2008 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.
March/April 2008
27 March - Birdlife Zimbabwe Babbler Newsletter - April/May 2008
23 March - Zimbabwe: white farmer Mike Campbell mounts last stand over land grab... The names on the court affidavit are stark; William Michael Campbell vs Robert Gabriel Mugabe. While 4,000 white farmers have been thrown off their land in Zimbabwe, Mike Campbell is the first to take the president himself to an international court. On Tuesday his case will open at the new tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Namibian capital of Windhoek. [ Ed: This discusses some wildlife on these farms]
21 March - Okavango-Zambezi Project Gets 8 Million Euros... The Usd 24 million Okavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation project involving five southern Africa countries, will get a grant of eight million Euros from the German Non-Governmental Organisation (KHW), for its implementation.
17 March - More of Africa Urged to Boost Rhino Numbers, According to World Wildlife Fund... Today government representatives of Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia are expected to join in WWF's African Rhino Program 10th anniversary celebration in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. They will join government and wildlife representatives, community representatives and eco-tourism operators from the current ARP participating states of South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
13 March - Tikki Hywood Trust given award... The Tikki Hywood Trust together Werribee Open Range Zoo on Friday 14 2008, were awarded the “Best Education Program for 2008”.
13 March - Forestry Fellowship available
13 March - Parks Auction Rakes in US$900 000, $15 Trillion... The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority last week raised about US$900 000 and $15 trillion from its annual auction of animals from three of its Zambezi Valley safari camps.
9 March - Country One of Tourism's 'Worst Destinations'... ZIMBABWE has been ranked as one of the worst tourist destinations in the world for the second year running, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report for 2008. The report released on Tuesday by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Zimbabwe a dismal 117 from 130 countries.
6 March - Government Insists On Taking Over Mines... THE government will not turn back on plans to forcibly acquire mining assets using a controversial mining law despite fears that the planned take-over could worsen the capital flight being experienced in the country.
6 March - Gold Panners Destroy Arable Land in Mazoe Valley.... GOLD panning activities resulted in the destruction of 2 000 hactares of arable land in the Mazoe Valley in 2006 and many more thousands of hectares were believed to have been destroyed in other areas during that period, a senior government official said this week.
2 March - CIO Land Grab in Tourist Resorts Irks Zanu PF... A drive by security agents to take over tourist facilities in Matabeleland North has sparked fears this might cost the ruling party votes in this month's elections.
2 March - Slaughter at Kazuma Pans... A family holiday should not encompass the sights that we saw in Zimbabwe this last December. We decided to go north-west of Hwange National Park to Kazuma Pans after bitter disappointment in Hwange’s poorly maintained campsites with no electricity or running water, the relative exorbitant park fees, rangers openly drying game meat even in the public toilets and seeing nothing more than a few very skittish animals fleeing from the sounds of our vehicles.
1 March - Forestry Commission Confiscates Firewood... Firewood worth $7 billion suspected to have been illegally harvested in and around Marondera was last week confiscated by the Forestry Commission.
January/February 2008
29 February - 'National Policy on Biofuels Vital'... The Government needs a clear national policy on biofuels with extensive research to expedite its quest of mitigating the prevailing energy crisis, says the executive officer of Scientific Industrial Research and Develop-ment Council Mr Onisms Manyewe.
28 February - Probe clears Zim in diamonds trade... Zimbabwe has been cleared of any illegal activity in the trade of diamonds, after a probe by the Kimberley Process (KP), the global standard for the diamond industry.
22 February - No going back on mines indigenization, Mugabe... Harare - President Robert Mugabe who has presided over Zimbabwe's eight year economic meltdown epitomised by an annual inflation rate of over 100,000 percent, has poured cold water on moves made by mining sector stakeholders in a bid to reverse the country's draconian mines indigenization legislation.
13 February - Black rhino conservation in Matusadona National Park.... Contrary to many media reports, Zimbabwe still has thriving wildlife populations and a well-managed network of National Parks and safari areas.
10 February - Africa - China's new frontier... Chinese entrepreneurs are invading Africa and reviving the fortunes of the world’s poorest continent. Are they just stripping it of its resources — or have they finally found the answer to a problem the West has been unable to solve?
