BUSINESS REPORTER
Zimbabwe and four other Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) partner States have combined forces to defend their borders against wildlife crimes as they move to preserve the region’s natural beauty and resources.
Working with the KAZA Secretariat, Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia have embarked on an initiative to improve capacity, synergy and effectiveness of customs and law enforcement agencies responsible for controlling movement of goods through at all of the TFCA’s 33 ports of entry and exit.
The project is supported by Peace Parks Foundation and the Southern Africa Wildlife College and funded through a grant from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotic and Law Enforcement Affairs.
This project enables the TFCA to make great strides in implementing the Sadc’s Law Enforcement and Anti-poaching Strategy (LEAP). The SADC LEAP focuses on reducing poaching and illegal trade in fauna and flora species as well as enhancing law enforcement capacity in the Sadc region by 2021.
Doug Gillings, Combating Wildlife Crime Manager for Peace Parks commended the collaborative approach of the KAZA Partner States.
“Custom officials are a primary line of defense against the illegal trafficking of our continent’s natural treasures. The capacitation and resourcing of customs officials is key to the disruption of trafficking. It is a significant achievement for five countries to come together to strengthen this important link in the law enforcement chain – collectively understanding their shared trafficking landscape, and initiating a process to crack down on illegal natural resource trafficking, together,” Gillings said.
Dr Nyambe Nyambe, Executive Director of the KAZA Secretariat, said: “This project augments SADC and KAZA aspirations to a multi-agency approach to combatting illegal trade in wildlife species. We are looking forward to the commencement of the training and the unique and strategic role that customs officials bring to the fight against illegal trade.”
The trade in environmental contraband decimates key species and devastates biodiversity, destabilising ecosystems and depleting natural resources.
Illegal trade in targeted fauna and flora species, mostly endangered and/or threatened, also impacts on the economic viability and attractiveness of conservation areas as tourist destinations.
In turn, livelihoods for local communities who depend on tourism are significantly affected.
In addition, Covid-19 has placed the spotlight on the hidden danger of trade and consumption of exotic species. Zoonotic diseases are now a global concern, adding another motivation for strengthening preventative laws and regulations, coupled with improved disruption along the illegal supply chain.
The KAZA TFCA spans an area of approximately 520 000 km² and includes 36 proclaimed protected areas.
With an abundance of biodiversity – that includes Africa’s largest contiguous elephant population and the largest connected lion population in southern Africa – and with a multitude of transit routes, KAZA is a prime target of organised wildlife crime groups.
