ZIMBABWE - Destruction of wildlife, the environment and sensitive eco-systems

CONCLUSION

Whilst the duplicity and political arguments continue, more and more of the country's natural resources will die. The livelihoods of so many people - from the workers on the conservancies to the squatters themselves - continue to be put in jeopardy by policies that make little economic, social or environmental sense. From being a popular tourist attraction employing over 1,000 people and providing the country with a substantial source of foreign exchange, Bubiana, Chiredzi and Save are being reduced to a poacher's paradise supplying illegal bushmeat for local markets, and a poor living for a few subsistence farmers who will no doubt be dependent on food aid within the next two years.

If this widespread devastation is not halted, the long-term implications are enormous. Not only will the environment suffer, but tourism, a life source for so many, may no longer be an option in the country's recovery. The more vulnerable species will become extinct, habitats will be destroyed, and conservancies will be forced to close.

Last year I spoke to Ed Kadzombe: '99% of Zimbabweans understand wildlife - they live with wildlife. If, in the past, we have been seen to manage our conservation efforts better than other people, then why should we destroy our wildlife now? We have to keep the conservancies together and intact. We believe in educating people and creating understanding, we don't believe in fighting.'

Noble sentiment cannot change the facts. On November the 6th, Bangala Ranch became the first farm to have been legally acquired by the Government through the courts. It is perhaps significant that this farm is not prime agricultural land in a good rainfall area, but a game ranch in an area of erratic rainfall and fragile soils. Bangala was once a prosperous fishing and hunting concern that benefited local communities. Stephen Schwarer, Bangala's managing director, says, 'We have always had a very good relationship with our communal neighbours who have benefited from us directly and indirectly, be it meat from hunting, food relief in the last drought or just simply employment. Two years ago we employed 164 people on a permanent basis and would have increased that number to about 250 permanent and about 200 casual per year. The loss of income to the area from our operation alone will have a major impact on the standards of living here.'

Over the past 18 months Bangala has been subjected to the invasions of 600 families which have seen the destruction of 3,000 hectares of trees and the complete annihilation of all the wildlife. 'We were subjected to a systematic poaching operation which had to have had 'fat guy' backing. Take the sable herd, we decided to capture them all for their own protection but in the two weeks that we took to get organised, there were none left. Sable unfortunately are very easy to poach as they return to their own areas a number of times before pressure forces them to leave. There is also a big commercial fish poaching operation with arrested poachers boasting that they make $1,000 per week. The violence on the farm has stopped for the last three months, but prior to that, and as a cover for poaching and theft, we were subjected to numerous demonstrations and attacks on staff and property dating as far back as May 2000.'