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Zvamaida Murwira, Harare Bureau

SOUTHERN Africa must never be apologetic about its wildlife conservation models and outsiders like the West have no moral standing to lecture the region on sustainable management given that they failed to preserve their wildlife, President Mnangagwa has said.

Speaking during the signing ceremony of the Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia Tripartite Transfrontier Conservation Area Memorandum of Agreement (ZIMOZA TFCA), a transboundary initiative for managing shared natural resources, in Harare yesterday, President Mnangagwa said there was need to take action to stem the growing wildlife population given the negative consequences on people and the environmental ecosystem, but that should be done on local terms.

The historic event was held at State House and Zimbabwe was represented by President Mnangagwa, while Mozambique was represented by President Filipe Nyusi, with Zambian Tourism Minister Rodney Sikumba representing his principal, President Hakainde Hichilema.

ZIMOZA TFCA is a transboundary initiative for managing shared natural resources, community-based resource management, infrastructural development and policy harmonisation.

In his address, President Mnangagwa said he was worried that countries that failed to preserve their wildlife had an appetite to lecture countries with wildlife.

“We must never apologise for the conservation models we have adopted as we defend our policies and values. We have inherited the wildlife from our forefathers and we should preserve it for future generations. For me, who is an ordinary villager, I find it difficult to accept to be taught by those who have vanquished their wildlife on how to keep our wildlife,” said President Mnangagwa while delivering closing remarks at the event.

His remarks come as the region is banned from selling ivory or culling the elephant herd under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

In Zimbabwe’s case, the elephant population has overgrown, leading to overgrazing, soil erosion, habitat degradation and incidences of fatal conflict with adjacent communities.

Earlier, President Mnangagwa said there was a need for a holistic approach to addressing various conservation and developmental challenges, core among them being the ever-increasing incidences of human-wildlife conflict.

“Hence the need to ensure an intricate balance between the interests and safety of our communities with the steady growth of wildlife populations in Zimbabwe and the region, cannot be emphasised. We cannot pay lip service to the negative consequences posed by bulging wildlife populations on our people and environmental ecosystem.

Sustainability, therefore, must be addressed boldly and realistically,” he said. Turning to yesterday’s event, President Mnangagwa described it as a landmark occasion, saying it represented a new era of co-operation among the three nations.

He said the agreement provided a tool for the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063.

“It forms part of the critical building blocks for our three countries to forge closer partnerships envisioned under several multilateral environmental agreements,” the President said. The Zimoza Transfrontier Conservation is the sixth initiative in the region which Zimbabwe is part of.

Others include the Kavango Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area involving Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia; the Greater Mapungubwe Trans-Frontier Conservation Area involving Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa; the Great Limpopo Trans-Frontier Conservation Area involving Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique; the Lower Zambezi Mana Pools Trans-Frontier Conservation Area between Zimbabwe and Zambia; and the Chimanimani Trans-Frontier Conservation Area between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

“The experience that our region has gained in the management of these areas should embolden us to broaden our scope and effectiveness with regards the management of the Zimbabwe-Mozambique-Zambia Trans-Frontier Conservation Area,” President Mnangagwa said.

The agreement covers many wildlife corridors and different animals that include elephant, buffalo, hippopotamus, lion, leopard, sable, roan and antelope.

“To date, approximately 600 000 people reside inside the Trans-Frontier Conservation Area, many of whose livelihoods are heavily dependent on natural resources such as water, fish, wildlife and forests. Communities that live within the Trans-Frontier Conservation Area are separated by borders but not by culture and history.

The Conservation Area covers 10 districts within the three countries namely Mbire, Muzarabani, Mt Darwin, Guruve, Centenary and part of Makonde in Zimbabwe; Magoe, Cahora Bassa and Zumbo in Mozambique; and Luangwa and Rufunsa, in Zambia,” the President said.

“This is a true reflection that we are one people with a common past and an intricately linked future, more so, as we address trans-boundary challenges such as climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as compatible land use, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem viability. As such, the Government and people of Zimbabwe are committed to deliver on the set targets outlined in the institutional framework we are formally establishing today.”

He said the prevalence of El Niño-induced droughts had far-reaching consequences on the socio-economic landscape of the region hence the need to have pro-active intervention measures to build greater resilience.

“To accelerate climate action, we must expand requisite infrastructure, develop early warning systems, improve disaster preparedness and scale up community resilience through education and capacity-building programmes,” President Mnangagwa said.

In his speech, President Nyusi described the agreement as important. “The agreement is an important milestone for Sadc and it is critical in addressing key issues in our countries and the region,” he said.

President Nyusi called for the conservation of the environment and sustainable use of natural resources. “The agreement testifies to our unity and conservation of wildlife and natural resources,” he said.

President Nyusi said wildlife conservation was critical given that animals such as elephants did not know political boundaries imposed by colonialists.

“Elephants have nothing to do with man-made boundaries, animals do not need passports to move around, they do not even give notice when they want to move,” he said. President Nyusi said Mozambique supported the concept of a Univisa.

Earlier on, Minister Sikumba from Zambia had implored Mozambique to join the Univisa as part of greater efforts to enhance regional integration through tourism.

Univisa is a unique common visa to facilitate the movement of tourists and currently, it is only available in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.