2007 Archives
These pages have been compiled from various news reports relevant to conservation, wildlife and environment in Zimbabwe since the beginning of the 'Accellerated Land Redistribution' campaign in 2000. We have been somewhat selective in the posting of these reports to avoid tedious duplication, or misinformation but if there is something we have missed please contact us. To seach for a particular story, use the search feature on the homepage.
November/December 2007
Matobo Conservation Society Dec 2007 Newsletter
27 December - Ranger Shot Dead... A National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority game ranger was shot dead in the Victoria Falls National Park by fellow rangers who mistook him for a poacher.
21 December - Zim elephants shot for food.... Harare - There is such an acute food shortage in Zimbabwe that people are resorting to shooting elephants to stave off the hunger. Johnny Rodrigues, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said game poaching had increased in the past three months. A recent report noted that 900 elephant carcasses had been seen from the air over Chisarira Park in the northwestern region of Zimbabwe.
24 December - Country Intensifies Rhino Dehorning.... ZIMBABWE has intensified dehorning all the rhinos under the "save the rhino campaign" in a bid to curb rampant poaching of one of the world's most endangered species. In an interview, National Parks and Wildlife Authority public relations manager Retired Major Edward Mbewe said the campaign was aimed at cutting down the rate of poaching.
21 December - Upsurge in rhino poaching in Zimbabwe.... There has been an alarming upsurge in armed poaching of endangered rhinos primarily in the “Lowveld Conservancies” in South Eastern Zimbabwe over the past three years, according to WWF, the international conservation organization.
20 December - Mozambique parks to draw thousands.... Gorongosa national park, located in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, is set to attract more than 500 000 tourists each year after massive refurbishment, state radio reported on Thursday.
19 December - Thousands homeless after Zimbabwe floods... Some 600 families have been left homeless in a remote area of northeastern Zimbabwe after floods washed away buildings and crops as well as disrupting power supplies, a state daily reported Wednesday.
16 December - Poachers decimate Zimbabwe's wildlife... A radical increase in poaching of Zimbabwe's beleaguered wildlife recently has seen a new twist: many former wildlife protectors are now their trigger-happy assailants. Rhino numbers, in particular, are plummeting. Johnny Rodrigues, Chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said 12 rhino had been killed in the past three months.
16 December - Zim strikes oil deal with E Guinea.... Zimbabwe has struck a deal to import crude oil from Equatorial Guinea and is planning to reopen a refinery to process fuel and ease acute shortages, state media reported on Monday.
12 December - Crocodile Attack in Darwendale.... A 19 year old Nyabira man died recently after being attacked by a crocodile while swimming with his friends in Darwendale Dam.
11 December - The Zambezi Society Bulletin SEPT - NOV 2007.... The new rhino calf in the Matusadona National Park has been named Murume by the girls of Chisipite Junior School in Harare who, every year, raise substantial funds for The Zambezi Society’s black rhino conservation programme in the Matusadona National Park.
10 December - Moz may export crocodile products... A recent count of crocodiles carried out in the central provinces of Mozambique could determine the country's potential for exporting the reptiles' products from the Zambezi River basin, state media reported.
10 December - Parks Dismisses Media Reports... The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is happy with progress that has already been made in developing Gonarezhou National Park which is part of the giant Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.
10 December - ZCTF Christmas Report.... We would have taken the greatest pleasure in sending out a happy, heartwarming Christmas report but with the number of adverse reports we have received this year, particularly in the past 3 months, we cannot think of anything "happy" to report.
9 December - Biofuels: benefits and risks for developing countries.... Biofuels offer huge potential, but pose challenges best countered with strong and coherent development policies, says S. Arungu-Olende.
6 December - Parks to Hold Awareness Workshops.... The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority will hold awareness campaign workshops to educate communities on the benefits of engaging in sustainable use of wildlife and natural resources in their surrounding areas in Gweru and Gwanda, beginning today.
30 November - BIRDLIFE ZIMBABWE NEWSLETTER .... Click Here to Download
30 November - $3bn Reward Offered for information leading to arrest of perpetrators of the Imire Rhino Slaughter...The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has set a $3 billion reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of poachers who shot and killed three rhinos at Imire Game Park outside Marondera early this month.
29 November - Walking with lions: How captive-bred animals can be returned to the wild.. It seems dreamlike, impossible. Armed with a stick and a few instructions ("Be relaxed, stand your ground, never show fear or panic...") I'm walking through the African bush with four young lions. Shoulders rolling, tails low, they look so menacing and magnificent, and so utterly capable of turning me into lunch.
28 November - Two Rhinos Killed [In Chiredzi].... Two suspected poachers at the weekend allegedly shot and killed and dehorned two black rhinos at Ruware Ranch in Chiredzi.
22 November - Blitz Against Illegal Firewood Sales Launched.... The Forestry Commission has launched a campaign against the illegal felling of trees and unauthorised firewood sales while the police and the Environmental Management Agency have been empowered to arrest those caught breaking the law.
20 November - Poachers Dehorn Rhino, Calf... A Female black rhino and its calf were shot dead and dehorned by suspected foreign poachers at Sinamatela in the Hwange National Park at the weekend.
12 November - Proposed text of Rare Canid Act of the US...Proposes $5 million for international conservation of wild cats and dogs.
9 November - Poachers kill three black rhinos in Zimbabwe.... Poachers have shot dead three black rhinoceroses - a species listed as the most highly endangered large mammal on Earth - on a private conservancy, its owner said on Thursday. Reward offered for information leading to the arrest of the poachers.
2 November - Calling All Environmental Journalists!... Deadline: 2 November 2007
Environment Africa and the Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) invite you to submit published articles/broadcast programmes for consideration for the Environmental Reporter of the 3rd Quarter of 2007.
September/October 2007
27 October - Thanks a million Mr. Mugabe: Zimbabwe on the brink of economic meltdown... After bribery, deception and a perilous journey, Maurice Gerard became that rarest of things: a foreign correspondent in Zimbabwe. He describes a world of 7,600 per cent inflation and a nation of millionaires who can afford nothing.
[Ed: a refreshingly descriptive piece in the dialy mail about life in Zimbabwe, mentions wildlife problems cause by Zim Refugees in SA]
24 October - Zambezi Society appeals for international members to re-join.
23 October - Wooden Carvings Confiscated... The Forestry Commission has intensified efforts to curb deforestation in Mashonaland East Province through the confiscation of artefacts made from indigenous trees.
22 October - Forestry Company to Assume New Name.... The Forestry Company of Zimbabwe has rebranded in an exercise that will see it changing its name to Allied Timber Holdings of Zimbabwe.
