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HARARE- Multilateral agencies and conservation groups are refusing to fund the Zimbabwean component of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, one of Africa's most ambitious conversation project, because of the lawlessness of President Robert Mugabe's regime.

Industry sources said the World Bank, the European Union and other conversation groups have refused funding "until things change politically in Zimbabwe."

Without foreign currency reserves of its own, the Zimbabwean government has not been able to spend much money on new infrastructure urgently needed to allow tourists to visit the Zimbabwean sector of the park.

The government was eager to boost tourist inflows during the 2010 World Cup showcase by promoting the Zimbabwe component of the park.

The park is to straddle three international borders, uniting game areas in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe into one seamless reserve through which tourists would move without passport requirements. At 13,500 square miles, the park is billed as the second biggest transfrontier park in Africa and potentially one of the continent's richest wildlife areas. But while work is proceeding apace on uniting the South African component, the Kruger Park, and the Mozambican element, an old hunting concession called Coutada 16, Zimbabwe has been left behind.
"The problem is the funding, because Zimbabwe has no money of its own and the foreign funders refuse to give any backing because of what is going on there," said Prof Willem van Riet, one of the park's main backers.

Under the Mugabe regime there has been a surge in wildlife poaching and the country's Gonarezhou national park, which was to have been its contribution to the new game reserve, has been partly invaded by illegal squatters.

Industry officials say Zimbabwe's de facto expulsion from the project represents an embarrassment for Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, who has sought to present the park as a good example of co-operation between African nations.

The Zimbabwean was told that road network on the South African side is very extensive in the Kruger Park but millions of pounds will be needed to create similar infrastructure in Mozambique. The German government has provided around £9 million for the project as long as it is spent in South Africa and Mozambique and not Zimbabwe.

Two shipments of animals from the Kruger Park have already been relocated to the Mozambican sector, which has very few animals because of years of civil war, hunting and poaching. Ten out of 29 elephants moved to Mozambique did not like their new surroundings, however, and trekked for more than 100 miles back to the South African sector, according to Van Riet.

Zimbabwe Council for Tourism CEO Paul Matamisa said there was a need for a separate budget from line ministries to cater for the transfrontier park if Zimbabwe is to get any spin-offs from the World Cup set to be hosted by South Africa in 2010.
"Zimbabwe is basically being left behind because of what is going on there at the political level," a senior conservation source said. "It is a great pity but until things change politically Zimbabwe will not be involved in the project."

Labels: gonarezhou, great limpopo park, greater limpopo park, transfrontier park, zimbabwe

HARARE- About 700 families of the Chitsa clan, who have been living in the Gonarezhou National Park since 2000, will be relocated to alternative land at the end of the cropping season, the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has said.

The Authority has been pushing for this measure to enable the integration of the Park into the Kruger in South Africa and Limpopo Parks in Mozambique to form the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.



The Chitsa people, at the instigation of their leaders, have been resisting relocation attempts by the authority arguing that the area was their ancestral home.

They claim that they were hoodwinked into leaving the park by the colonial regime under the pretext that they wanted to clear the area of tsetse fly before people could return.

They further claim that after the clearing of the tsetse fly, the colonial regime made their land part of the Gonarezhou Park and they were never allowed to return.

Parks spokesperson, Retired Major Edward Mbewe, said that the community, after a series of consultations and meetings, had agreed to be relocated.

"We have covered quite a lot of ground and the political will is on our side.

"We held several meetings with the chiefs, the area’s Member of Parliament, headman Chitsa, provincial and district administrators and everyone agreed that they should be relocated to allow the smooth implementation of the Transfrontier Park. They will be moving," said Rtd Maj Mbewe.

He said the authority had not started the relocation process due to the current cropping season and as soon as the season is over, the relocation process would start.

"As an authority, we can not do things which are inhuman and as soon as they harvest their crops, we will start the relocation process.

"Currently, we are also working on a comprehensive programme on how the relocation would be implemented," Rtd Maj Mbewe added.

He said chiefs and other traditional leaders who attended the consultative meetings, had concurred with the Chitsa community on the historical importance of the park.

Rtd Maj Mbewe said while the settlement of the families in the park was against the Parks and Wildlife Act, the authority would not disrupt the community’s farming activities through a hurried relocation.

"In the meantime, we are enforcing some of the provisions of the Act as we work out on the comprehensive relocation programme.

"We will be limiting the movement of their livestock in the park. We are also making sure that dogs are not allowed in the area."

Labels: gonarezhou, great limpopo park, land reform, transfrontier park

The Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) is poised to become the world's greatest animal kingdom and tourist attraction, bringing with it huge benefits for Africa's socio-economic growth.

Once the 10 million hectares GLTP has been opened, tourists from all over the world will wander across the borders of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique without any hassles while locals benefit from conservation-based activities.

Zibonele Ntuli visited Maputo, Mozambique, recently, where Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Mohammed Valli Moosa was addressing the GLTP ministerial committee, giving a progress report on developments at the park, and highlighting how it would benefit surrounding communities.

Perceived as one of the largest leading transfrontier parks in the world and a prime example of the emerging trend toward bioregional ecosystem management, the Park will integrate a number of national parks under an ecosystem-based management regime.

