Boost for elephants conservation
THE Elephant Management Plan crafted five years ago is said to have been effective in conserving the species for consumptive and tourism purposes in the country.
This was disclosed by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) midZambezi Valley regional manager Felix Chimeramombe during a conservation workshop in Chinhoyi recently.
In May this year, Zimbabwe’s jumbos were said to have doubled to over 100 000, increasing at an annual rate of 5% over the past decade.
“The Elephant Management Plan offers the best Africa-owned approach to protecting our elephants. Our success in the protection of this iconic species will obviously translate to our success in protecting many other endangered species that also rely on, or occupy the same habitats,” Chimeramombe said.
“Therefore, the elephant must be seen as a test case for all our conservation efforts.”
He said the country should remain vigilant against poachers as game products were on high demand.
“Despite a significant drop in elephant poaching in the landscape and all other range areas, we must remain vigilant and proactive as intelligence has shown that there is higher demand of illegal game products, and the rewards translate to an increase in the rate of poaching,” Chimeramombe said.
“The levels of poaching have declined and general mortalities have also declined.”
He said the country’s elephant population was booming, adding that this had resulted in increased human-elephant conflicts.
The findings of the Great Elephant Census, which surveyed all major elephant populations in Africa in 2014, revealed a 75% decline in the number of elephants in the Sebungwe area of the Zambezi Valley, south of Lake Kariba since 2001 (from 14 000 to 3 500), and a 40% decrease in the middle Zambezi Valley complex, including Mana Pools (from 18 000 to 11 500).
Since then, ZimParks has, through a series of regional workshops, been working with stakeholders to develop an urgent five-year National Elephant Plan for Zimbabwe and to map out urgent anti-poaching strategies for the areas where elephants are considered to be most vulnerable.