The Zambezi /Tambara Conservancy, Mozambique By Zig Mackintosh

The Zambezi /Tambara Conservancy, Mozambique

By Zig Mackintosh

The “Custodians of Wilderness” documentary series highlights the criticalrolethatsafarihuntingoperationsacrossAfricaplayintackling poaching issues, habitat protection, infrastructure development and rural community upliftment. These efforts essentially go unreported, but without them, vast wilderness areas across the continent would simply not exist. While the series has covered a diverse cross-section of Africa from the Ethiopian highlands through the plains of Tanzania and into the transfrontier conservation area between Mozambique and South Africa, there has been a common thread through three of the episodes - the Zambezi River. The Sidinda Conservancy, a part of the CAMPFIRE program, lies on the Zimbabwean side of the Zambezi about 100 kilometers downstream from Victoria Falls. Here Mbalabala Safaris and the rural community have joined forces to undertake a wildlife restoration project.

The Dande Safari Area, situated in the Zambezi Valley in the northeast corner of Zimbabwe, forms a vital wildlife corridor between the Chewore Safari Area in the west and the country of Mozambique in the east. Through the Dande Anti-poaching Unit (DAPU), Charlton McCallum Safaris has ensured that wildlife numbers continue to grow while benefiting the local people.

The Zambezi River filters into the Indian Ocean through a delta system in Mozambique. Since Zambesi Delta Safaris started operating in 1992 in Coutada 11, wildlife recovery has been spectacular. An expanse of Africa almost one and a half times the famed Masai Mara has been rehabilitated.

And now, a new wilderness recovery project has been launched along the banks of the Zambezi River 250 kilometers

Streamside cultivation along the Zambezi River is one of the myriad of problems Coutada 7 is faced with.

downstream from Cahora Bassa Dam. Coutada 7 is an area covering some 5 400 square kilometers in the Manica and Sofala provinces of Mozambique. During the 1960s and early 1970s, this area was one of the best safari hunting concessions in the country.

The liberation war of the 1970s, followed by a 16-year civil war, saw the end of safari hunting and the decimation of wildlife populations. The region became a butchery to feed the troops on both sides of the conflict. The local bushmeat trade also thrived, as did illegal logging.

Habitat destruction followed, and animal populations declined close to zero. Today, only transit herds of elephants are occasionally encountered by the local people during the cropping seasons. The conflict forced many people from the surrounding areas to congregate along

Zambezi/Tambara Conservancy Game scouts check the papers of a logging truck passing through the area.

the banks of the Zambezi River and the main roads. Coutada 7 now has around 100 000 people, 13 000 cattle, 70 000 goats, and 8 000 smaller livestock animals. Streambank cultivation along the Zambezi and other smaller rivers, slash and burn field preparation, timber poaching, and illegal gold mining are some of the current destructive practices carried out in the area.

With all of these challenges, why would anyone try to rehabilitate the area, and how would it be possible to get buy-in from the local communities?

David Gunde from Vinson LDA has determined to restore Coutada 7 to its former glory in the form of the Zambezi Tambara Wilderness Conservancy (ZTWC). A research team was assigned to assess the prospects of the project. Data from extensive field research, using standard industry methodologies, was used to try and find a harmonized humanlivestock and wildlife cohabitation model, which would yield the most significant benefit to all stakeholders.

The company analyzed three possible models: the open system, the unified closed system and the closed fragmented system. There is no fencing with the open system; artificial water points are established before wildlife is reintroduced. The area would essentially be ring-fenced by human pressure. The high human population density presents several inherent humanwildlife conflict issues. A range of cropraiding animals from kudu and eland to hippo, elephant and buffalo would breed resentment among the local villagers. Livestock killing animals such as lions, leopards, jackals, and smaller predators would exacerbate the situation and make it difficult for people to move around the area. There would also be the issue of livestock and wildlife competing for water and grazing.

The unified closed system involves ringfencing the entire area with an electrified fence to stop wildlife movement. Unless the people move out of the fenced area, the human-wildlife conflict would again be an issue. Moving well-established villages from alongside arterial road networks would be a political and security minefield. The only option for this project to work is the closed fragmented system. Four blocks, each with a specific projected conservation outcome, have been identified and with the erection of a 2.5-meter electric fence minimal disruption to human activities can be ensured. A multiple-use zone for community and commercial development is planned for an area outside the four conservation blocks. This block includes an agri-park where commercial crop and livestock farming enterprises would be established.

The company, Vinson LDA, held a series of meetings to present the proposals to central, provincial and district governments, including the council of ministers, ministry of lands and ministry of tourism, and the various local communities. The project was approved unanimously at all levels, and a 50-year concession granted to the company with an option to renew. The next stage is to raise the necessary funding, and David Gunde is hoping to achieve this through various means, including blockchain crowdfunding.

The Zambezi /Tambara Conservancy project is a unique and ambitious venture where 61% of the land is dedicated to conservation and 39% to multiple-use zones. The company has recognized the realities on the ground and human interests have been factored into the overall equation. Photo tourism and safari hunting are a part of the proposed revenuegenerating process but so, too, have other enterprises to ensure social integration and economic development. “Custodians of Wilderness: The Tambara Zambezi Conservancy” will be released before the end of 2021, and we will continue to document the progress of the project as it evolves.