Back to Index

ZimConservation Newsletter: September/October 2005
ZimConservation
November 19, 2005

This is ZimConservation's seventh newsletter summarizing the conservation headlines for September and October 2005. Please visit www.zimconservation.com for the full articles and an archive of all Zimbabwean environmental news since 2000.

29 OCTOBER -- URBAN SPRAWL THREATENS VIC FALLS... Just yards behind the safari park outside the country's premier tourism centre, a factory belches grey smoke into the sky while in the overcrowded Chinotimba high-density suburb, lodges and hotels push ever closer to the park's fence. An unprotected dumpsite in the middle of the wildlife territory perpetually burns while baboons and other scavenging animals forage for scraps in the filth.

29 OCTOBER -- GAMESCOUT ATTACKED BY AXE-WIELDING SETTLERS.... The man with the terrible head injuries was a game scout employed on a ranch in the Lowveld, just outside Chiredzi. Earlier in the month he was out on light patrol duties on the ranch when he came across three AI settlers from the area. They obviously objected to the work in which he was engaged protecting game from poachers, and did not want to have him around, so they attacked him there and then, viciously, with an axe.

NO DATE -- AS ZIMBABWE'S WOES MOUNT, MUGABE DECLARES OPEN SEASON ON WILDLIFE ... As famine looms for millions of his poorer citizens, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has declared open season on one of his nation's greatest treasures-its wildlife. Invoking the populist rhetoric that has characterized his whole career, Mugabe has ordered rangers at Zimbabwe's National Parks to cooperate with rural authorities in the wholesale killing of wild animals, including elephants.

27 OCTOBER -- 151 POACHERS ARRESTED... So far this month, 151 poachers have been arrested in Zimbabwe's national parks. In the past, poaching was mostly done by foreigners, but now Zimbabweans, especially those living near the parks, have also been reported to be engaged in poaching activities.

20 OCTOBER -- ZIMBABWE TO REMOVE VILLAGERS FROM GAME PARK... Zimbabwe is to remove 700 families who settled illegally near Gonarezhou National Park, the country's second largest game reserve, to make way for a planned transfrontier regional park.

15 OCTOBER -- BRITISH TYCOON CONSOLIDATES GRIP ON ZIMBABWE'S ANAEMIC ECONOMY... Harare - British business tycoon and President Robert Mugabe ally, Nicholas van Hoogstraten, has snapped a huge chunk of the Zimbabwe government-owned Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) to strengthen further his grip on the southern African nation's sickly economy. According to RTG's latest shareholder list, van Hoogstraten - who is said to have bankrolled Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party on many occasions - now owns

35 727 640 shares of the company to make him the eighth biggest shareholder in the firm that is among Zimbabwe's top three hotel and tourism operators.

12 OCTOBER -- BUFFALO DEATHS: ZIMBABWE SUSPECTS ANTHRAX... At least 21 buffalo have died in the wildlife resort town of Hwange in north-western Zimbabwe in a suspected outbreak of anthrax, the official Herald newspaper said on Wednesday. "At the moment, we can only speculate on what is killing the animals based on the symptoms we established. It is definitely not hunger or thirst," the paper quoted Environment and Tourism Ministry Secretary Margaret Sangarwe as saying.

11 OCTOBER -- SLEEPING SICKNESS: A ZIMBABWEAN DISEASE... One of the many crises which receives considerably less attention than it deserves is the health time bomb which is ticking away as traditional disease control measures are abandoned, essentially for lack of funds.

11 OCTOBER -- WOLF(OWITZ) AT ZIM'S DOOR... The World Bank may withhold further aid to Zimbabwe to "set an example" over the situation under President Robert Mugabe, its chief Paul Wolfowitz said on Tuesday. The World Bank would be allocating its funds "very, very carefully, and in the case of Zimbabwe perhaps not at all," he told reporters here on the first stop of a regional tour.

9 OCTOBER -- MINISTER TAKES UP GOLD PANNING... Bulawayo - The Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Abednigo Ncube, recently led heavily armed anti-riot police to evict gold-panners who had struck a rich vein on a gold claim, The Standard can reveal. The incident happened last Friday. Authoritative sources in Matabeleland South said upon learning of the small-scale miners' windfall at Caesar East Two Mine, the minister immediately applied for a mining licence to extract gold from the same claim.

7 OCTOBER -- STATE TO CONSTRUCT BORDER POST TO LINK WITH SA PARK... The world's biggest wildlife sanctuary, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, got a boost yesterday when Zimbabwe decided to build a border post to facilitate passage between Gonarezhou National Park and South Africa's Kruger National Park.

7 OCTOBER -- MASSIVE FISH POACHING IN KARIBA... Fish poaching has reached alarming proportions in Lake Kariba's breeding shallow waters, threatening the viability of Zimbabwe's biggest kapenta fishing industry. Zambian and local poachers are said to be stealthily casting their nets in the prohibited breeding areas using canoes or rented boats during the night.

6 OCTOBER -- APOCALYPSE FOR ZIM'S ENERGY SECTOR... At a time when most regional countries are moving into high gear and securing their power requirements ahead of the 2007 regional deficit, two firms which carry Zimbabwe's hopes of energy self-sufficiency- ZESA Holdings and Hwange Colliery Company Limited - are still groping in the dark.

