Vol 4 no. 4 (July 2004)

Two years after theestablishment of QuirimbasNational Park following a

request from local residents in thisarea of Mozambique’s Cabo DelgadoProvince, the park has finally beengranted a 4.2 million Euro fundingboost from the French DevelopmentAgency (AFD). The funds will facilitatethe implementation of a five year ParkManagement Plan (2004-2008) forwhich WWF, will be the implementingagency in collaboration with MITVR.

The Director of the FrenchDevelopment Agency, Ms. FrancoiseDesmazieres and the MozambicanMinister of Tourism, Mr. FernandoSumbana, signed the grantagreement on 29th June 2004 on IboIsland in the presence of more thanone thousand local residents whocame to witness this crucial milestonefor the development of their park.

The AFD grant comes as an additionto WWF’s own commitment of over 1 million Euros towards QuirimbasNational Park. The five year projectthat WWF will implement with these

funds will include the establishment ofPark infrastructure, procurement ofvarious equipment, training of Parkmanagement personnel, such asrangers, biodiversity protection andgrant making for community projectsaimed at, improving the livelihoods ofthe Parks nearly 55,000 inhabitants.

Quirimbas National Park combinesterrestrial and marine areas coveringa total area of 750,639 ha. This areaincorporates several important marineand island habitats, which account for152,237 ha of the total area, while theremaining greater part of 598,402 haare terrestrial terrain made up ofmainland and coastal forests.

The immediate coastal areas ofQuirimbas and the seamount ofBanco Sao Lazaro have long beenacknowledged for their scenic beautyand high biodiversity in addition totheir being of historical significance.

Recent exploratory researchsuggests that the continued absenceof a management plan posed agrowing threat to the integrity of the

Park’s ecological processes. Inaddition, local livelihoods werealready being beset by uncertaintiesas evidenced by the near collapse offishing areas close to the shorecaused by over-fishing and the recentinflux of migratory fishermen intoQuirmbas from areas such asNampula and even Tanzania wherefish stocks have been heavilydepleted.

WWF has been involved in supportingvarious activities in the Park since2002. These activities have includedHuman Wildlife Conflict Mitigation interrestrial areas of the park andestablishment of marine sanctuariesmanaged by fishing communities.WWF has also supported the trainingof at least 30 rangers that werenominated by the communities.

This new funding will now facilitate amore systematic management planthat should result in positiveenvironmental and biodiversityimpacts for the Park as well as moresustainable livelihoods for the people.

For further information contact:Lurdes Danga, WWF Mozambique,Tel + 258 1 301186, e-mailldanga@wwf.org.mz

©WWF / Mozambique Program Office

French Development Agency (AFD) Funds Mozambique’s Quirimbas National Park

About Sarpo Bulletin

This Bulletin is published bythe Communications unit,WWF SARPO, 10 LanarkRd, Belgravia, BOX CY 1409Harare, Zimbabwe

© WWF SARPO 2004

Editor: Hewitt ChizyukaTel/Fax: +263 4 252533/4

hchizyuka@wwfsarpo.org

French Development Agency Director, Ms. Francoise Desmazieres and Mozambican Minister of Tourism, Mr. Fernando Sumbana sign thefunding agreement for Quirimbas National Park.

Official Zambian governmentfigures show that theZambia Wildlife Authority

(ZAWA) has paid out over K1.8billion ( approx.USD 382,000 ) to49 communities living in GameManagement Areas (GMAs)around the country from proceedsof hunting licenses issued in the2003 hunting season.

Zambian Tourism Minister, PatrickKalifungwa, revealed in astatement he issued on 20th May2004 that these funds were paidout to eligible communities livingalong boundaries of GMAs, openhunting areas and Chiefdoms withinterests in wildlife and othernatural resources. He disclosedthat all the Community ResourceBoards (CRBs) and Chiefs whomet the laid down criteria for suchpayments had since received theirdues for the year 2003.

