By Staff Reporter
ZIMBABWE Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Defend, aimed at face-lifiting Chizarira National Park in Binga, Matabeleland North province, and attract the international market, among other issues.
ZimParks and Defend, formerly National Parks Rescue (NPR), have been working in partnership over the past six and half years collaborating in management of the park.
ZimParks director general, Fulton Mangwanya said he is hopeful that the collaboration will bring a huge transformation that will see the nature reserve attracting more tourists in the coming years.
“This MoU, a testament to our shared commitment, will be in effect for the next 20 years, symbolising an enduring pledge to collaboration.
“Ahead of us lies great responsibility, exciting experiences, and endless opportunities that will undoubtedly transform Chizarira National Park into a leader in biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development.
“I have no doubt that this partnership will yield tangible results. I commend Dr. Niall McCann and his team for their initiative in partnering with us and contributing to our shared vision and goals,” he said.
In an interview, Defend executive director, Niall McCann was optimistic the MoU will improve functionality of the game park, which is home to the big four and other wildlife.
Close to US$3 million investment was injected into the deal for the development of infrastructure over the past six and half years.
“We have been working in very close partnership with ZimParks now for six and a half year and we are in the privileged position to sign a very long-term agreement to bring that partnership even closer under the banner of a new trust, the Chizarira Conservation Trust, which we hope will act as a vehicle to bring much more external foreign investment into this national park and allow us to take the conservation of the park to the next level,” said McCann.
According to McCann, when Defend first came in April 2018, it was under an MoU which enabled technical and financial support.
“So we provided support for ZimParks in all aspects of the management of the park.
“There was a lot of infrastructure, training for the rangers, improving their kit and their living conditions, rebuilding the road network, building bridges, all of the things that it takes to protect a national park of this size.
“Our dream was for our teams, ZimParks and Defend to get closer and closer and to integrate more and more and over the last six and a half years we have slowly done that,” he said.
To this end, the partners have been doing patrols and projects together.
“…and slowly over time that partnership has got closer and closer as that trust is built between us.
“Of course, that takes time to build that trust and now we’re at a stage where we can sign an agreement where there will be no more Defend and ZimParks, we will all be one under the Chizurira Conservation Trust,” he said.
Many people from local communities have secured employment following the formation of the partnership.
“It is the investment in the roads and the infrastructure here, it’s the vehicles that we’ve built in, it’s the improvements in the living and the working conditions. All of those things which are harder to notice but are really important and the total investment has been just shy of US$3 million in six years.
“With the creation of the Chizarira Conservation Trust, we anticipate attracting more international funding so we can boost the level of funding for this national park, hire more people, provide more jobs and improve the conservation situation even more,” he said.
Chizarira in Matabeleland North province is the third-largest national park in Zimbabwe and also one of the least known due to its isolated location on the Zambezi escarpment.
The name of the park is derived from the Batonga word chijalila, which translates to English as “great barrier”, referring to the Zambezi escarpment, of which Chizarira’s rough terrain forms a part.
