core value to governments, economies, and citizens in the long term, ultimately addressing the more devastating drivers of destruction of habitats, including rapidly developing infrastructure and agriculture. In line with this strategic vision, under the Covid-19 response programmes, we are committing to increase and maintain investments in protected and conserved areas necessary to safeguard gains made over decades toward wildlife protection. Our priorities right now are to repurpose some programmes so that we can better support local communities who have lost their incomes due to Covid-19 pandemic. While Covid-19 has brought many challenges, it has also presented an opportunity to ensure that future crises are considered and solutions planned for within the Zimbabwe Country Conservation Strategy document.

ST: Human-wildlife conflict incidents are still a major issue here in Zimbabwe. What is the AWF doing to support activities to lessen the problems in this country?
OM: At national level, AWF is assisting the ZimParks with funding support to develop a Policy on Human Wildlife Conflict. At the local level, AWF is working with communities and implementing programmes to mitigate against human-wildlife conflict (HWC) and replicating successful HWC mitigation best practices such as the use of chilli peppers in Mbire District. The local communities have been experiencing huge crop failures due to damage mostly by elephants. Mbire is one of Zimbabwe’s top hotspots for HWC, which also includes livestock predation by lions and spotted hyena, including losses of human lives through HWC. AWF has partnered with district level HWC mitigation teams, comprising of Mbire RDC, AGRITEX, ZimParks, Environmental Management Agency and the Forestry Commission to train local communities in human elephant conflict mitigation, including the development of standard operating procedures. AWF is also assisting farmers from Mbire District with training to commercially produce chilli peppers as an alternative livelihood and for human elephant conflict mitigation. AWF has supported farmers with inputs and linkages to markets. Training on HWC mitigation for predators is also being conducted in Mbire RDC with funding from AWF.

ST: The coronavirus outbreak last December in China has been linked to wild animals. Could you briefly tell us about the link between environmental degradation and the outbreak of zoonotic diseases?
OM: Some of the world’s most contagious diseases originate from animals. Examples include Ebola, H1N1, SARS, Covid-19 and HIV. These animal-borne or zoonotic diseases are passed to humans when the wildlife and human-interface and viruses are transmitted to humans causing disease outbreaks. Experts believe the Covid-19 virus originated in bats in Wuhan, South Western China.

According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) 2019 Global Assessment, humans have significantly impacted the global ecosystems leading to massive species decline and habitat loss. The habitat loss, fragmentation and environmental degradation as a result of the growing human population disrupted key ecosystem services and have led to increased contact between wildlife and people thus exposing them to harmful pathogens which cause diseases and increase human wildlife conflict. Scientists and veterinary experts have published papers on this topic. Human activities causing destruction of the wildlife habitat, deforestation, poaching, veld fires are huge drivers which have resulted in increased zoonotic disease outbreaks. Humans have created the conditions for viruses to quickly move from wildlife species to humans by removing the natural barriers between host animals and humans. The possibility of new novel viruses which can cause another global pandemic is very high. There is a clear connection between the spread of zoonotic diseases and biodiversity loss which shows that direct connection between human well-being and the well-being of all living things and entire ecosystems.

ST: What do you think needs to be done to minimise the impact of zoonotic diseases on humans? What is the AWF doing about this? Any major programmes on this?
OM: Zimbabwe’s Mid-Zambezi Valley is a global biodiversity hotspot. The African Wildlife Foundation is supporting the Government of Zimbabwe to protect this valuable ecosystem. Healthy ecosystems and biological diversity play a critical role and also help protect humanity against global pandemics. Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity can assist in reducing the spread of zoonotic diseases. AWF is implementing a holistic approach to protect ecosystems and biodiversity through facilitating and supporting integrated land use planning, promoting and supporting community development and a diversified wildlife economy to enhance resilience of local communities.

AWF’s current area of focus, the Mid-Zambezi Valley Transboundary Landscape is critical for the survival of wildlife in the region and beyond. The large transboundary Conservation Area (TFCA) covers Zimbabwe’s core conservation areas anchoring the larger landscape, an area of around 40 000 km2 centred around Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe (a World Heritage Site) and the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia. The TFCA has some of the most remarkable terrestrial and riverine wildlife concentrations, including significant populations of endangered species such as elephant, lion and wild dog and some of the most scenic landscapes in Southern Africa. The TFCA is an Important Bird Areas (IBA), a Ramsar site and a Biosphere Reserve and protects more a large section of the Zambezi River. The vast mosaic of conservation areas in the landscape offer a unique opportunity for AWF to assist the Government of Zimbabwe in protecting the large vestiges of viable wildlife populations and their habitats against threats which include poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat conversion due to human population growth, agricultural expansion, deforestation and related activities. Underlying these factors are limited alternative livelihoods for local communities to sustain themselves. At the national level, AWF is supporting and contributing to the development of the Government of Zimbabwe policy framework which promotes inclusive green growth across the economic sectors through engagements with civil society, particularly women and youths.

ST: Looking ahead into the future, how do you for see Zimbabwe and most other African countries emerging out of the Covid-19 crisis, particularly in the wildlife tourism sector?
OM: The Covid-19 crisis is a huge wake up call for African governments to rethink their development plans and promote inclusive green growth. African governments need to diversify and develop long term plans that reduce dependency on international tourism. There is need to develop and implement plans that increase the resilience of local communities, including sustainable solutions to food production. Diversifying revenue base and promoting rural economic growth and stimulate rural economies and supply chains which will increase the resilience of local communities through creation of alternative livelihoods. Governments need to develop models that are not heavily dependent on international tourism as the current global situation has proved that such business models are not resilient enough. Zimbabwe needs to review its policy framework to promote investment in an inclusive green economy in line with the national vision “To transform Zimbabwe to an upper middle economy by 2030.” Other strategies by African governments include raising awareness, innovation as well as leveraging emerging new information communication technologies.

ST: What is your message to African governments and the local communities who live close to wildlife management areas who are reeling under the Covid-19 crisis?
OM: Take action and preventative measures now to prevent a future resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic through safeguarding the exceptionally beautiful and pristine wild lands and the thriving and diverse wildlife for which the African continent is renowned for as the future of humanity is literally in our hands. Conserving biodiversity is integral to the survival of humanity!