6 OCTOBER -- BALLY VAUGHN GETS NEW DIRECTOR... After eight years at Bally Vaughan working first as a volunteer and then as a consultant amongst the animals that I consider to be my family, I [Sarah Carter] will be taking over the tenancy of the Bally Vaughan Bird and Game Sanctuary on the first of October 2005.

5 OCTOBER -- ZIMBABWE MOVES RHINOS FROM POACHERS' ZONE - REPORT... Harare, Zimbabwe's wildlife authority has moved more than 200 endangered black rhinos from a farm near its western border with Botswana to prevent poaching, a local daily reported on Wednesday.

5 OCTOBER -- ZIM TO GROW 'OIL TREES'... Zimbabwe will soon start growing the oil-rich jatropha tree to manufacture its own blend of diesel as the country battles to overcome acute fuel shortages, state radio reported on Wednesday.

[Ed: This Caribbean native, Jatropha curcas has not been assessed for potential invasive qualities in Zimbabwe, but is considered a high-risk plant rejected for import to Australia (see link).]

4 OCTOBER -- BABOONS WREAK HAVOC... Baboons are wreaking havoc in Kariba and Chirundu, snatching bags from unsuspecting people and at times breaking into cars and homes in search of food. So serious is the problem that yesterday, the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority had to dispatch a team to fight the marauding baboons.

3 OCTOBER -- TOURISM BOUNTY BRINGS ADDED RESPONSIBILITIES... A few weeks ago, a tourist from Zimbabwe was shot dead in the lower Zambezi, a private game area in Zambia, by a roving poacher with an AK-47 who also seriously wounded her husband.

3 OCTOBER -- BRING BACK DDT... Roger Bate and Richard Tren, the co-founders of Africa Fighting Malaria , recently presented the following testimony to the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee exposing the fraudulent science behind the DDT ban.

[Ed: We've re-posted this article - would anyone care to comment on this controversial topic?]

1 OCTOBER -- WILDLIFE FARMING HOLDS REAL POTENTIAL... Nairobi, A question which has been raised by a number of readers with an interest in wildlife conservation is: Why is it that the Kenya Wildlife Service is only criticised in the press, and rarely praised? Is there something that KWS has done that deserves praise?

[Ed: This article announces the formation of the Kenyan Wildlife Farming Association wishing to develop the Kenyan Wildlife Farming sector using the Zimbabwean model]

1 OCTOBER -- STATE VOWS TO PEACEFUL NUCLEAR ENERGY APPLICATION... The Government is committed to the setting up of an appropriate legal framework that will enforce and facilitate the peaceful application of nuclear energy in the country. Zimbabwe's Charge D' Affaires and Alternate Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr Vova Abednigo Chikanda, said it was pleasing to note that the atomic energy agency had put into the pipeline its intended assistance in tackling communicable diseases.

31 SEPTEMBER -- 50 ELEPHANTS STARVE TO DEATH... Harare - Zimbabwean authorities are considering moving elephants from the country's overburdened national parks to Namibia after at least 50 pachyderms starved to death, a state daily reported on Monday.

31 SEPTEMBER -- GAME PARK'S WILDLIFE DIES OF THIRST AS MUGABE LIVES IN LUXURY... Wild animals in Zimbabwe are suffering and dying as the sun beats down during the year's hottest season.Like so many humans, they are victims of President Robert Mugabe.

29 SEPTEMBER -- ZIMBABWE TO BRING STEAM TRAINS BACK INTO USE.... Zimbabwe is to go back to using steam locomotives to boost its ageing fleet of diesel trains and attract tourists, the state-run Herald newspaper has reported. The country has an acute shortage of foreign currency needed to import fuel and spares, but most of the spares for the steam trains can be found locally, the report says. Zimbabwe also has plenty of coal. "We intend to use (steam locomotives) to boost our operations and as a tourist attraction,"

28 SEPTEMBER -- EUROPE IS 'FUELLING IVORY TRADE' ... Recently crafted ivory jewellery can be found with relative ease in Paris. Europe's thriving ivory retail market is threatening an increase in elephant poaching, conservationists have warned.

27 SEPTEMBER -- BRAIN DRAIN HEADS FOR CRISIS: STUDY.... Zimbabwe's brain drain could be headed for a major crisis point with research indicating that 500 000 of the country's mainly professional cream has left the country.

27 SEPTEMBER -- HUNTING PROCEEDS RAKE IN $12 BILLION PER MONTH.... Zimbabwe is earning over $12 billion a month as hunting proceeds since the beginning of the hunting season in May this year.

27 SEPTEMBER -- HWANGE TO EXPLORE METHANE GAS.... Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) is now working on ways of extracting coal bed methane gas as the exploration for alternative energy sources intensifies.

23 SEPTEMBER -- LIMPOPO ACCORD SIGNED.... Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique have agreed to declare the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park a regional asset in order to secure funding for its development from the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

23 SEPTEMBER -- TITLE DEEDS TO 4 000 FARMS NULLIFIED.... [The] Government has directed the Registrar of Deeds to immediately nullify all title deeds to the 4 000 farms which have been nationalised following the recently promulgated Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.17) Act.

