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Zimbabwe won't evict villagers from national park
ZimOnline
March 08, 2006

http://www.zimonline.co.za/headdetail.asp?ID=11734

MASVINGO - Zimbabwe Environment Minister Francis Nhema on Tuesday said the government will not evict villagers who illegally settled in game conservancies including in Gonarezhou Park that is part of a multibillion dollar trans-frontier wildlife venture with South Africa and Mozambique.

Nhema, who earlier this year vowed to clear illegal settlers from Gonarezhou where they are accused of extensive poaching, said Harare was now of the opinion that the villagers should remain in the park, adding that the government had already begun teaching the settlers wildlife conservation.

Gonarezhou is part of the Great Limpopo Trans-frontier Park that links up the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique and South Africa's Kruger National Park. It is expected to generate millions of dollars in hard cash, when fully developed. But land invasions and poaching in Zimbabwe has slowed down development of the giant park project for years.

Nhema said the government will teach the villagers not to grow crops in the park area, poach animals or cut trees down randomly.

"We have embarked on a programme where we are educating those in our parks to be part of the wildlife conservation process," the Environment Minister said. "We are telling them that if they see a baboon it is worth US$500. If they see a kudu they should think beyond meat since it is worth US$700."

But wildlife experts expressed dismay at the government's decision to let the villagers stay in Gonarezhou and other game parks saying it required more than education to dissuade the peasant farmers from growing crops in the conservancies and hunting down animals for meat.

They said huge amounts for resources - which the government does not have - were required to support the villagers to start small-scale game sanctuaries within or near Gonarezhou which could provide an alternative source of livelihood to poaching and crop farming.

"The decision is shocking because these people have never been in such an industry before . . . for one to operate a conservancy there is need to consider the time factor. It takes about 10 years to have a fully fledged conservancy without realising any profit," said Mike Stuart, a prominent wildlife operator in Masvingo province where Gonarezhou lies.

According to conservative estimates, Zimbabwe has lost more than 50 percent of wildlife to poaching since supporters of President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party began invading private game conservancies and national parks over the past six years in what Mugabe has said were demonstrations of hunger for land by blacks.

Dozens of conservancies were also seized by the government under its controversial land redistribution programme and given over to top officials of ZANU PF and the government who promptly proceeded to decimate wildlife there through uncontrolled hunting.

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