
Standrick Chagadama
THE Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is no longer serving the interests of Southern African countries that are suffocating under the weight of elephant overpopulation, resulting in rising cases of human-wildlife conflict.
Briefing The Sunday Mail on the outcomes of the recently held Kavango-Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) Summit held in Livingstone, Zambia, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Permanent Secretary Dr Takaruza Munyanyiwa said CITES was instead “negatively impacting conservation sustainability within the region”.
CITES is a global agreement among governments to regulate or ban international trade in species under threat.
“The key issues which arose from the deliberations . . . were as follows: Sound conservation initiatives within KAZA have led to improved biodiversity and wildlife population, for example elephant population,” said Dr Munyanyiwa.
“KAZA member states should not be punished but encouraged for their conservation efforts by being allowed to continue with trophy hunting and trading in wildlife products, especially the stockpiled ivory.
“The KAZA wide elephant aerial survey demonstrates collaborative effort at landscape scale in joint planning; harmonisation of project design and methodology; data sharing; capacity building; resource mobilisation and joint implementation.
“CITES, as a forum, no longer well represents or reflects the realities within Southern Africa and decisions at this forum are negatively impacting conservation sustainability within the region.”
The summit also concluded that integrated water resource management was key to enabling member countries to meet the ever-increasing demand for water utilisation.
It was also agreed that wildlife surveys need to be extended to other species beyond elephants.
During the summit, Zimbabwe took over the chairmanship of the KAZA TFCA Secretariat.
The trans-frontier area spans 520 000 square kilometres across five SADC countries — Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Said Dr Munyanyiwa: “Zimbabwe will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the KAZA TFCA Secretariat, which is located in Botswana. This is a significant role for Zimbabwe, as the KAZA TFCA is the largest trans-frontier conservation area in the world, spanning 520 000 square kilometres across the five SADC countries.”
During the summit, it was agreed that high costs of air travel and poor destination connectivity were limiting tourist arrivals into the area.
“Increased direct flights into the TFCA will go a long way in boosting tourist arrivals, increased length of stay and tourism expenditure in the region,” said Dr Munyanyiwa.
“Cross-border tourism facilitation is key for the development of KAZA. Joint packaging and marketing of products are key for the development and growth of tourism within the KAZA region.”
The countries also agreed to harmonise border processes, including operating hours, to facilitate easier movement across national borders.
The summit was held under the theme “Leveraging KAZA’s natural capital and cultural heritage resources as catalysts for inclusive socio-economic development of the eco-region”.
More than 400 delegates attended the meeting.