Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe occupies 390,757 km² of land in south central Africa, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The land-locked country is bounded by Mozambique to the east, Zambia to the north and north west, South Africa to the south, and to the south west by Botswana. It lies wholly within the tropics and is part of the great plateau which traverses Africa.

The climate of Zimbabwe is temperate. The winter season from May to August is cool and dry, with temperatures between 13 to 20 degrees Celsius. Summer, which is from December to February temperatures vary between 25 and 30 °C and the rainy season normally stretches from November to March. Parts of the country suffer regular periods of drought.The average monthly rainfall is 196mm in summer and 10mm in winter.

Zimbabwe has a population of 12,754,000 (latest census). The official and business language is English, with Shona and Ndebele also widely spoken. Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe, a vital commercial and industrial business Centre; other centres include Bulawayo and Mutare. Formerly Southern Rhodesia, Zimbabwe attained independence from Britain in 1980. Elections are held every 5 years and the President is the Head of State.

Zimbabwe's economy is dependent on agricultural products including tobacco, cotton and sugar cane. Major export commodities are tobacco and horticulture. Smaller crops like sugar, tea, coffee, cotton, seeds, maize, small grains and oilseeds are also exported. The sector is an important contributor to the country’s export activities, with markets in America, Europe, Africa and the Far East. Mining contributes 4.3 % to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employs 7 % of the country’s labour force and earns 40 % of the foreign exchange. Zimbabwe is richly endowed with mineral resources, over 40 different types of minerals are mined in the country, including the major minerals gold, chrome, asbestos, coal, iron ore, nickel, copper, diamonds and platinum. Other contributors to the economy are industry and cattle farming. The principal manufactured exports include ferro-alloys, clothing, metal products, chemicals, plastics and cotton-lint. Livestock agriculture (cattle) is one of the country’s foremost economic activities. At present Zimbabwe is facing severe socio-economic difficulties including hyper-inflation, negative real interest rates, and a chronic shortage of foreign exchange.

Tourism contributes about 5 % of GDP and directly and indirectly employs over 83,000 people. Zimbabwe has one of the more diversified tourism resource bases in the SADC region. However, despite all its tourist attractions, very limited development has occurred since 1996 owing to inadequate support and few promotional activities for the sector. Wildlife and ecotourism are the mainstays of the sector but, in addition, the majestic Victoria Falls, the Great Zimbabwe National Monument, home tothe ancient rulers of Zimbabwe, the Matopos National Park, Lake Kariba, Mana Pools, and the scenic Eastern Highlands are some of the most favoured tourist sites.

CAZCOM Project

Activities include technical & academic training; establishment of a laboratory with international standards; development of research projects & setting up of effective surveillance & control systems for emerging infectious diseases

CASEST Project

Several projects

Various Projects

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Proposed re-establishment of the GLTFCA Secretariat

The proposed Secretariat will be an independent entity which is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the GLTP / GLTFCA on behalf of the GLTP / GLTFCA Joint Management Board.  As such, the Secretariat will report to the JMB and support the 3 GLTFCA implementing agencies in collaboration with key partners to implement decisions made by the JMB.  This would include the effective implementation of the various policies, strategies and initiatives approved by the JMB.

Various

The projects are aimed at building resilient communities and ecosystems

Various

The projects are aimed at building resilient communities and ecosystems

Southern African Conservation Fund

  • elephant collaring initiative to monitor movements of 40 elephants across KAZA 
  • Veterinary Cordon fence assessment in Botswana/Namibia 
  • Aerial survey workshop to update standards and methodologies 
  • Assessment of three Wildlife Dispersal Areas 
  • virtual workshop to harmonise wildlife crime legislation across KAZA 

Development of a Conservation & Development Framework for the Pafuri-Sengwe Node

In order to guide the activities of the Joint Park Management Committees in each one of the GLTFCA nodes, an integrated conservation and development framework (CDF) needs to be developed to support the development, management and implementation joint operational activities of the four Joint Park Management Committees in the GLTFCA.

Development of a Sustainable Use & Responsible Hunting Protocol

Given the occurrence of sustainable use practices on various levels of intensity within the GLTFCA, and also the in light of the fact that it has been identified as a community livelihoods option in all three GLTFCA Partner countries, a process has been initiated to develop and draft a sustainable use and responsible hunting protocol for the project.  The main purpose of the proposed protocol would be to ensure that sustainable use and responsible hunting occurs in the various components of the GLTFCA to the benefit of broader society.

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