Fund for victims of human-wildlife conflict

Harare (New Ziana) – The government has established a relief fund to cushion victims of human-wildlife conflict through medical expense assistance and in the worst-case scenario, where death occurs, funeral assistance will be provided.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the fund was based on a self-financing model with proceeds from hunting and other crowd funding activities being pooled for the relief effort.

“Cabinet adopted the establishment of a relief fund to cushion the victims of human-wildlife conflict by way of funeral assistance and an amount paid towards hospitalization and treatment with a set limit. The payments will cover three categories, namely: death, maiming, and injuries. A specialized human-wildlife conflict unit will be established under the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks),” she said in a post Cabinet briefing.

“The (funding) sources include reserving a hunting quota under the CITES granted quota, a levy on hunting revenue accruing to safari operators, Rural District Councils and conservancy owners. The financing sources also include, among others, the following: i. a percentage of wildlife commodities or products that are approved and monitored by Zimparks; ii. crowding conservancies to contribute financially towards human wildlife conflict through donor support programmes; iii. CAMPFIRE proceeds; and iv. donations from the public, including funds from foundations set for wildlife conservation.

“Going forward, the fund will be extended to include preventative measures such as providing water in the game parks and enhancing grazing pastures. The fund will also look at associated impacts such as livestock loss and control of wildlife and livestock movements to curtail the spread of diseases such as foot and mouth. Sources of funding will also include treasury, while local structures will be incorporated into the programme.”

Mutsvangwa said the decision was arrived at after noting the increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict in the country.

She said for example, the elephant population was currently estimated at more than 85 000 while other animal species were also growing significantly.

“The consequent competition for limited resources often results in wildlife attacks on humans, especially in communal areas and towns that are close to national parks, safaris, forests and other protected areas. Consequently, people living adjacent to wildlife areas are always in danger of being attacked by the animals, and it has been established that the frequency of such attacks is increasing,” she said.

“This year alone, as of August 2022, 46 Zimbabwean lives have been lost to human-wildlife conflict, with the most affected being Mashonaland West Province, where 19 people were killed, mostly in Kariba.

“Regionally, Zimbabwe has the highest number of deaths from human wildlife conflict. For example, in Botswana there are significantly less deaths, although they have more elephants at 204 000. This is because they have a smaller human population, and the settlements are sparsely populated. In over a period of 10 years, they have recorded 57 deaths.”

Mutsvangwa said the government, through the Zimparks was implementing several interventions to reduce human-wildlife conflict, including translocation, sterilization and selective culling of wildlife, approved hunting quotas and fencing to restrict or control the movement of wildlife.
New Ziana