Eventually, it will link the 1.1 million hectare Limpopo National Park, formerly a hunting concession in Mozambique, the 2 million hectare world-renowned Kruger National Park in South Africa, and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park, Malapati Safari Area and Manjinji Pan Sanctuary (505,300ha) into one isolated transfrontier park.

It will be managed under a harmonising planning effort that will recognise the sovereignty of each country while acknowledging their mutual interests in conservation of their common natural heritage.

To date a lot of work has been done to put such ideas into practice.

As Minister Moosa confirms the establishment of such a world-class eco-tourism destination was not an overnight task. There is still a long way to go.

"It all started with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the ministers from the three countries establishing a technical committee to plan for the eventual park, which was later followed by the signing of the treaty by our heads of states in Xai-Xai, in 2002," he explains.

Touching on the historic background of the park, Mr Moosa says the creation thereof was the product of years of sustainable conservation, following the dismal failure of the former regime to manage especially the elephants at the Kruger National Park.

Since his government took over in 1994, there has been a smooth management of elephants.

"During the apartheid years, the only way of managing elephants was to kill them until 1995 when the new government decided to stop the killing. One of the first things we did in establishing the GLTP was the translocation of elephants from South Africa to Mozambique."

He regards the move to relocate some of the elephants to Mozambique as depicting an end to division between countries in line with the vision of the African Union (AU), New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), African Renaissance and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

"We had to start inventing the idea of a transfrontier park, we were so fortunate that all three heads of state committed themselves to this, they had a vision to give birth to the idea long before this matter was discussed between them," he says.

He acknowledges that before the dawn democracy, South Africa did not enjoy the best of relations with its neighbouring countries, therefore the creation of the GLTP has served to unite them.

"South Africans turned their backs on hostility and wars, and vowed to live in peace. This tripartite alliance is about the people in three countries reaching out to each other," he says.

He says at least 15km of fence separating the Kruger National Park and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique has already been removed, a large number of animals have been translocated, management has been put in place and infrastructure is in the process of being developed.

Another 120km of fence will be removed soon.

South Africa has injected R40 million towards infrastructure costs such as removing the fence, and the building of a new border post- being developed specifically to service internal movement within the park.

"We have contributed no less than R40 million to the project to enhance this regional socio-economic development initiative and we are happy that our trans-border eco-tourism drive flourished from this exercise."

He says such contribution strengthened the exchange of technical, scientific and legal information for the joint management of the ecosystems.

Within the transfrontier park, international borders will be nonexistent.

"In the longer term the periphery of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier will be fenced off to ensure that people and goods pass only through official border posts."

He says such cross border collaboration will give practical and valuable effect to the stated objectives of the SADC and Nepad, which is aimed at solely achieving this significant synergy.

The minister believes it is important to consult and involve all stakeholders in the planning and decision-making process.

"We must involve local communities and other key stakeholders in the monitoring and evaluation process.

"This involves the harmonisation of approaches to issues like natural resource management which include community-based natural resource management, harmonised approaches and procedures for private sector involvement in the projects, and encourage local investors to actively participate in these projects."

He believes that all three countries have the time and resources, and human capital to achieve the objectives they have set for themselves.

Though the minister is confident that the foundation laid is good enough for the park to work perfectly, he acknowledges serious challenges that still need to be addressed.

In some parts of the Limpopo National Park, many issues ranging from a lack of wildlife and basic infrastructure to community related issues must be attended to.

At least 3,000 animals are needed in those parts.

It is in this regard that the governments involved are undertaking a programme to introduce certain animal species.

Mining is regarded as one of the major challenges for both Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Landmines must be cleared to make the nearby Sengwe corridor a strategic link.

In addition to all these problems, there are still another 6,000 communities that are living in some parts of the Limpopo National Park which has caused "animal-human" conflicts.

Removing them from the land they call home was met with resistance in the past, however as Mr Moosa says the communities' active involvement in the park will make life easy.

"Communities want to be actively involved. We must capitalise on what they are willing to offer including access to information, strategic decision-making process, access to land, labour, agriculturally based arts, crafts, and construction material," he explains.

People living within the park currently face high levels of poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy.

However, they are set to obtain preferential access in any employment opportunities that will arise from the development of the park.

Passionate about conservation, Mr Moosa affirms he will continue to champion conservation regardless of his retirement this year from politics.

"I think everybody has a role and responsibility towards nature as the economic and social well being is based on the use of natural resources," he says.

He believes that one does not need to earn a salary while contributing towards nature conservation.

Upon completion, the GLTP will offer tourists a range of adventures and attractions in addition to the spectacular big five.

Over 116 species of reptiles, 34 species of frogs and 49 different fish including the rare lungfish will be found at the Park.

Some 500 species of birds are also found in the Park while the nearby wetlands offer 'feathered five' possibilities with wild ostrich, pygmy goose and wattled cranes among the unusual sightings.

The northern portions of the park, home to more than half of the 2,000 plant species, provide ample habitat for woodlands antelopes.

"We cannot fail, we must not fail, the challenge lies ahead in our collective courage to get to the plough and work," implores the Minister.

Labels: gonarezhou, great limpopo park, greater limpopo park, makuleke, northern kruger