Zimbabwe and Zambia sign MOU for the Lower Zambezi Mana Pools Transfrontier Conservation Area cooperation

By Wallace Mawire

Zimbabwe and Zambia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the development of  the Lower Zambezi Mana Pools Transfrontier Conservation area (LOZAMAP TFCA).

The MOU was signed by Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Honourable Mangaliso Ndhlovu and Zambia’s Minister of Tourism, Rodney Sikumba on 26 May,2023.

Minister Ndhlovu said that it  is a privilege to be part of the team making history by participating in activities leading to the monumental signing of the Lower Zambezi Mana Pools Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (LOZAMAP TFCA) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

“By signing the MoU, we are committing our two SADC Member States to the processes of implementing the SADC Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement of 1999,” Ndhlovu said.

He said that the initiative is not a new line of business and it is by no means an end in itself but constitutes the opening of new opportunities for the two Governments, local communities and stakeholders to build tempo on Sustainable Development Programmes and ensure that all the participating players and stakeholders are strategically positioned for equitable sharing of tangible benefits.

He said that the LOZAMAP TFCA Programme provides huge opportunities and ample space for the implementation of the provisions of the SADC Treaty with focus on cooperation and integration through joint planning and implementation of specific Biodiversity Conservation, Law Enforcement, Investment, Eco-tourism, Business Development Programmes and Projects.

Zambia and Zimbabwe are already collaborating in several existing programmes, including the Kavango Zambezi and Zimbabwe Mozambique Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Areas, joint energy development and power generation on the Zambezi River, Water Resources Conservation and Management on the shared Lake Kariba.

“The LOZAMAP TFCA is not a new area of cooperation as such, but just an opportunity to scale up our collaboration which has been on-going and bring on board more beneficiaries as more local communities become more actively involved as owners of and role players in projects. The initiative adds new items to our toolbox as we strive to attain the goals and objectives of Agenda 63 and Vision 2030,” Minister Ndhlovu said..

He said that the new TFCA Development initiative also provides more tools for the two countries to meet their obligations towards the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He added that it also creates and provides building blocks for the two SADC Member States to forge closer partnerships in their quest for success as they  implement various provisions of the several Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) like the Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species Of Fauna And Flora (CITES), Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) and the Protocol on Shared Water Courses that we are signatories to.

‘It is important that we expedite the planning and implementation of initiatives for local communities to realise meaningful benefits on our quest to attain an upper-middle-income economy by 2030. By the same token, we acknowledge that it took us long to get the MoU signed and we may need to expedite the drafting of the Treaty so that we create the foundations for the formal establishment and implementation of the LOZAMAP TFCA for sustainable development and facilitation of equitable benefit sharing,” Ndhlovu said .

According to Ndhlovu, key stakeholders who have supported the initiative   from the Zimbabwe side  the Peace Parks Foundation, the Africa Wildlife Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Global Environment Facility through the GEF6 project.

Zambia’s Tourism Minister Sikumba said that the LOZAMAP-TFCA MOU reflects the SADC protocol on wildlife conservation and law enforcement that encourages partner states to collaborate and promote the conservation of shared wildlife resources through the establishment of TFCAs.

He said that the achievement would promote peace and stability, ensure the sustainable utilization of natural resources, provide economic development opportunities through nature-based tourism as well as address food and nutrition security as recognized by the SADC-TFCA framework.