Reccomendations

RECOMMENDATIONS TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS AND AGENCIES

a) Support and encourage access to information and the independent media by conservation professionals as well as attendance of conservation meetings, conferences and other communication forums. This will serve as an important morale-building tool.
b) Support the prioritisation of conservation needs and actions and develop a vision for the future by bringing together the Zimbabwean Conservation Professional Diaspora, remaining local professionals and regional experts. Some obvious priorities would be wildlife monitoring and inventories as well as comparative land-use studies in the context of the land reform program to take stock of what has been lost and lessons learned. There is a risk that if this step is not taken, when investment returns, foreign consultants without on-the ground experience may not fully comprehend or understand the context of the hard lessons learned over the last 10 years.
c) Avoid directly funding government departments at any meaningful level unless they have a proven track record that withstands rigorous third-party evaluation. Some individuals within government institutions have proven track records of delivering results with comparatively high levels of transparency and an ability to operate within the constraints of the existing system, but are among the minority.
d) Don’t antagonize the government, in the prevailing climate one cannot risk pitting politicians against wildlife. Conservationists and ecologists working in the country should focus on finding imaginative solutions to active, hands-on wildlife management and should continue use field-gathered information to inform policy. Encourage strategic hands-on actions in combination with a low profile, consistent and professional image.
e) Actively praise and recognize positive actions and innovations developed by the remaining conservation-related organizations on the ground to build morale and to recognise the heroic extent of their continued actions even under these extremely adverse circumstances.
f) Start small flexible grant-programs to Zimbabwean conservation NGO’s encourage them to stay abreast of the changing rules and to cooperate and collaborate with government personnel wherever possible. Provide opportunities and further training to the newly qualified Zimbabwean wildlife ecologists and wildlife management personnel. Provide funding and career opportunities to existing wildlife management professionals in their capacity as individuals accompanied by with reasonable financial allowances that will allow them to meet their responsibilities to their families in an hyper-inflationary environment. Education to fill knowledge gaps will be essential and publication of conservation field guides and management guides in local languages and providing access to information would be invaluable.
g) Don’t discourage tourists, they are eyes and ears of the world and provide a limited but important revenue stream for knowledgeable game guides and tourist resorts. Tourists and their foreign currency provide the government with an important incentive to continue running National Parks. Small revenue streams that keep these parks running are essential to maintain existing infrastructure, so that recovery would be a less painful process when the political scene changes. Tourists should have access to balanced information about the risks and benefits of travel to Zimbabwe so that they can make an informed decision about travelling there.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO LOCAL CONSERVATION NGO’s

a) Continue to explore and implement, wherever possible, pragmatic solutions to the new conservation problems arising in the volatile political landscape using adaptive management principles and seek new revenue streams from wildlife and conservation.
b) Forge local alliances and communicate lessons-learned through local forums and coordinate actions so that they compliment each other in different areas to achieve maximum environmental benefit.
c) Establish close contact with multi-laterals and international organisations and communicate your needs with carefully researched, systematic messaging. Use teamwork and alliances to communicate realistic goals and objectives that can be evaluated in short time frames to foreign donors.
d) Identify and prioritise the environmental problems under the current regime and design conservation interventions that tackle them directly.
e) Maintain relationships with reform-minded government officials and communicate the importance of environmental sustainability and the potential of sound wildlife management principles to as a part of a long-term solution to Zimbabwe’s current economic crisis.
F) Keep detailed records of past and present wildlife populations, threats, and individuals who flout the law (ZimConservation is happy to assist in any way to maintain a transparent, web-based and accessible record for the future and to accept confidential reports).

RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ZIMBABWE GOVERNMENT

a) Work to strengthen democratic institutions such as freedom of speech, independent media, independent judiciary, free and fair elections, protection of minority rights, impartial security forces, increased political competition, respect for civil and political freedoms and progressive implementation of greater equality.
b) Resolve and land-tenure disputes in a fair, professional and legally sound manner and work to secure private property rights and title deeds for those living in communally owned lands. Establish a land-reform policy that promotes sustainable use of the environment and ownership of wildlife.
c) Facilitate the visits of international researchers, NGO’s and multilateral institutions on condition that they share their findings to relevant government departments. Evaluate the reports carefully both on methodology and findings be prepared to implement recommendations that will secure the nation’s wildlife heritage for future generations of Zimbabweans and encourage transfer of skills to build depleted local capacity.
d) Work in co-operation with neighbouring Southern African nations on transboundary conservation initiatives and take extraordinary measures to ensure sustainable management of the wildlife and activities of people in these areas. Immediately take steps resolve long-standing issues such as the illegal settlements in Gonarezhou, and illegal land occupations in conservancies on the border of these parks.
e) Increase funding to wildlife management and protection departments so that they have the funds and equipment to perform their duties effectively and increase real salaries in order to reduce the brain drain to neighbouring countries.
f) Reduce the population pressure in rural areas by providing incentives and opportunities that encourage rural-urban migration.
g) Allow foreign and local journalists free access to rural areas and National parks, encourage them to investigate and report on their travel experiences in their home newspapers to encourage foreign tourists to visit Zimbabwe.
h) Implement constitutional reforms that protect the wildlife, environment and biodiversity found in Zimbabwe.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO ZIMBABWEAN OPPOSITION PARTIES

a) Seek to de-politicise wildlife conservation issues we cannot afford to pit the government against the wildlife, wildlife is a valuable natural heritage for all Zimbabweans, and this is something all parties should agree on.
b) Consult with locally-based professionals and stakeholders to form a comprehensive wildlife policy and recovery plan, then use it as part of the election platform this is an important issue to all Zimbabweans and they deserve to know how the party they are voting for will act in the interests of Zimbabwe’s natural resources and wildlife heritage. In order to complete this plan, a comprehensive investigation of the current wildlife crisis should be conducted.
c) The shadow minister for environment and tourism should convene conservation meetings and conferences to promote internal communications and dialogue among conservation groups as a non-conservation professional the shadow minister should be actively educating himself on wildlife and conservation issues so that he can be well-versed to take up the reigns should the opposition party win power.