The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) hosted a Mid Zambezi Valley tour to assess the conservation efforts meant to promote the sector in the country.
AWF has developed a ten year conservation strategy for Zimbabwe which will guide their activities meant to promote sustainable development and wildlife and wild-land resources.
Since 2018, AWF has invested over USD10 million in the Mid Zambezi Valley through infrastructural developments, digitization of radio communication equipment, providing fuel, field and camping equipment, patrol rations, vehicles and boats for anti-poaching patrols.
Speaking during the tour, AWF Country Director- Zimbabwe, Olivia Mufute said AWF has developed a ten-year country conservation strategy for Zimbabwe in line with the Government National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
“The African Wildlife Foundation has developed a ten-year Country Conservation Strategy for Zimbabwe (2020 to 2030) in line with the Government of Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy (NDS1).
“The AWF Zimbabwe Country Strategy spells out a guiding framework for AWF Zimbabwe’s work towards promoting sustainable development underpinned by sound management and utilization of wildlife and wildland resources.
“Our approach to wildlife and wild-lands conservation is people-eccentric, and therefore recognizes conservation not as an end in itself, but a medium for attaining sustainable livelihoods and improved standards of living for current and future generations. This signifies AWF’s long-term commitment to support biodiversity conservation.
“We are here to ensure that we implement projects that have significant impacts at the local, regional and global level.” Olivia Mufute AWF Country Director- Zimbabwe
AWF is currently implementing projects funded by the European Union under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (CITES MIKE), the Dorothy N Batten Foundation among others to reduce poaching and trafficking which are major causes of key wildlife species decline.
These efforts are critical in biodiversity and habitat maintenance and restoration, rural community resilience and wildlife species conservation.