14 October - 'Come to Zimbabwe for a holiday ... please'... The shops are empty, petrol is only available on the black market, and the country’s once abundant wildlife is under threat from hungry poachers — so come to Zimbabwe for a holiday. Exhibitors at a four-day tourism fair in Harare made no bones about the difficulties they face selling the country as a destination. "Zimbabwe is treated with strong suspicion, as if it’s another part of the world in the mould of Darfur," said one, who has taken part in government-sponsored promotions abroad.
13 October - Bees could help protect elephants... Hives of angry bees could provide a low-tech way of protecting endangered African elephants, scientists said. Researchers found many elephants fled immediately on hearing the sound of the buzz of bees but ignored a control recording of natural white-noise.
12 October - Suspected Zambian Poacher Shot Dead in Country... A poacher, suspected to be Zambian, has been shot dead in Zimbabwe, while his three accomplices who fled the wildlife scouts' dragnet have been arrested and detained by Livingstone police.11
October - Authority Gets 35 Vehicles for Combating Poaching... Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has acquired 35 Land Cruisers worth US$862 000 for combating poaching.
1 October - Tobacco Stains:The global footprint of a deadly crop... The past decade has seen a remarkable shift in the way Americans view cigarette smoking. Since the massive tobacco litigation settlements began in 1997, the federal government has phased out support for tobacco farming, states and cities have enacted public smoking restrictions, and the number of smokers has steadily declined.
1 October - Authority Investigates Crocodile, Fish Deaths... The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is investigating the death of two crocodiles and hundreds of fish at Sondelani Ranch in West Nicholson, an official said yesterday.
[Ed: If air-breathing crocodiles and sharptooth catfish died too this was poisoning, not de-oxygenated water... the workers should have been stopped from eating the dead animals].
Download the October/November copy of Birdlife Zimbabwe's Babbler Newsletter.
29 September - Wildlife decimated as govt policy kills beef industry... Zimbabwe Conservation Taskforce chairperson Johnny Rodriques said poaching had increased dramatically because of a shortage of beef, spawned by a government directive in June to slash prices and the subsequent withdrawal of licences from private abattoirs. This has seen a spike in sales of game meat, the bulk of which is obtained illegally through a network of well-connected poachers.
29 September - Chinese disappear from Byo pipeline project... A Chinese company contracted by the government to lay a pipeline linking Mtshabezi and Mzingwane dams has disappeared from the scene, despite claims by the state that it was working flat out to solve a crippling water crisis in Bulawayo.
29 September - Meet the new UN Commission on Sust. Dev. chairman.... Not so many months ago, we joined progressive environmental interest groups and individuals in agonizing over the appointment of Zimbabwe, and in particular environment and Tourism Minister to chair the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.
28 September - African women conservation leaders... The Africa Section of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) presents a novel initiative aimed at highlighting the leadership abilities of African women in environmental conservation. This is based on the goal of the SCB Africa Section’s Young Women Conservation Biologists’ (YWCB) group, which is to advance career opportunities for young African women in conservation biology
27 September - Foreign banks can go: Mangwana... A cabinet minister this week said financial institutions unwilling to comply with a proposed indigenisation law could leave the country, charging that government would not back down from its plans to force foreign-owned companies to cede control to locals.
25 September - 'Embrace Land Reform'... Operators in the lucrative wildlife conservancy industry -- which has been dominated by whites since independence -- have been urged to embrace Government's land reform and resettlement programme if they are to continue to safely operate in the sector.
24 September - $11bn Raised for Rebuilding of Nursing Training School... Nearly $11,5 billion in cash and pledges was raised in Masvingo at the weekend during a fund-raising function for the reconstruction of the destroyed Chikombedzi Hospital Nursing Training School in Chiredzi. Some of the money was raised from an auction of wildlife donated by operators in the province.
24 September - Giraffe saved from hungry crowd in Zimbabwe... Hungry Zimbabweans threatened to kill and eat a giraffe after it wandered towards the outskirts of the capital Harare, it has emerged. Scores of people rushed to the scene after the adult giraffe entered Seke district from surrounding farmland. Police said several wanted to butcher the animal "for the pot", according to the state-owned Herald newspaper.
24 September - Chipangali - hope for Zimbabwe's wildlife.... The extent some wildlife conservationists in this world care for or have passion in nature is really amazing.
24 September - Chiefs Urged to Help Preserve Environment...
[Ed: a pretty dull article, but just for old-times sake it has a nice use of that very Zimbabwean word "conscientise"...]
21 September - Zim instability halts peace park project... Responding to public questions at the National Geographic Society yesterday the president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, said that implementation of Peace Parks between Zimbabwe and Botswana were 'on ice' primarily due to concerns about uncontrolled poaching and foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in Zimbabwe
21 September - Nhema Bankrolls Gospel Compilation... Enviroment and Tourism Minister Cde Francis Nhema has bankrolled musical groups in Shurugwi to the tune of $1 billion to record a gospel compilation album entitled Rwendo Rwekutenda.
[Ed: assuming this is Nhema's 'personal' money I had no idea that environment ministers in Zimbabwe earned so much that they have billions of dollars in disposable income to give to entertainers... I smell a rat]
21 September - Intervene, Thwart Poaching, Police Urged.... Hurungwe Rural District Council has called on the police to swiftly intervene and thwart poaching that claimed two elephants early this month.
20 September - Government Withholds Water to Bulawayo... The Zimbabwe government has been accused of holding back water supplies from Bulawayo, after revelations that a nearby dam would have enough reserves to serve the city for 18 months, if plans were made to access the water.
[Ed: this doesn't have much to do with conservation, but it appears that it is a crime to even read things that the president might find offensive - SO IF YOU LIVE IN ZIMBABWE DON"T PRINT THIS PAGE]
19 September - Border Timbers Employees Abscond for Gold And Diamonds... Labour shortages have dealt a hammer blow to Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Border Timbers Limited (BTL), as employees abscond its timber plantations in favour of the lucrative gold panning and diamond mining.
19 September - Parks Eye Restaurant Chain... The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (PWMA) yesterday unveiled plans to develop its restaurants around the country's national parks and bring them under a new brand called Water Buck.
13 September - Stakeholders Begin Putting Out Dumpsite Fire... The City of Harare together with Environment Africa and other stakeholders yesterday started extinguishing fire at the Pomona dumpsite that is producing a lot of toxic fumes into the atmosphere.
12 September - National Parks Starts Dehorning Rhinos in Hwange... The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe said yesterday it had started dehorning rhinos in Hwange National Park in an effort to deter poaching of one of the world's endangered species.
6 September - Open Fire Ban Long Overdue... The banning of open fires for the next three months by Government this week should send strong signals to those who play with fire and destroy our environment that their time is up.
4 September - FIFA to inspect Zimbabwe's host capacity ahead of 2010 World Cup... A delegation of FIFA officials will arrive here Monday to assess the country's capacity to host visitors for the 2010 World Cup to be hosted in South Africa. "The FIFA officials will assess the capacity of Zimbabwe to host visitors for 2010," Karikoga Kaseke, chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), said in a statement.
3 September - Parks Spending US$25 000 Monthly On Water for Jumbos... THE Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is spending about US$25 000 per month on water game supply for elephants alone at the Hwange National Park as the species' population increases, it has been learnt. Hwange National Park, which is the third biggest in Africa, is the only park in the region providing artificial water supplies. According to experts, neighbouring Botswana does not provide water points at all. In an interview on Friday, Parks director general Dr Morris Mtsambiwa confirmed the situation.
[Ed: When reading the article I wouldn't take the $25,000 number very seriously as it is probably the official exchange rate wich is just stupid. In fact most references to currency in Zimbabwe right now are pretty meaningless. In Zimbabwe's barter economy we'd honestly be better of talking about the cost inbags of maize or litres of fuel]
1 September - Hunger takes horrific toll on Harare animals.... The widespread slaughter of wildlife, domestic pets being eaten and donkey meat passed off as beef - these are some of the effects of the chronic food shortages in Zimbabwe.
Download September Birdlife Zimbabwe Babbler Newsletter (pdf)
July/ August 2007
Download August Zambezi Society Newsletter (pdf)
30 August - Zim Loses 400 000ha of Forest to Illegal Fellers... Zimbabwe is losing between 300 000 and 400 000 hectares of forest annually due to illegal tree felling in peri-urban and farming areas, highlighting the need for intensified environmental conservation campaigns. Intermittent power outages, increasing population and general lack of monitoring have resulted in a 100 percent increase in deforestation from between 150 000 hectares and 200 000 hectares two years ago.
17 August - Women miners ravage environment... Hordes of indigenous women’s mining groups operating under a shadowy organization linked to President Robert Mugabe ruling ZANU PF party are reportedly ravaging mining environments in the gold producing districts of Gwanda, Insiza and Umzingwane in Matabeleland South.
16 August - Tusker update... An update from ZCTF on the problems caused by an habituated 'problem' elephant in Charara.
11 August - Imire - A Must Visit for Wildlife Enthusiasts.... Located an hour's drive away from Harare, Imire Game Park is a must visit for the wildlife enthusiasts with a diverse offering of animals to see but the sanctuary's ace is the rhino breeding station.
[Ed: they allude to 'poaching problems' in the article].
11 August - Snakes and snakebites... [Ed: A pretty random article on snakes from none other than former health Minister Timothy Stamps, maybe part 2 will get to some bite treatment info]
9 August - Ivory Auction Abandoned Over Price Deadlock... A stalemate over the reserve price on more than two tonnes of ivory which was supposed to go under the hammer last week resulted in the auction being abandoned after the buyers decided not to take the available stocks.
8 August - Human animal conflict rages on in south-western Zimbabwe... Dozens of wild animals are being killed monthly as the human-animal conflict worsens between stray and problem wildlife from the Gariya Safari area and villagers in the Gariya and Mgodi-Masili communal areas of Tsholotsho in south-western Zimbabwe.
6 August - Land Committee in Bid to Boost Tourism... The Provincial Technical Land Committee said they were working towards coming up with organised settlements in and around conservancies to boost tourism and achieve a lucrative wildlife production. The land committee, comprising senior police officers, provincial administrators, officials from Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Environment and Tourism Ministry, agreed that the implementation of the wildlife land reform policy was long overdue.
2 August - Nhema Named in Parks Vehicle Scandal.... Environment and Tourism Minister, Francis Nhema, could have exerted his influence to arm twist the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (PWMA) into spending US$44 000 on the importation of a Prado VX model for his personal use, The Financial Gazette can reveal. The luxury 4x4 will ultimately cost the authority about US$96 000 after factoring in 105 percent import duty, but this excludes shipping costs.
2 August - Researchers Urged to Simplify Scientific Terms... A cabinet minister has urged researchers in the country to desist from writing research findings in scientific terms that cannot be understood by the ordinary people. Environment and Tourism Minister Cde Francis Nhema made the call yesterday while officiating at a workshop on climate change organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology Development and the Zimbabwe Academy of Sciences.
[Ed: RESEARCH!!!??? What research can be done when the entire University of Zimbabwe's Department of Biology's annual budget (calculated at January blackmarket rates) is less than US$5,000? Most of the lecturers aren't even paid enough to cover their transport costs. Nice one Mr. Nhema - you are as completely out of touch with reality as your paymaster, and it seems that you are just as big a thief too - read story above].
1 August - Zimbabwe's Wildlife Decimated by Economic Crisis... Wildlife has been nearly wiped out on Zimbabwe's former private game ranches in the seven years since President Robert Mugabe began seizing and dividing the areas into small plots, a conservation group says. Some 90 percent of animals have been lost since 2000, while the country has seen an estimated 60 percent of its total wildlife killed off to help ease massive economic woes, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said in a report issued in June.
29 July - Zimbabwe's Leader Says He'll Print More Cash... President Robert Mugabe has promised to print more money to fund municipal projects, a government newspaper reported Saturday. The pledge came despite hyperinflation that has created severe shortages of cornmeal, meat, milk and other staples. Meanwhile, water shortages have worsened because of pump breakdowns, and a senior government official said kidney patients were dying for lack of dialysis machines.
[Ed: Author eventually talks about loss of Msasa trees in Harare wooodlots due to power shortage]
27 July - Zimbabwe poaching seen rising on meat shortages... Poaching by hungry Zimbabweans may escalate after the government closed private abattoirs in a price blitz that has sparked shortages of basic goods, including meat, the nation's wildlife authority said on Friday.
26 July - Zimbabwe: Five on Bribery Charges... Five Parks and Wildlife Management Authority security guards manning Lake Chivero yesterday appeared in court for allegedly soliciting and receiving bribes totalling $6 million from detectives posing as potential fish poachers. Police had received information that guards at the lake were demanding bribes from poachers and illegally granting them fishing permits.
25 July - Zimbabwe hikes gold price 10-fold to stop smuggling... Harare - Zimbabwe's central bank raised on Wednesday the local price of gold nearly 10-fold in a bid to curb smuggling and boost sagging deliveries. The precious metal is the main source of hard currency for the struggling southern African nation, accounting for a third of its export earnings. Producers will get $3 million Zimbabwean dollars per gram, compared to $350,000 Zimbabwean dollars before the change, Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono said in a statement.
24 July - Price controls devastating rural economy... Price controls are having a ruinous effect on Zimbabwe's rural economy, according to small-scale farmers and civil society. Since government launched "Operation Reduce Prices", compelling businesses to slash prices by fifty percent in a bid combat the rampant inflation of over 4,000 percent - and imprisoning businesspeople who did not comply - basic commodities have been fast disappearing from shop shelves and wholesale suppliers.
24 July - Fuel needed in Hwange... There is once again a critical shortage of fuel to pump water into the pans for the animals in Hwange National Park which is not surprising in view of the extreme shortage of basic commodities in Zimbabwe. The park needs 20 000 litres of diesel to ensure that there is enough water for the animals to drink during the dry season (August to November) if we are to avoid a repetition of the water crisis of 2005.
23 July - A Freakonomics Quorum: How to Save the African Rhino?.... A reader named James Thompson recently sent in a request for help in solving a wildlife conservation problem. We decided to put the question to a set of diverse, smart people we know or tracked down, who might have particular insights to this particular problem.
19 July - Campfire Set to Add Value to Projects... The Community Areas Management Programme For Indigenous Resources has come up with new initiatives to improve the sustainable utilisation of natural resources in the country as it raises its stake in the country's economic turnaround programme. Campfire, whose hope was renewed after the W. K. Kellogg Foundation released a grant this year to fund the association's projects for the next two years, has adopted resolutions to enhance the management of natural resources for the benefit of communities.
18 July - VP Msika Warns Wildlife Operators... Vice President Joseph Msika has warned operators in the wildlife industry that the Government will take action against illegal activities in the sector that deprive the State of revenue. Cde Msika said Government was aware of clandestine activities such as poaching, undervaluing and the under declaration of export receipts to the State.
18 July - Even Mugabe cannot sink profit at 'smoking thunder' ... Despite the economic mayhem unfolding in most quarters of Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls is every bit the magnet it has always been, with visitors appearing not to think twice about their choice of destination. Reliable data are hard come by, with the Zimbabwean Tourism Authority boasting a record number of travellers to the country last year - 2.2 million, up from 1.5 million in 2005 - while Standard Bank records a 31 percent drop in tourism receipts for the first quarter of the same year.
15 July - Revenge of the culled elephants Livingstone... The British and American tourists dismounting elephants on the banks of the Zambezi were all agreed: the elephant-back safari had been the highlight of their African holiday. There was a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” and a rush for cameras as an eight-month-old baby elephant that had followed them, gambolled clumsily in and out of her mother’s massive legs.
12 July - Inside the Gono dossier... [....Gono's shopping list of measures to be taken to stabilise the economy ranges from agriculture to tackling corruption. He has called on the government to: stop land invasions and the criminality that has affected conservancies, including poaching and cutting down trees; protect private property; rationalise external trade tariffs to enhance producer viability; exercise restraint in setting prices; respect existing and future investment protection agreements; privatise key parastatals; engage business in a social contract; stamp out corruption; provide subsidies for actual production as opposed to pre-production free handouts; and build an environment free of disruptive policy inconsistencies and enhance the viability of business.]
12 July - Wildlife-Based Land Reform Programme to Be Rationalised... The Government is working on logistics that will see issues overlooked, including errors made, during the wildlife-based land reform programme addressed and corrected, Secretary for Environment and Tourism Mrs Margaret Sangarwe has said. She said a committee was set up im mediately after the passing of the wildlife-based land reform policy last year to closely scrutinise various challenges emerging from conservancies and wildlife management.
[Ed: Maybe Ms. Sangware should look up the word rational in a dictionary, because clearly there is a dearth of any rational thought in Zanu-PF]
11 July - Ivory Trade Ban Could Fuel Illegal Markets... The nine-year ban on external ivory trade is likely to fuel cases of illegal trade, as this will starve the market of the product that is in high demand, a senior ecologist said yesterday. Dr Morris Mtsambiwa, the director for the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, told members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species support group that banning trade has never been an effective way to contain trade-related challenges and poaching.
11 July - CAMPFIRE: Zimbabwe's Tradition of Caring... Much has already been said and written about Zimbabwe's Campfire programme, highlighting how the programme decentralises political and administrative powers to grassroots people, how it distributes millions of dollars to the barefoot masses in communal areas, and how people have adopted eco-friendly views on wildlife and other natural resources as a result of it. But little has been said so far about the significance of the programme to reviving the cultural well-being of the people in Zimbabwe.
11 July - Transfrontier Conservation Area Biggest in the World... Ministers responsible for Environment, Wildlife and Tourism from five SADC countries have agreed to set up infrastructure for the day-to-day activities of a cross-border conservation initiative.
10 July - Zimbabwean game slaughtered... Most game in Zimbabwe's private reserves has been wiped out by rampant poaching following President Robert Mugabe's controversial farm seizures program, a wildlife conservation group says. The organisation, which collected data from 62 game farmers over the past seven years, said 91 per cent of game on private ranches had been slaughtered.
1 July - ZCTF Wildlife Statistics - Game Losses on Private Land... Since 2001, we have been collecting information from private game ranches around Zimbabwe. The information we have been endeavouring to obtain from individual game farms is....
May/June 2007
27 June - Country Accused of Trading Ivory for Military Hardware From China.... Over the last few years Robert Mugabe has pursued the so-called "Look East" policy which increased trade between Zimbabwe and China. It has now been revealed that Interpol and the wildlife watchdog CITES are looking in all directions for evidence of illegal deals between the two countries, which involved tons of ivory and military hardware. According to The Zimbabwean newspaper this week, Zimbabwe has been secretly bartering tons of ivory with China in exchange for rifles, bullets, anti-riot gear and other military hardware.
27 June - Chemical waste kills birds, animals... Many bird and wild animal species are dying due to exposure to water tainted with chemicals in and around Zimbabwe's illegal gold panning areas because of the improper disposal of chemicals used in processing gold ore.
25 June - Harare to implement indigenisation law before year-end... Masvingo - Zimbabwe’s Minister of Indigenisation and Empowerment, Paul Mangwana, has said the government will force foreign-owned mining firms in the country to cede controlling shareholding to indigenous Zimbabweans before the end of the year.
18 June - Ill-equiped rangers battle sophisticated poachers.... To Samuel Munkuli, sunset does not automatically mean a time of sleep and rest. For more than five years, he has longed to spend the winter with his wife and extended family at Mlibizi in Binga, but that has not happened because of his commitments at work.
16 June - Gum Trees Under Threat... Zimbabwe's gum-trees are under threat from an unprecedented infestation by an insect pest that sucks the sap from the leaves, leading to the death of the tree, the Forestry Commission has said.
14 June - Compromise reached on ivory sale.... The Hague - After an 18-year ban, four African states will put their ivory stocks on the market in a one-time sale as part of a hard-fought compromise reached early Thursday with other Africans who tried to block the sale.
12 June - Fish poachers loot dams as levels falls.... Hungry Zimbabweans in the drought stricken province of Matabeleland South have taken advantage of lowered dam levels to embark on large scale fish poaching involving the use of dragnets, hazardous chemicals and herbal poisons.
11 June - Mugabe faces blacklist over rogue diamonds... Less than two years after it became the world’s newest diamond producer Zimbabwe is in danger of being placed on the list of countries accused of using the gems to fund wars and crime.
10 June - Looking for clues in the ivory jungle....The Hague - At the opening news conference for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting, Willem Wijnstekers gave more answers on ivory than anything else - in particular, on the question of whether even a very limited legal ivory trade would stimulate elephant poaching.
6 June - Crime gangs, horns demand threaten African rhinos... Amsterdam - The rise of organised criminal gangs trading in rhino horns has boosted poaching in some African countries, putting the endangered animals at risk, conservation groups and a UN wildlife pact said on Wednesday.
6 June - Forests under threat as Zimbabwe struggles to stay warm... Israel Thebe points in despair to dozens of fresh stumps that have appeared overnight in the heart of Mukuvisi Woodlands, on the outskirts of Harare. "It takes a good 50 years for a tree to grow fully," said the forestry manager. "This took place in just one night."
5 June - Harare to keep foreigners away from diamond fields... Zimbabwe’s cash-strapped government says it turned down a US$200 million loan offer from a Germany company that wanted to mine diamonds at its Marange diamond field, adding it would never allow foreign firms to mine the diamonds.
4 June - Chinese Investors Bid to Upgrade Mega Park.... A Consortium of Chinese investors has put in a bid to upgrade the Zimbabwean side of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr Francis Nhema, said last week.
3 June - 753 crocodiles released into Ngezi Dam after rescue from failed breeder... The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) has rescued 753 crocodiles from the farm of a newly resettled farmer following the death of 150 of the reptiles due to cruelty and neglect by the farm owner.
2 June - Wildlife conference agrees to ivory sale... The agency that oversees international trade involving rare animals approved on Saturday the sale of 60 tons of ivory to Japan despite fears it could lead to increased poaching of endangered elephants.
31 May - Chinese demand for ivory driving illegal trade... China and its insatiable demand for ivory is helping push many African elephant populations towards extinction, a hard-hitting investigation claims. It has become the largest ivory trading country in the world and is single-handedly fuelling a consumer led demand for illegal black market ivory, it is alleged.
May - Curse of the Devil's Dogs... [Ed: A magnificent account in the Smithsonian Mag of Wild dog conservation in Zimbabwe through Greg Rasmussen's work - a must read]
30 May - Police move into staff quarters at disputed [Game] farm... Police last weekend forcibly moved into staff quarters at Portwe Farm in Matabeleland North province in clear defiance of a High Court order issued last week to move out of the farm they occupied two months ago.
29 May - United States to Support Conservation of Tigers, Elephants, Whales, and Others... [Ed: This gives the US State Department's position on elephant downlisting and specifically mentions Zimbabwe: "The United States also is concerned about the inclusion of Zimbabwe in the proposal because of reports of poaching and lack of protection for elephants in that country" I've also attached a congressional letter to the US sectretary of the Interior regarding this issue.]
28 May - What a month!... To those who have been following the ongoing plunder of the environment – wildlife, minerals and natural resources – in Zimbabwe, the passing of the month of May, 2007 can be celebrated as the closure of yet another sad chapter for the green movement.
28 May - Zambian poacher arrested in Zimbabwe's national park... An armed Zambian poacher has been arrested in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park after a shootout with game rangers while his four accomplices fled the scene last Thursday, The Sunday Mail reported.
27 May - World team to probe Zim diamond theft... A five-member team of experts from the Kimberly Process (KP) is expected in the country this week amid allegations that senior Zanu PF politicians are smuggling rough diamonds out of the country. This follows complaints by the World Diamond Council (WDC) in December that Zimbabwe’s diamonds might have been traded illicitly, flouting international rules guiding the world trade in diamonds.
25 May - Elephants destroy irrigation scheme in Zimbabwe... A herd of elephants have destroyed 40 hectares of winter wheat at Shashe Irrigation Scheme, some 135 km west of Beitbridge, Zimbabwe's border city with South Africa, The Herald reported on Friday.
25 May - Parks Director Cleared of Corruption Charge... Parks and Wildlife Management Authority director Mr Vitalis Chadenga, accused of corruptly granting hunting rights to Mr Nicholas Johannes Coetzee resulting in the slaughter of 82 animals, has been cleared of the charges.
24 May - Bubye Minerals founders released on bail... Bubye Minerals founders Adele and Michael Farquhar, accused of stripping assets at the River Ranch diamond mine they once owned and still claim ownership rights to, were released from police custody on bail of Z$4 million (approximately $100) each. [Ed - if this one is true it is particularly absurd, well worth a read]
24 May - Africa's Zimbabwe Problem... Zimbabwe was recently elected to chair the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), to the dismay of human-rights groups and nations, like the United States, that would like the United Nations to take its responsibilities seriously. This election is more than a travesty; it is a cruel demonstration of disregard for the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe on the part of the U.N. and those African countries that helped Zimbabwe to the chairmanship.
24 May - Zimbabwe mulls elephant cull... Zimbabwe is considering culling a ballooning elephant population that it is struggling to control, an official said Wednesday.
24 May - Long Knives Out Over Elephants... Environmentalists are readying themselves for another heated round of debate and horse-trading in the continuing international tussle over the issue of ivory sales.
24 May - Cape Buffalo Trophies in Zim... Conserving wildlife in Africa is often difficult as it conflicts with humans and their activities. “One way to make conservation gains”, particularly in the African context, “is to capitalize on the importance of wild species in human livelihoods”. The “sustainable harvesting of plants and hunting of animals has often turned out to be a highly effective conservation measure” (Hutton, 2004)
24 May - 6 Reasons to Join The Society For Conservation Biology's Mailing List.
24 May - IUCN Elephant Specialist Group Releases Elephant Status Report ... [Ed: This is a simply incredible report - at last we have a scientifically credible estimate for Zimbabwe's elephant populations in 2006 at 84,416, up from 81,555 in 2002. http://www.africanindaba.co.za/Conservation/iucn_elestat_2007.pdf ]
23 May - Veld Fires Light Up Zimbabwe... In a move that demonstrates the failure of what analysts see as half-hearted government efforts to instill a national culture of conservation, veld-fires last week lit up the skies across Zimbabwe as the country began commemorating the National Fire Week.
23 May - Country Takes Ivory Ban Fight to Netherlands... Fearing a ban on ivory trade would worsen the foreign currency crisis facing the country, Zimbabwe will next month take its lobby to the Netherlands where opponents, who accuse the country of opening game areas to poachers, are digging in their heels.
15 May - Selling fish to Mugabe is risky business.... Zimbabwean soldiers at the weekend severely beat up fish vendors in the working class suburb of Kuwadzana in Harare for displaying baskets of fish to President Robert Mugabe's passing motorcade. The soldiers, who were armed with rifles and truncheons, accused the hapless vendors of insulting Mugabe after they displayed their "smelling fish" to the President.
