Human-wildlife conflict; new approaches have to be developed
Human-wildlife conflict; new approaches have to be developed
LAST week I had the opportunity of assisting some farmers from Mbizha area in Hwange district to organise themselves and transport their animals to the market. One farmer made a remark which got me thinking and asking questions around human-wildlife conflict among communal farmers.
The farmer remarked that his livestock should be loaded and transported to the market at whatever price because whatever he is going to get will be better than losing his cattle to hyenas and lions that are terrorising the area.
This was just a statement made in passing but quite revealing of the magnitude of the problem these farmers are facing with regards to livestock losses due to wildlife predation. I know that the knee-jerk response from conservationists is always that these farmers settled in wildlife territory and/or that they vandalised perimeter fences meant to protect them.
However, the truth of the matter is that wildlife predation is a real problem for some communal farmers and more so in Matabeleland North province which is home to vast tracks of forests which inevitably and invariably become a conducive habitat for wildlife.
The province also has the fortune or misfortune, depending on which side of the loss you are, of hosting a large game reserve. Therefore, farmers in these areas lose either livestock or crops to wildlife. Elephants have been reported to have almost cleaned some fields relegating farmers to charity relief cases.
It is my contention and submission that realistic models and solutions should be crafted to address these perennial problems in areas that share boundaries to protected areas such as game reserves and conservancies.
I have argued before that the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (Campfire) has been by and large a failure, not withstanding a few successes here and there.
The reason for the failure being many ranging from defective model to greed by some local authorities. This therefore means that there is serious need for conservationists and agriculturalists to come together and formulate an agreed workable model which can at minimum provide a win-win solution.
Farmers cannot continue to lose animals to wildlife while conservationists are smiling all the way to the bank. Both the Government and private players in natural resources management cannot enjoy unmitigated benefits from consumptive and non consumptive exploitation of natural resources while farmers are left to lick their wounds year in and year out.
Whatever piece of legislation which is currently
MANUFACTURERS of mining and mineral processing equipment have expressed their readiness to tap into the Government’s $50 million loan fund to capacitate small-scale miners to enhance their production.
A number of engineering companies involved in the manufacturing of mining equipment interviewed by Sunday Business said they had the capacity to produce the requisite machinery for the re-tooling of smallscale miners.
In April, the Government launched a $50 million loan fund sourced from Sakunda Energy to be used to capacitate the small-scale gold mining sector and revive the manufacturing industry especially in Bulawayo instead of sourcing mining equipment abroad.
Speaking at the launch Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Mike Bimha said the fund was in sync with efforts to harness linkages between economic sectors along the value chain. He said the funding would go a long way in revitalising the city’s manufacturing sector, which has for a long time suffered losses to imported machinery.
Small Scale Supplies technical manager Mr Tension Hlatini said the company had the required expertise and experience to supply equipment to small-scale miners in the country. The company is based in Bulawayo.
The company is already supplying small-scale miners with mining plants which entail mining, processing and recovery units valued at $200 000 payable over a period of three years at zero deposit and also offers start-up capital. Small Scale Supplies has already installed one such mining plant for a miner in Hope Fountain.
“We had many inquiries at the ZITF (Zimbabwe International Trade Fair) where we interviewed miners from all over the country and we will soon be going to Mutare for more interviews to select those that meet the criteria of our programme,” said Mr Hlatini.
He said as part of becoming a one-stop shop for small-scale mining equipment the Bulawayo-based company was looking forward to acquiring another factory. As part of its efforts to get a chunk from the Government’s $50 million fund Small Scale Mining Supplies has already written a letter to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development seeking $15 million, which it intends to use in the setting-up of three more branches and manufacturing of mining units to cater for all the eight mining district in the country.
“We as local manufacturers, suppliers and installers of mining equipment for the smallscale mining sector do hereby apply for $15 million. The purpose of the loan will be to enable us to install 65 complete plants throughout the eight mining districts of Zimbabwe. We would envisage establishing four distribution centres at Bulawayo, Harare, Kwekwe and Mutare, each installing between two and four units per month per centre.
“It is our proposal that $13 million be deposited with Fidelity Printers and Refineries (FPR). As we install each plant we will invoice FPR for the cost of that plant. FPR have an established facility for loans to miners. The balance of $2 million will be utilised in the installation and equipping three other branches in Harare, Kwekwe and Mutare,” read part of the letter addressed to Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa.
Hoist manufacturer, Filberg Enterprises managing director Mr Patrick Masunda said the company through its Chinese partner Luoyang Qingfeng Proenvironment Equipment Machinery had the capacity to meet the demand for their machines.
“We manufacture our machines from China because it’s cheaper than producing here. We took our designs to China and our partner produces for us and ships the kits to Zimbabwe where we assembly it. It’s also very expensive to set up such a factory here but one of the agreements with our partner is to eventually have one depending on the demand.
“We are more than ready to supply small-scale miners with the machines because the factory in China has the capacity to produce 3 000 units a month and we have even come up with hoists which are solarpowered to ensure there isn’t disruption in the event of power outages,” said Mr Masunda.
Midlands Metal Engineering operations director Tendai Karimazondo said the company had the capacity to deliver the mining equipment it manufactures if given an order.
“We haven’t been informed about the fund and criteria. We have the capacity to produce 200 to 300 hammer mills, jaw crushers, elusion plants a month meaning we can equip at least 300 miners a month. We are however, concerned about the transparency of the initiative because the dissemination of the information seems to be very poor. We expect officials from Government to be visiting the plants to ascertain their capacity,” said Mr Karimazondo.
He said there was need for Government to expedite the formalisation of small-scale and artisanal miners to ensure that they contribute to the turnaround of the country’s economy.
“If we are to equip artisanal and small-scale miners we should make sure organisation is proper at the top and stop casting them by saying they are of no fixed abode yet we haven’t taken steps to formalise them,” said Mr Karimazondo.
Players in the mining sector have the $50 million fund which will not only go a long way in improving gold production but also play a big part in enhancing the viability of the country’s engineering firms. giving conservationists immunity and indemnity to any liability arising from wildlife raids needs to be revisited to be given a human face. I may not have any suggestions or answers to what model can be appropriate but I definitely know that the current situation is blatantly unfair and cannot be allowed to continue unchallenged.
Farmers who are direct burden carriers in-so-far-as sharing boundaries with protected areas need to have some form of restitution for their losses. This in my view should be the matter which powers that be, such as the boards governing operations of national parks, should be preoccupied with.
Farmers are being relegated to social welfare charity cases when herds are devoured by lions and hyenas and no restitution or whatsoever is advanced to them.
It cannot be acceptable that a farmer loses 10 head of cattle to an attack by lions in their grazing areas and conservationists look aside and bury their heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich.
Answers simply have to be found and solutions provided so that conservationists cannot continue condemning farmers to poverty with reckless abandon. Uyabonga umntakaMakhumalo.