NEW: KAZA TFCA launches US$3m elephants aerial survey 

11 Nov, 2021 - 12:11 0 Views
NEW: KAZA TFCA launches US$3m elephants aerial survey 

The Sunday Mail

Online Reporter 

ZIMBABWE will be part of a historical Kavango Zambezi Transfontier Conservation (KAZA TFCA) area-wide coordinated aerial survey of elephants, which is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2022.

The aerial survey of the largest contiguous trans-boundary elephant population in the world, will run for four months at an expected cost of nearly US$3 million.

The KAZA has a geographic scope of approximately 520 000km², covering five countries, namely Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

It has a diverse landscape that is home to an estimated population of two million people.

Coordinated by the KAZA secretariat in collaboration with designated teams in each of the partner states, the aerial survey will be based on the recently revised Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) aerial survey standards.

Executive director in Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Mr Teofious Nghitila, announced the record-breaking initiative on Thursday, on behalf of the five states as the coordinating country for the KAZA TFCA.

“The survey is a fundamental component of the KAZA Strategic Planning Framework for the conservation and management of elephants.

“It is also one of the action points of the 2019 Kasane Elephant Summit and a directive by the five countries’ heads of states. Results from the survey will contribute significantly towards decisions on the sustainable management of KAZA’s elephant population,” he said.

The elephant population within KAZA represents more than 50 percent of the remaining savannah elephants (Loxodonta Africana) found in Africa.

The species is listed as globally endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

 

 

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