14 May - More Animals Go into ZANU(PF) Pot ... Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU PF party this week continued to send more ominous signs on the future of wildlife conservation when seven impalas were butchered to feed members of the party, mainly youth militias when they held a belated birthday ceremony for President Robert Mugabe at Pangani Youth Militia Training Centre near Filabusi in the Insiza district of Matabeleland South.
10 May - Sand and wood poachers ravage Bulawayo environs.... As Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown progresses beyond the normal crisis level, thousands of hard pressed urban dwellers have turned to sand and wood poaching from the local environment in a bid to find something to sell and make one day’s worth of living.
9 May - Nkomo Revives [Wildlife] Ranch Row... ZANU PF chairman and House of Assembly Speaker John Nkomo has revived his legal tussle against a Bulawayo businessman over a wildlife ranch in Matabeleland North.
5 May - At Least 40 Black Rhino Poached From Zimbabwe... Zimbabwe state media report that at least 40 black rhinoceros have been poached from the country's parks and conservancies over the last three years.
4 May - Wildlife dept prepares for CITES meet... In preparation for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference slated for The Hague in June, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks held a national consultative meeting in Maun, last week.
2 May - Private Contractor to Refurbish Zambezi Park... The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has engaged a private contractor to accelerate the construction and refurbishment of infrastructure in the Zambezi Transfrontier National Park to meet the 2010 deadline.
March/April 2007
26 April - Experts to Research On Animal Health At Park.... The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has engaged veterinary experts to conduct research on diseases and health status of animals at the Gonarezhou National Park.
26 April - Crocodile Attacks, Eats 11-Year-Old Mwenezi Boy... An 11-year-old Mwenezi boy was attacked and killed by a crocodile while swimming with friends and only his head, intestines and leg were recovered.
25 April - Save Conservancy is loosing Rhino... In the last two weeks two Rhino have been poached in the Save Conservancy which is located in the Lowveld of Zimbabwe. This now brings the known poached Rhino to 10 since 2000 [in the conservancy].
24 April - Water train to thirsty Bulawayo?... With its main water supply dams expected to run dry by September, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, is planning to transport water by train from the Zambezi River, about 400km northwest of the city. "We are actively pursuing the idea of a water train to bring the precious liquid, because our current supplies will be exhausted by October.
19 April - Parks, Bankers Meet.... The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority this week met top local bankers to source funding to fend off an anti-ivory trade campaign that is being championed by Kenya and Mali.
18 April - Sharing Lessons Learned Protects the World's Great Rivers... Flowing through eight countries of southern Africa, the Zambezi River faces competing demands for water from agriculture, power generation, industrial and domestic users as well as wildlife and tourism. [Ed: The Nature Conservancy recently partnered with The African Wildlife Foundation - It looks like the Zambezi River is an area of interest to them].
18 April - Wild animals killed to feed independence celebrations.... The government of Zimbabwe slaughtered close to 120 wild animals countrywide to feed the people who attended the gloomy 27th independence anniversary on Wednesday, a senior party insider in Bulawayo has revealed.
16 April - Animal Rights in South Africa... If you want to shoot a lion without any risk to yourself, you had better hurry. From June 1st it will be illegal in South Africa to shoot a lion while it is caught in a cage or a bear-trap. Farms will no longer be allowed to trot out tame or drugged game to be mown down by wealthy but inept hunters. “Canned hunting”, the government proudly insists, has been banned.
5 April - Is it acceptable to kill the elephants of South Africa even when it is necessary to save other species?.... Is it acceptable to kill the elephants of South Africa even when it is necessary to save other species? The answer is no longer an automatic 'yes.'
28 March - Britons trampled to death by elephant.... A British father watched in horror as his wife and daughter were trampled to death by a rampaging elephant while on safari in Zimbabwe, it emerged yesterday. The two killed have been named by the Foreign Office as Veronica Parker and her 10-year-old daughter Charlotte. The bull was reported to have shrugged off gunfire from the family's armed guard before killing mother and daughter and seriously injuring the guide in Hwange National Park in north-west Zimbabwe.
26 March - Kenya: Review Ban On Game Hunting... Kenya has squandered its most important resource: 70 per cent of our wildlife has disappeared in the last 30 years. The animals have been strangled in snares by the millions, to be sold as 'nyama' in rural and urban butcheries.
24 March - Fashion victims... (Ed - an article talking about the limbering up of the elephant trade lobby in preparation for this year's CITES meeting in the Hague).
22 March - Ivory Stockpile Now 12t - Mbewe.... ZIMBABWE is sitting on more than 12 tonnes of ivory running into several billions of dollars, The Herald Business gathered this week.
21 March - Jumbo Losses for Country... ZIMBABWE will lose over US$15 million each year for the next 20 years if a proposed ban on ivory trade succeeds, parks officials say.
21 March - Total Ban On Ivory Trade Not the Answer... Zimbabwe is one of the countries in the region whose elephant population is ballooning to unsustainable levels, owing to its sound wildlife management and conservation policies. According to a recent survey conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature, the country has 110 000 elephants yet its carrying capacity is 47 000. The continued elephant population growth, estimated to be at the rate of 5 percent a year, is exerting a lot of pressure on the environment and the ecosystem.
21 March - Save Water Today - And Always.... Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Water Day, a day that was set aside by the United Nations in 1992 for states and people of the world to reflect on the importance of water in their lives.
15 March - Globe and Phoenix Mine Shut Down... The Globe and Phoenix Mine has been closed down for failing to meet certain conditions as spelt out in the Environmental Management Act. The gold mine, one of the oldest in Kwekwe, was closed with immediate effect following a visit by the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr Andrew Langa, to assess the extent of environmental degradation in the area.
15 March - Registration of Sand, Clay Extractors to Improve Revenue.... The registration of commercial sand and clay extractors, which follows a recent amendment to the Environmental Management Act, will go a long way in improving revenue for the Environmental Management Agency, a chief provincial environment officer, Mr Aaron Chigona has said.
6 March - Scramble for African Wildlife... Some 5 Years ago I was among a group of journalists invited for a "fact-finding" trip to the Loliondo game controlled area, 400 kilometres northwest of Arusha in Tanzania which had literally become a happy hunting ground for royalty from the United Arab Emirates.
1 March - National Parks Woos Investors for Matopos Hotel... The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe is engaging private investors for the construction of a hotel in the Matopos National Park.
January/February 2007
27 February - Scientists Scramble to Save Elephants as Black Market Ivory Trade Soars... The illegal trade in elephant ivory is growing again at an alarming pace due to organized crime, but new research estimating the geographic origin of "the Singapore seizure," 6.5 tons of contraband tusks, points to a plan to prevent African pachyderm extinction.