He, however, also disclosed thatZAWA was still owing communitiesabout K417 million (approx.USD

87,000) for the 1999 up to 2002hunting seasons because thisperiod represents the time whengovernment had imposed a ban onsafari hunting and ZAWA had beenunable to collect sufficient revenuefrom other available sources then.

“The public will appreciate that theissue of outstanding payments tocommunities for the years 1999 to2002 is beyond the control ofZAWA as the safari hunting banwas imposed by the previousadministration”, the minister said.Revenue sharing between theZambia Wildlife Authority and localcommunities remains a very topicalissue in the realm of sustainablewildlife and natural resourcesmanagement in Zambia andelsewhere in the region.

Many people and organizationshave always been sympathetic withlocal communities’ position asbearers of the greatest cost ofwildlife conservation, especiallythrough Human Wildlife Conflicts

and other opportunity costs theyincur by co-existing with wildlifeand helping with conservationefforts. However, ManagementAuthorities such as ZAWA findthemselves very dependent on theincome generated by the samewildlife thereby giving rise tocompetition for these resources.

WWF SARPO’s initiatives throughprojects such as the RegionalCBNRM Project and the LupandeLand Use Planning project in theLupande GMA aim, among otherthings, to support both theManagement Authorities and localcommunities to find mutuallycomplimentary approaches tomanaging local natural resourcesand wildlife.

For further information contact:Hewitt Chizyuka, WWF SARPOTel: +263 4 252533/4 E-mailhchizyuka@wwfsarpo.org

©WWF-Canon / Sarah Black

©WWF / Canon Fredrick J Weyerhaeuser

Leopard in South Luangwa National Park, trophies for suchgame are prized treasures for safarihunters

Zambian Communities receive share of hunting revenues

Namibia’s Torra Conservancyrecently made history bybecoming the first Southern

African rural community to beawarded the prestigious USD 30,000UNDP Equator Prize.

The Equator Prize was inauguratedat the 2002 World Summit forSustainable Development inJohannesburg, South Africa. Theprize aims to promote sustainableuse of natural resources by honoringoutstanding community initiativesthat demonstrate poverty reductionthrough conservation and thesustainable use of natural resourcesalong the bio-diversity rich equatorialbelt.

The announcement of TorraConservancy’s success as one of thetop six winners of the prize this yearwas made at the UN Convention onBiological Diversity (CBD)Conference of Parties’ seventhmeeting that was held in Malaysiaearlier this year.The Torra Conservancy comprisesthe Damaraland Community whowere among the first to form acommunity conservancy in Namibia,with a view to protecting wildlife and

other natural resources on their land.This is in keeping with the NamibianGovernment’s policy of promotingrural conservancies as a povertyreduction and rural developmentstrategy.

This policy, also seen as anadvanced form of Community BasedNatural Resources Management(CBNRM), requires ruralcommunities to clearly delineate theirboundaries and define theircommunities before being givenproprietary rights to manage andbenefit from natural resources in theirarea.

The Namibian conservancy systemhas been a beneficiary of strongprivate sector participation andsupport from NGOs such as WWF.Through its Living In A FiniteEnvironment (LIFE) program, WWFhas supported Namibianconservancies mainly through a localNGO called Integrated RuralDevelopment and NatureConservation (IRDNC).

The Torra Conservancy’s claim tofame may perhaps be attributed tothe their development of a tourism

joint venture with the renownedWilderness Safaris in 1996. Thispartnership led to the establishmentof the famous DamaralandWilderness Camp, a luxurious touristlodge located in the Namib desertand a popular destination for manyinternational tourists.

Torra has since become the firstconservancy to wean itself fromoutside financial support as theconservancy is now able to meet itsown operating costs as well as postsome profits that are ploughed backinto community projects such asschools. So far, the conservancy hasinvested USD 270,000 intocommunity projects.

For further information contactKaren knott, IRDNC Namibia Tel: 264 61228506/9 Email knott@iafrica.com.na

Namibia’s Torra Conservancy wins UNDP Equator PrizeDamaraland Camp in Torra Conservancy, KuneneProvince, Namibia

©WWF / Canon Edward Parker

The recent launch of new damoperating rules for Itezhi-Tezhidam upstream on Zambia’s

Kafue river did not just herald amilestone for the prospects of animproved ecological regime for theKafue flats, but local communitiesalso echoed hopes of improvedfortunes in their livelihoods should thenatural flooding patterns of the flatsbe restored.

The complex engineering matricesused to derive the rules fordetermining the release and storing ofwater in the reservoir may be alienissues to the local Tonga and ilapeople who inhabit the kafue flats, butthe value of the goods and servicesthat go with a healthy and wellfunctioning ecology of the flats are notlost on them.

Chief Shibizhi of the Ila people whospoke at the launch ceremony inanticipation of a new water flowregime said on behalf of his people,“we are very happy people todaybecause dry parts of our plain willonce again have water and this willhelp our environment while improvingour livelihoods thereby bringingdevelopment to our people”

The Ila people have always beenpastoralists with a very long andstrong history of cattle rearing. Theyhave also fished in the kafue river, itstributaries and lagoons for a long

time. The changes thatoccurred in the Kafue flatsafter the construction ofItezhi-Tezhi and Dete KafueGorge dams therefore cutdirectly to the core of theirlivelihoods.

It was therefore notsurprising that the themes inthe songs and dancesduring the launch ceremonyall depicted aspects of theirdaily lives that touched onwater and their naturalenvironment.Elsewhere in the kafue flats,Chief Mwanachingwala ofthe Tonga people inMazabuka Area reminiscedabout life before the dams;“when I was a young man,wildlife was a common sightin the area and we did nothave to go far to find good grass forour cattle” he intimated.

The changed hydrological regime ofthe kafue flats brought about by theconstruction of the dams in 1972 and1978 may have given Zambia a 900megawatt hydropower station but italso took a lot out of the naturalbiological store-house that comprisesthe kafue flats.

The sentiments expressed by bothchiefs are a pointer to this fact. In thisregard, there could yet be a change

for the better in the ecology of theflats and the livelihoods of its peopleshould the new hydrological regimetake effect and be allowed to restoresome of the attributes that existedbefore the dams came.

For further information contact KwaliMfuni, WWF Zambia Partners forWetlands Project, Tel 260 1 250404 Email kwali@zamtel.zm

Communities in kafue flatswelcome new dam operating rules

Itezhi-Tezhi dam; water flowing out of the retention basin; newrelease rules have now been been introduced

©WWF / Canon Sarah Black

With funding from SIDA throughWWF Sweden, the WWFMiombo Ecoregion program has

finally embarked on activities in Zambia’sBangweulu Basin while support fromWWF’s Living Waters Program hasfacilitated the first steps into determiningthe land use and land cover changes inthe Zambezi headwaters of North-westernZambia

The core activities under the currentphase of work in Bangweulu will involveidentification of critical conservation sites,capacity building for communities,institutional support for natural resourcemanagement and drawing up plansforgender mainstreaming.

The miombo program will also tacklestrategies for diversification of locallivelihoods that are mainly centred onfishing at present. The program will also

work on developing plans formanagement of river catchments as wellas protected areas and speciesconservation actions.

The black Lechwe and the shoebill storkare two species of special concern inBangweulu. There have hardly been anyrecent sightings of shoebill stork while noreliable data exist on the state of the blackLechwe in the area.

Similarly, not very much is known aboutthe state of the Upper Zambezi, one of theAreas of Biological Significance (ABS)identified by the Miombo Ecoregionprogram for conservation intervention.

The program has already initiated a fieldvisit to the area having first done apreliminary land use/cover classification ofthe area using satellite imagery. The fieldvisit was therefore aimed at verifying the

results of this initial exercise while alsoaffording the project team members anopportunity to go to various areas ofpotential conservation interest such as thearea’s wetlands, which include dambosand flood plains, primary miombowoodlands, Baikiea woodland,Cryptosepalum forest and grassland area.

The extent of agricultural expansion overthe last decade was also verified duringthis mission and an overview of the keylivelihood activities for local people wasdone, notably fishing on the Zambezi river,as all these will be factors in thedetermination of the most appropriateconservation strategies to adopt for thisvery important area.

For further information contact:Hewitt Chizyuka, WWF SARPO Tel: +263 4 252533/4 E-mail hchizyuka@wwfsarpo.org

Miombo Ecoregion Program begins work in Bangweulu and Upper Zambezi

MAINSTREAMING HIV and /AIDS IN CBNRM PROJECTS

STAFF NEWS CALENDAR

Arecent workshop that theproject convened noted theimpact of HIV and AIDS on

the natural resources managementsector particularly the loss ofconservation personnel (the 15 –49 years age group that is mostaffected in general also applies tothe conservation sector as well).

The workshop also highlightedHIV/AIDS’ negative impact on thenatural resource base (due tounsustainable use of timber,medicinal plants, wildlife, and non-timber forest products). Additionalspiral effects noted includereduced incomes and theconcomitant reduced food security;reduced financing for conservationinvestments (as more and morefunding is channelled towards HIVand AIDS mitigation); and the lossof indigenous knowledge (that isrequired for in situ biologicaldiversity conservation). The workshop deliberated on thepossible responses within thecontext of CBNRM project

implementation. Speaking during apresentation on nutrition, one of theguest speakers said “ HIV is not myterritory but I have to make it mybusiness” a summary statementthat underlines the need tomainstream HIV and AIDS in amulti-sectoral manner as no sectoris presently unaffected by HIV andAIDS.

The workshop, which hadparticipants from IUCN and WWF,and was facilitated by the SouthernAfrica HIV/AIDS InformationDissemination Service (SAFAIDS),recommended that conservationorganizations should endeavour tointegrate HIV and AIDS into theirprogrammes without diverting fromtheir core business. More needs tobe done to scale up existingresponses in addressing theepidemic. It was suggested thatthis can be done by formingpartnerships with organizationsworking in the HIV and AIDS areafor support. This will create aplatform to share information,materials and other preventionstrategies.Immediate steps identified by theparticipants included introducingHIV and AIDS workplace policies inproject offices where they do notexist; partnering with HIV and AIDS

information disseminationorganizations to spread themessage to communities living inconservation sites; and it wasrecommended that SARPO shoulddevelop a project proposal forfunding to mitigate the impact ofHIV and AIDS in the NRM sector.Such mitigation activities wouldinclude voluntary counselling andtesting, home based care, andcommunity support systems forsections of communities affectedby HIV and AIDS (youth, women,and the elderly)

In recognition of the urgency of theimpact of the pandemic on theNRM sector, WWF-SARPO willendeavour to mainstream HIV andAIDS in all its activities andprogrammes, from planning rightthrough implementation. Theinitiative by the Regional CBNRMproject is just the beginning of theprocess to draw lessons forapplication in other conservationsprogrammes.

For further information contact:Hewitt Chizyuka, WWF SARPOTel: +263 4 252533/4 E-mailhchizyuka@wwfsarpo.org

The WWF Regional CBNRM

Project is exploring ways of

mainstreaming HIV and AIDS into

its project activities in Botswana,

Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Douglas Makonyerehas joined WWF SARPO as Assistant Accountant.

Sharon Chishais the new Receptionist at WWF SARPO.

Dr. Lea Scherlhas joined the WWF Mozambique Program Office as Project Executantfor the Mozambique Forestry Project.

Jonas ChafotaProgramme Officer for WWF SARPO is now based in Karonga, Malawiwhere he is working on the Songwe River Catchment Project.

Magret Masangawho has been Communications Intern at WWF SARPO will leave on30th July 2004 to return to university.

ZIMBABWE STRATEGY

DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP,27th -28th July 2002, St. Lucia Harare,

Zimbabwe.

ZAMBIA CBNRM FORUM

CONSULTATIVE MEETING, 29th May 2004, Lusaka, Zambia

LUPANDE LAND USE PLANNING

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY WORKSHOP, 26th July, 2004, Mfuwe Zambia