Wildlife Now Component of Land Reform - Nhema

The Herald (Harare)

June 7, 2004
Harare

WILDLIFE will now be promoted as a legitimate option for using land redistributed under land reform following a new Government policy, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Cde Francis Nhema, has said.

Poachers had mistakenly assumed that acquired land would not be used for wildlife and had slaughtered game recklessly during the first 18 months of the fast-track land reform.

"The major objective of the policy is to address the need for more equitable access by the majority of Zimbabweans to land and wildlife resources and to business opportunities that stem from these resources," said the minister.

Cde Nhema was speaking on Thursday in Parliament in response to concerns raised by the portfolio committee on Mines, Energy, Environment and Tourism on the impact of land reform on wildlife production.

"While cases of poaching continue at a low level, there is evidence of stability returning on game ranches with new settlers successfully reconstituting conservancies, as in the case with Gwayi River Conservancy," he said.

Cde Nhema attributed the reduction in poaching to the combination of a vigorous extension campaign, enhanced anti-poaching efforts and empowerment of new farmers through the provision of quotas.

Wildlife-based land reform will contribute to the equity of a range of stakeholders, including neighbouring communities, while ensuring that the stakeholders share costs and benefits from wildlife production.

The most profitable and ecologically sustainable land use option will be allowed to evolve in response to changing economic influences, notwithstanding the need to ensure food security.

The policy encourages working together rather than competition between different sectors of the wildlife industry and various forms of land use. Wildlife confers on Zimbabwe a unique comparative economic advantage, with the potential to sustain viable domestic and foreign tourism markets.

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Pigs fly too