24 February - President Recieves Birthday Gifts... President Mugabe yesterday received a mounted stuffed crocodile and a heifer as birthday presents from Ministers of State and officials in the Office of the President and Cabinet. Cde Mugabe celebrated his 83rd birthday on Wednesday.
[Ed: Isn't it bad luck to kill your totem?]
22 February - Diamonds, succession: Mugabe’s lament... In his first public comment on the diamond fever gripping Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe has charged that the key players in the controversial precious stones saga are the same figures behind machinations to nudge him from office.
21 February - Zimbabwe's Mugabe to confine diamond mining to state... Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said diamond mining in the country will be confined to the state after allegations of smuggling from the country's mines and a diamond rush in the district of Marange. Zimbabwe's government on Dec. 7 evicted African Consolidated Plc from Marange, a deposit to which the Nettlestead, UK-based company had the rights, after a diamond find there prompted thousands of informal miners to converge on the area. The area has now been cordoned off and handed to the state's Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp
19 February - Wetlands Critical Productive Areas... Taking advantage of a number of wetland areas such as streams, rivers, natural pools and vleis surrounding Jomaya Village, about 30 kilometres south-west of Wedza Growth Point, Edson Jomaya and a group of other villagers, apart from being productive farmers, have also become innovative weavers.
16 February - Forestry Commission Engages Police, Zimra... The Forestry Commission has engaged the police and the revenue authority to curb the rampant export of raw or unprocessed timber, businessdigest established this week. The export of raw timber is outlawed through Statutory Instrument 112 of 2001 which amended the Forestry Act of 1996.
16 February - Police, politicians in illegal gold mining... Senior police officers and politicians are alleged to have ganged up to mine gold illegally in the gold-rich Patchway and Chakari gold reef near Kadoma, prompting a probe by the police internal investigations unit into activities of a gold smuggling syndicate involved.
11 February - Diamond smugglers evade police dragnet... Even the seven-year-old grade two pupil, garbed in a khaki school uniform, did not know that he carried the precious stones on his body. Tinashe Munazvo got to know he was carrying five pieces of diamond tucked tightly along the rim of his oversized shirt when he arrived in Harare - nearly 350km from Hotsprings in Chimanimani district.
11 February - Girl Battles for Life After Leopard Attack... A 7-year-old girl from Chirundu is battling for her life at Karoi District Hospital after being severely mauled by a leopard which pounced on her from a tree. Caroline Mufanebadza, of Riverside residential camp in Chirundu, was walking home with her father Mr Michael Mufanebadza when the attack occurred.
9 February - UNEP to De-Mine Areas of Angola... The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with Roots for Peace and Conservation International has offered to undertake a massive de-mining exercise along the southern strip of Angola. The strip, which was seeded with landmines during the two-decade civil war, forms part of the planned Kavango-Zambezi Transfrantier Conservation Area (KAZA -TFCA),a plannedpark of 28,000 square kilometres to be owned by five Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries including Zambia.
6 February - City Family Stays With Crocodile for 2 Years... A Chisipite family stayed with a crocodile for more than two years and built a grand pond attached to their house where the reptile lived like a king and sometimes roamed freely around the yard. The McFarland family yesterday said they had become obsessed with the male crocodile -- which they had given the name "Kwenya" -- and would miss it greatly after it was removed by Parks and Wildlife Management Authority officials.
6 February - Fishing Industry Economically Empowers Communities - Nhema... The commercial fishing industry has over the past few years shown remarkable improvements with more communities getting economically empowered out of it, Minister of Environment and Tourism Mr Francis Nhema has said.
3 February - Taskforce Challenges Parks... The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) has challenged the department of National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to substantiate allegations that the task force has become a "liability to the nation," as contained in a report circulated to many wildlife stakeholders.
3 February - Top politicians implicated in illegal gold deals... Some politicians have been implicated in illegal gold mining activities while others have tried to interfere with police operations but the force has stood firm resulting in 113 people being prosecuted and jailed. Police Deputy Commissioner Godwin Matanga yesterday said some MPs were involved in illegal mining activities while some ministers had tried to interfere with their clampdown on illegal mining.
2 February - Zim's Last Vestiges of Natural Habitat... EACH time they went hunting in the vast rugged wilderness south of what is today Lake Kariba, Tonga tribesmen were shocked by large concentrations of animal dung.
[Ed: A promotional piece for Matusadonna]
1 February - Soldiers beat up Austrian tourist... An Austrian tourist had a holiday to forget last week after he was brutally assaulted by soldiers for allegedly taking photographs without approval at Chivhu rural business centre. The tourist, identified as Ibrahim Evans, was on his way to the Great Zimbabwe national monument in Masvingo, about 280 kilometres south of Harare.
1 February - Bubye accuses WDC chief of bias... Bubye Minerals has accused World Diamonds Council (WDC) chairman Eli Izakhoff, of taking a stance on the dispute between it and River Ranch Limited which undermines the country's judiciary system. In a letter dated January 26, Bubye Minerals legal counsel, Terence Hussein, said Bubye was concerned over Izakhoff's pronouncements in correspondence to River Ranch Limited legal advisor, retired judge George Smith, to the effect that the world body was prepared to provide "guidance, advice and expertise that may help River Ranch to protect its production and its reputation."
1 February - Zimbabwean diamonds smuggled into country... The Mozambican authorities have concluded that diamonds on sale in the central province of Manica were not dug out of the Mozambican subsoil, but were smuggled illegally into the country from Zimbabwe, according to a report in the Beira daily paper "Diario de Mocambique". Zimbabweans have been selling the diamonds, and the Manica provincial directorate of mineral resources managed to obtain some.
1 February - Zim to Celebrate Wetlands Day... ZIMBABWE will join the rest of the world in commemorating World Wetlands Day tomorrow. At a Press briefing yesterday, Environment and Tourism Minister Cde Francis Nhema said although many people did not appreciate the role wetlands played in conservation, they were an important facet in the management of fisheries as they provided habitat to all water species populations.
31 January - Safari Firm Fails to Fulfil Tender... RIVERSIDE Private Limited Company, which won the tender to run the Chewore North Safari Area last month for $14 billion, has so far only deposited $2 billion for the concession. The company, which shocked the hunting industry as it had no known background in the safari business, has put up a payment plan with the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority that would see it paying the total amount before the start of the hunting season in April.
30 January - Harare agency now controls diamond mine - Chinese seen in wings... The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation has received a license to exploit the Marange diamond concession following revocation of a license held by British-based African Consolidated Resources by Minister of Mines Amos Midzi. But Mines Ministry sources said the ZMDC does not have the capacity to operate the mine, and that the takeover by the government could be a step towards awarding the alluvial diamond claim to Chinese investors.
