Elephant conference kicks off

Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
ALL is set for the inaugural African Elephant Conservation Conference which kicks off in Hwange tomorrow with delegates expected to be briefed on elephant conservation and management in Zimbabwe which is facing a swelling herd population, human-wildlife conflict and a ban on ivory trade.

The Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry, Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu, updated Cabinet last week on the hosting of the Conference at the Hwange National Park which is also meant to discuss and prepare for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 19th Conference of Parties (COP 19), scheduled for November 2022 in Panama.

The African Elephant Conference will also provide technical scientific research on African elephant conservation and management as well as assess the successes and failures recorded in that regard. Minister Ndlovu said the conference will also galvanise support on measures to improve African Elephant conservation in Southern Africa and agree on a framework for wildlife management.

As the conference kicks off issues around human-wildlife conflict have been highlighted as key as hundreds of people lose their lives as wildlife strays into human settlements often. Dr Emmanuel Fundira, chairman of the Zimbabwe Safari Operators Association said human and wildlife conflict is a cause for concern and is affecting the livelihoods of some communities.

“Human and wildlife conflict is a real challenge which we are facing in the country. At the moment we have situations in certain parts of the country where children are failing to go to school because of menace and threats from hyenas and we are saying this is now bordering not only on terms of livelihoods but in terms of the educational consideration of a girl child who is now being denied to go to school because of these animals.

So, we are saying to the global village we now have too many of these animals that are causing a lot of disturbances to our people. And it’s a menace which needs to be arrested before it really causes a lot of havoc,” he said in an interview.

Some Western countries and animal rights groups are, however, opposed to culling of the jumbos which have ballooned to over 50 000 in the Hwange National Park alone.

“Culling is another challenge; we currently sit on close to 100 000 elephants with an ecological capacity in this country of only half of that about 50 000. Hwange National Park on its own is currently sitting on 53  000 elephants whereas the ecological capacity of the park should only be around 15 000, so which means the habitat loss is unprecedented, we are losing the habitat and when we lose the habitat it means the animals will now try to leave the park and try to encroach where human beings are.

A total of 150 participants are expected to attend the event, including Ministers from 16 Southern, Central, Eastern and Western African countries; diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe; Non-State Actors, such as the CAMPFIRE Association, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Chiefs and local community representatives. — @NyembeziMu