23 SEPTEMBER -- CHINESE GIVEN KUNZVI DAM TENDER.... [The] Government has awarded a tender for the construction of long-overdue Kunzvi Dam to the Chinese amid allegations that normal tender procedures were not followed.

22 SEPTEMBER -- OSTRICH PROJECT PAYS OFF FOR COLCOM... Colcom Holdings' ostrich-breeding project has started bearing fruit and has contributed positively to the company's profits in the six months to June 30, the company has said.

21 SEPTEMBER -- BID TO REVIVE ETHANOL PLANT.... [The] Government has intensified efforts to resuscitate the ethanol plant at Triangle near Chiredzi to cushion the country against high international oil prices, a Cabinet Minister has said.

20 SEPTEMBER -- STATE TO DESCEND ON VEHICLES EMITTING HEAVY FUMES.... [The] Government would soon clampdown on vehicles that emit too much smoke as it intensifies efforts to phase out ozone-depleting substances and keep the environment clean and safe.

20 SEPTEMBER -- UNCONTROLLED FIRES DESTROY $700BN FORESTS.... Forests with trees worth more than $700 billion have been destroyed by uncontrolled fires in Chimanimani and other areas countrywide over the past three weeks.

20 SEPTEMBER -- KADOMA GOLD MILLERS RISK MERCURY POISONING: STUDY.... Gold millers in Kadoma possess higher levels of poisonous mercury in their blood, urine and hair, according to samples tested by the Global Mercury Project (GMP) recently.

19 SEPTEMBER -- HARARE WATER WOES TO PERSIST.... Water shortages will continue to haunt Harare until the treatment works are fully overhauled, a new dam constructed and a new pipeline and treatment works commissioned.

19 SEPTEMBER -- THREAT TO HARARE'S ECOSYSTEM... For most people resettled at Hopley Farm in Harare, selling firewood to nearby high-density suburbs has become a lucrative business. "This is the only business I can do because I have no capital to start any other project. For this, I just need an axe," said Alfred Marwa, pointing to a pile of wood he was selling, just outside the farm.

16 SEPTEMBER -- FOUR ELEPHANT CALVES, BUFFALOES DIE IN MATETSI... Four elephant calves and several buffaloes have died in the dry Matetsi area between Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls amid revelations that there could be massive deaths of wildlife due to starvation.

15 SEPTEMBER -- HE WAS NAMED "FUTURE"... It was late May when I first sighted one of the 'F' family youngsters, his trunk ripped off by a wire snare. He was born to the 'Presidential Elephants' in early February of 2003, making him now a little over two-and-a-half years old.

[Ed: Report from the Presidential Elephant Research Group]

14 SEPTEMBER -- ZANU-PF OFFICIALS IMPLICATED IN ILLEGAL TROPHY HUNTING SCAMS... Several ZANU-PF officials have been implicated in illegal hunting activities that involve fake names and permits and the killing of animals in protected areas. Investigations have so far identified 4 senior officials of the ruling party and their associates who allegedly aided local and foreign trophy poachers to loot wildlife in the Intensive Conservation Areas of Matabeleland North.

6 SEPTEMBER -- SINAMATELLA RUNS OUT OF WATER - URGENT APPEAL FOR HELP.... Following our last "Good News" report about the abundance of water at Main Camp in Hwange National Park, we have just discovered that the situation in Sinamatella is very different. We are being inundated with desperate appeals for help because there is NO water in Sinamatella. We are informed that National Parks has run out of diesel to run the pumps and all the water holes have been reduced to pools of mud.

5 SEPTEMBER -- WILDLIFE AUTHORITY TO GET BOOST FROM RENTALS... The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is expected to get a financial windfall of more than $5 billion in rentals this year for the 13 photographic sites it leased to safari operators last week.

[Ed: I am fed up with Zimbabwean reporters using the Zimbabwean dollar as an economic indicator - they might as well be talking in elbows, at least that would be more meaningful. Would any economists out there care to comment?]

5 SEPTEMBER -- POLICE, ZIMBABWE COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION TEAM UP.... The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers' Union (ZCFU) and police in Insiza have embarked on a programme aimed at raising resettled farmers' awareness on the importance of the environment and on how to conserve it, an official said yesterday.

[Ed: Nice example of the blind leading the blind]

5 SEPTEMBER -- TOP ZIMBABWE OFFICIAL SUES COLLEAGUE OVER LAND USE.... One of President Robert Mugabe's closest aides has gone to court against a more junior political colleague in what has become a front-page legal brawl over the use of land expropriated from white farmers. The case is symptomatic of increasing arguments over land tenure.

[Ed: this was a 6000 ha game reserve].

4 SEPTEMBER -- INTRODUCE ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION, SAYS MINISTER.... There is [an] urgent need to embark on environmental education to make society more conscious of its obligations and responsibilities to its natural surroundings, Environment and Tourism Minister Cde Francis Nhema has said.

Visit the ZimConservation fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP