PICTURE: Both non-consumptive (photographic tourism) and consumptive (sport hunting) is bringing tourists into Zimbabwe despite the wildlife conflict between anti-hunting green groups who are advocating for the ban of sport hunting.
RE-ELECTION of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi to a second term as Chairman of the UNWTO CAF (United Nations World Tourism Organisation Regional Commission for Africa) by African countries during the 57th CAF meeting that took place on 14 September 2015 in Medellin, Colombia on the occasion of the 21st Session of the UNWTO General Assembly is a clear sign that Zimbabwe is a pacesetter as far as tourism is concerned.
Fifty-four African countries can not endorsed minister Mzembi to stir the regional tourism locomotive if they have no confidence in how Zimbabwe is driving its tourism.
In the preceding article, I outlined that Zimbabwe tourism is evolved by our unique culture of wildlife conservation. The country's tourism train is moving soundly, its engine being lubricated by wildlife conservation.
The wildlife conflict
Africa is eager to learn a lot from Zimbabwe, thus the re-election of minister Mzembi as Chairman. When Africa is applauding us, Green Groups are busy opposing the way wildlife is being managed in the country under a concept called CAMPFIRE.
CAMPFIRE (Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources) is a concept that was established in the mid 1980s to empower local communities to benefit directly from wildlife resources existing in their land. The programme today protects about 50,000km2 of land in Zimbabwe. The idea is for communities to take pride in the ownership and custodianship over their wildlife.
CAMPFIRE communities receive at least 15% of the revenue attained from tourism in their areas. The money is managed by the local Rural District Council which will in turn disburse money for community development projects and to some extent, household dividends.
Development projects funded by CAMPFIRE money differ from one community to the other. These include rural electrification, school and clinic construction, road maintenance, vehicles and equipment acquisition, scholarships, borehole drilling and dip tank establishment, poverty alleviation (food security) and livestock breeding.
Net income acquired from the lease of hunting rights and commercial safari operators under CAMPFIRE has been growing. It increased from US$1.5 million in 2009 to US$2.2 million in 2013.
On the other hand, green groups argue that CAMPFIRE is outdated. They claim that they camera lens should be used by a tourist to shoot wildlife other than the bullet.
Argument is further on the income generated from Victoria Falls that the tourists who visit the natural ornament use no bullet to shoot the wonderful scenery there but Zimbabwe is benefitting from the revenue generated at the Victoria Falls. Argument is that photographic tourism at Victoria Falls may be surpassing $50 million. If their projection is true, they argue that the country can still make more money from photographic tourism in national parks than from sport hunting?
As a result, in April 2014, USFWS (United States Fish and Wildlife Service) under the influence of Friends of Animals suspended imports of sport-hunted African elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Tanzania. USFWS argued that wildlife in Zimbabwe is not well managed when 300 elephants in Hwange National Park succumbed to cyanide poisoning by poachers in 2014.
Isn't it sensible that the culprits behind the poisoning are some greedy elements of society (be they local or foreign) who took camouflage of the Hwange community to execute their ruthless activities? It’s only intruders who don’t have the sense of wildlife ownership who can have the guts to poison 300 elephants in a short space of time like the Hwange case.
Since Americans constitute most of Zimbabwe’s sport-hunting clients, the USFWS ban was a huge blow CAMPFIRE. We hope that the two conflicting parties shall reach to a compromise.
Other benefits
Wildlife conservation means employment creation. Directly, staff like game wardens, scouts, vets, and researchers is roped in the day to day running of a wildlife conservancy. Indirectly, the hospitality, transport, creative (art) and culture industries are kept alive due to the influx of tourists who come for sport-hunting or photographic safaris.
Wildlife conservation pave way for animal research. The Painted Hunting Dogs Project which seeks to protect, rehabilitate and re-introduce the species in Hwange National Park is one research project. Another one is Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit which has been operating in Hwange National Park for over a decade studying lions’ behaviour and how best people can live along with lions. It is the project that had the slain Cecil lion as one of the lions under research.
In addition to the animal research tourists, others are kept in bond with our wildlife reserves interested in flora. Pharmaceutical industries depend on nature reserves for research. It is a fact that 80% of medicine is acquired from the forest. The companies thus research and develop medicine from undisturbed natural sources like wildlife conservancies.
Wildlife conservation truly brings in tourists into the country whether on sport hunting or photographic tourism. But can the communities establish community based tourism enterprises? The question shall be discussed in the forthcoming article.