30 January - Donated parks’ equipment lying idle in Zimbabwe... Bulawayo - Equipment worth about US$500 000 is lying idle in Zimbabwe after the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) banned a local conservation group from making any donations to the authority. The ZPWMA accuses the white-dominated Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) of falsifying the wildlife situation in the country and has since stopped the group from donating anything to the authority.
23 January - From turning pages to downloading them... (an exploration of the phenomenon of the growth of Zimbabwean online and email-based news services).
22 January - Zim diamonds lose their sparkle...Senior Zimbabwe government officials, including the police, have been sucked into a diamond smuggling scandal, which is believed to have cost the country about US$30-million in lost revenue in the past eight months.
21 January - Mugabe officials blacklist group founded to save reserve animals... President Robert Mugabe's officials have blacklisted and refused to accept further donations from a conservation group that raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to save animals in one of Africa's great game reserves.
15 January - Raw sewage discharged into Harare river.... Harare - Residents of the once spick-and-span Zimbabwean capital are facing a new and deadly health hazard with tons of raw sewage being dumped into a river because a treatment plant is no longer working, reports said Monday. The state-run water authority ZINWA is dumping 72 megalitres of raw sewage - half of Harare's output - directly into the Mukuvisi River every day because the city's main sewage plant has broken down, said the official Herald newspaper.
15 January - The extensive vocabluary of African Elephants... In 1999, Katy Payne founded the Elephant Listening Project, a program which monitors African elephant communication in the rainforest, “in the service of their conservation,” said Payne. Payne is perhaps most famous for her discovery of elephants’ infrasonic calls (sounds below the level of human hearing.)
12 January - Was the River God Nyaminyami Angry? AS the mid-morning sun moved imperceptibly on December 30 2006, Nyaminyami, the sacred river god that oversees Lake Kariba, coughed and spate a spiraling intense columnar vortex that formed a funnel-shaped cloud over the lake.
[Ed: an account of a water spout formed on Lake Kariba]
12 January - 'ZRP's Biodiesel Project On Course'... The Zimbabwe Republic Police national biodiesel project is on course with the force beginning to transplant Jatropha seedlings in its pilot project which is expected to cover 100 hectares this year. ZRP chose Mashonaland Central as the hub of its project and last year saw the force planting one hectare of seedlings at Shamva ZRP Farm, which are now being distributed to various centres countrywide.
[Ed: The mind boggles - next we'll have the Cold Storage Comission running the Ministry of Mines....]
11 January - Hunting Concessions On State Land to Be Renewed... Hunting concessions on State land, including traditional safari areas and the experimental leases will be renewed from an initial period of five years in line with the Parks and Wildlife Act, Minister of Environment and Tourism Cde Francis Nhema has said. Cde Nhema said in a statement yesterday that the renewal depended on satisfactory performance during the first five years.
10 January - Zimbabwe cracking down on rhino and elephant poachers... Harare - Zimbabwe has launched a massive security operation in its key nature reserves after poachers killed 17 elephants and two rare black rhinos over the holiday season.
10 January - Thousands of Fish Die in Lake Chivero... Thousands of fish have died since last week owing to depressed oxygen levels at Lake Chivero, Harare's lar-gest water source, the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has said. Parks spokesperson Retired Major Edward Mbewe yesterday said the most affected fish were the Nile Bream.
8 January - Miners Halt Ops Pending Compilation of Reports... Small scale miners have, with immediate effect, temporarily suspended operations to give themselves time to compile environmental impact assessment reports as required by Government.
8 January - Forestry Commission in Awareness Drive... The Forestry Commission in Mashonaland East Province has intensified efforts to make tobacco farmers aware of Environment Management Act, which seeks to promote the sustainable utilisation of the country's natural resources. The Act also makes it mandatory for farmers to have a gum tree plantation to be used in curing the crop.
[Ed: Planting gum trees drains watersheds and harms native species, there is a wealth of literature on the harmful effects of gum trees in Africa, please find some alternative native species to use]
8 January - Parks Authority Relaunches Operation... The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority will spend the bulk of its 2007 budget on protecting wildlife, the director-general, Dr Morris Mtsambiwa, said yesterday. Speaking at Sinamatela Camp at the relaunch of "Operation Stronghold" to fight rampant poaching in the Hwange National Park that has claimed 19 elephants and two rhinos, he said poachers were threatening the country's safari hunting industry.
7 Januray - ZCTF New Year Report ... We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our fellow conservationists a happy and prosperous New Year and to thank everyone who supported and assisted us during 2006. Thanks to the generous people who donated funds and/or material goods for Hwange National Park, we were able to avoid a repetition of the water crisis of 2005.
7 January - Elephant cruelty claim disputed... Shearwater Adventures, which operates several adventure activities in Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls area, has reacted strongly to allegations by the Zimbabwe SPCA (ZNSPCA) that it is abusing young elephants being trained to carry tourists on elephant-back safaris. The claims include that the elephants are standing knee-deep in their own dung in tiny enclosures, and that they are mistreated and suffering from dermatitis.
6 January - Zimbabwe probed on "blood diamond" rules... Johannesburg - Industry body The World Diamond Council is worried that gems from Zimbabwe may be finding their way onto the black market, a violation of rules established to curb so-called conflict diamonds that fuel civil wars. The diamond sector is making extra efforts to police itself amid fears jewelry sales will be hit by the release of the Hollywood film "Blood Diamond," which shows atrocities in African civil wars financed by illicit gems during the 1990s. The New York-based council received reports that diamonds in Zimbabwe were being smuggled into neighboring South Africa, where they were being certified as legitimate and exported, WDC Chairman Eli Izhakoff told Reuters late on Friday via e-mail.
6 January - Thousands join new Zim 'emerald' rush... At least 3 000 people have joined a new rush for emeralds in eastern Zimbabwe, a few months after diamonds were discovered in the area, it was reported on Friday. In July, villagers in impoverished Marange district discovered diamonds and sparked a massive diamond rush, which brought untold wealth to dozens of previously poor households.
5 January - Necessity spurs urban farming... Harare - Urban farming, widely practiced by the poor and lower-income groups in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, is fast becoming de rigeur among the city's wealthy set. In affluent suburbs like Avondale and Mabelreign, maize and vegetable plots are sprouting up to counter expected food shortages brought on by an economic meltdown that has seen the inflation rate remaining well above 1,000 percent, the highest in the world.
4 January - Game hunters 'help to save rare species... 'Game hunters' money actually helps to preserve the habitats of Africa's endangered species. The slaughter of thousands of animals in Africa by big game hunters is supported by conservationists who maintain that the sport protects wildlife. Lions, leopards, elephants and crocodiles are among the trophy species being shot by hunters from Europe and the US. Even the critically endangered black rhino finds itself in the crosshairs. However, a study concludes, the overall toll on big game is more than matched by the benefits.