10 February - African lion encounters: a bloody con... Chris Haslam reveals the gruesome truth behind big-cat conservation projects which British holiday firms champion.
9 February - Zambezi's Kariba Dam floodgates to be opened Monday... The level of the Zambezi River downstream of Kariba Dam,already swollen by torrential rains, is expected to rise sharply next week following the opening of one of the dam's floodgates.
9 February - Zanu PF seeks Z$3 trillion for Mugabe birthday bash... [Ed: this article makes it clear that he expects donations of meat from Zimbabwe's National Parks].
8 February - Milk for Rhinos... Thanks to Clover Milk (RSA) who donated 150kg of skimmed milk powder, there are 3 very happy young rhinos in Zimbabwe this week. Our heartfelt appreciation to Clover for this most welcome donation.
7 February - Botswana's Chobe River Threatened, AWF and Other Experts Say... Pollution, unchecked development, and uncontrolled fishing are endangering the ecological health of the Chobe River, experts recently told the Daily News, a Botswana daily.
7 February - Zambezi Society Newsletter Dec/Jan 2008... The Zambezi Society wishes all its members, friends, colleagues and associates belated best wishes for a peaceful 2008.
6 February - African Elephant Countries Strategize to Thwart Poaching... Elephant conservation and anti-ivory trade initiatives are the focus of a meeting that opened today here with delegates from 17 African elephant range states. Organizers say there is potential for the formation of a coalition of like-minded states that will work towards strengthening elephant conservation.
5 February - Second Elephant Shot in Charara... ZCTF reports
2 February - British teacher attacked by lion on safari... A young primary school teacher has told how she narrowly escaped with her life after she was savagely mauled by a lion on an African safari trip.
28 January - U.S. Gives $1.2 Million to Protect Elephants... The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has announced it will award $1,277,921 in grants to 15 African countries to assist in the protection of African elephants.
23 January - Fears for east African bushmeat slaughter... Food shortages in troubled African states are fueling an unprecedented wave of wildlife slaughter for bushmeat, reports have revealed.
23 January - Birdlife Zimbabwe's Feb/March Babbler Newsletter
20 January - Gifts for Tatenda (Rhino Orphan at Imire)... ZCTF report on donations to Imire.
18 January - IMF estimates inflation at 150 000 percent... An International Monetary Fund (IMF) document says Zimbabwe's inflation for January has galloped to about 150 000% as the economy continues to crumble. This is the same rate reached by Germany during the Weimar Republic in the 1920s in the post-First World War era.
17 January - National Parks Increases Entry, Lodge Charges... The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has increased entry fees and accommodation rates for lodges in all the country's parks.
16 January - Govt Urged to Review Fines for Environment Polluters.... Environmentalists have urged Government to review the fines and penalties for environmental polluters in line with inflation as cases of environmental pollution persist.
15 January - SW Radio Africa - Podcast Interview with Johnny Rodrigues about the Imire tragedy.... Click Here to Listen.
12 January - Shops Close At National Park (Hwange) ... Three upmarket restaurants and four retail facilities servicing Hwange National Park have been closed, it has been learnt.
7 January - Famous Zim elephant bull shot dead... Tusker is dead, shot by rangers after New Year's revellers at a safari camp provoked the elephant into trampling several cars, conservationists said on Monday. Tusker, a towering 50-year-old bull, was shot on Sunday at the Charara camp on the shores of Lake Kariba, 370km north-west of Harare, parks officials and the independent Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said.
7 January - For a people wearied by strife, conservation project offers hope...WHEN Rachel Lowry began her conservation education work in Zimbabwe, she worried that animal welfare would never become a priority for people who lived with daily concerns for their own survival.
4 January - Harare gives green light for elephant biltong.... The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe plans to produce biltong from elephant meat to sell in retail outlets throughout the country "as part of sustainable utilisation of the animals", the Herald online said on Friday. Parks director-general Dr Morris Mtsambiwa said the project began last year after the Ministry of Environment and Tourism permitted the authority to experiment with the "resource".