Poaching Steals From Us All

POACHING STEALS

FROM US ALL

In November, 2018, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority launched the start of a three-year ‘Poaching Steals From Us All’ public awareness campaign, in collaboration with the Zambezi Society and the well-known international conservation organisation, WildAid.

The campaign will use an array of locally and internationally celebrated Zimbabwean artists, sportsmen and women and entrepreneurs, who, as ambassadors for their country and the campaign, will aim to elevate the profile of wildlife conservation. They will emphasise its cultural and economic importance, promoting Zimbabwe’s national parks and raising awareness of the illegal wildlife trade and the need to protect the country’s biodiversity.

The campaign will incorporate television, radio and billboard content with the intention of instilling a strong sense of pride in Zimbabwe’s natural wildlife heritage and fuel the desire internally to protect it.

Whereas most wildlife conservation groups focus on scientific studies and anti-poaching efforts, WildAid works to reduce global consumption of wildlife products and climate change impacts, while increasing local support for conservation efforts.

Zimbabwean-born film star, Danai Gurira (famous for her role in the movie Black Panther), is one of a number of the ‘ambassador celebrities’ who will feature in the Zimbabwe anti-poaching awareness campaign. At the event to mark the start of the campaign, held in Harare on 17th November, 2018, Danai echoed the theme of the campaign ‘Poaching Steals From Us All’, speaking passionately about the wildlife of her home, urging Zimbabweans to cherish their unique and valuable natural heritage and to visit their own national parks and wild spaces to appreciate the value Zimbabwe holds as a world class tourism destination.

Danai was filmed in a television interview at the event, by well-known Zimbabwean news personality Rumbidzai Takawira, who will also feature as an ambassador for the campaign. Also in attendance was Tariro Mnangagwa (the daughter of Zimbabwe’s president and a member of the all-women ‘Akashinga’ anti-poaching unit, ‘The Brave Ones’).

Well-known names and celebrities who will feature as ambassadors include Jah Prayzah and Selmor Mutukudzi (the daughter of veteran Zimbabwean musician and international star, Oliver Mutukudzi), among others.

WildAid’s extremely successful film media campaign in Asia with the theme ‘When The Buying Stops, The Killing Can Too’, features among others, film star Jackie Chan, while their Africa campaign includes Zimbabwean-born Springbok rugby legend Tendai Mtarawira. The ‘Poaching Steals From Us All’ campaigns have already been successfully rolled out in other countries across Africa including Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

According to Tinashe Farawo, head of PR for Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, ‘Poaching across the country has decreased thanks to the combined efforts of our partners. We have also increased joint patrols, radio communications, education and awareness to our judiciary, and our poaching cases as a result are expeditiously being dealt with in record times. The campaign in collaboration with the Zambezi Society and WildAid is another collaborative effort to further the decline of poaching, through public awareness’.

Zimbabwe over the course of the last year has embarked on a number of campaigns to boost local pride in the landscape of the country. In December, 2018, President Mnangagwa declared that the first Friday of each calendar month would be a National Environment Cleaning Day, a move to ensure that the country has sustainable environment management and waste disposal systems. In addition, the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe has enhanced its efforts to generate public awareness of the effects of deforestation and is conducting training workshops to encourage tree-planting, as well as the development of sustainable production projects such as beekeeping and honey production.