Conservation Lower Zambezi

CLZ now have their own website which will be regularly updated with newsletters and other information. Please visit http://conservationlowerzambezi.org for up to date reports from this project.

• Lower Zambezi Valley

• Conservation Lower Zambezi

• Zambia Wildlife Authority

Lower Zambezi Valley

Situated in the south-eastern corner of Zambia on the banks of the Zambezi River, approximately 150 kilometres down stream from Kariba Dam and opposite Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park is Lower Zambezi National Park (LZNP). Established in 1983 the park covers an area of 4100 square kilometres with 120 kilometres of river frontage.

The Lower Zambezi Valley, including the LZNP and surrounding Game Management Areas (GMA) is rich in biological diversity. The forests, wetlands and natural geographical features form complex eco-systems that support abundant wildlife, and the wilderness landscapes and natural resources are of exceptional value.  It is home to a large number of mammal species including elephant, hippo, buffalo, kudu, zebra, impala, bushbuck, duiker, klipspringer, lion, leopard, hyaena, African wild dog, serval, civet, genet, aardvark, chacma baboon and vervet monkeys just to name a few. With the Zambezi River as one of the parks natural boundaries the area also attracts an abundance of birdlife estimated to include almost 400-bird species.

The combination of limited government resources, poor community awareness of natural resource opportunities, and illegal hunting activities have had a serious impact on wildlife and habitat in the area. In the last twenty years elephant populations have been decimated, the large number of black rhino have been exterminated, and commercial meat poaching operations have taken a major toll on buffalo, antelope, zebra and the carnivore population.

Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ)

Recognising the need for organised support of government activities in the area, Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) was established by the Safari Tour Operators and Stakeholders within the Lower Zambezi National Park and Chiawa GMA as a non-profit organisation. Registered in 1995 with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) in accordance with Zambia Societies Act, CLZ began to assist the former National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Chiawa community with conservation efforts.

The goal of CLZ is to safeguard wildlife, particularly endangered species, and their habitat as an asset and a resource in the LZNP and surrounding GMA’s. CLZ is a membership-based volunteer organisation that has tax exempt status from the Zambian Revenue Authority. Revenue for project implementation is provided from private membership fees as well as local, national, and international donations while the backbone remains the corporate members who are the Safari Tour Operators and Stakeholders of the Lower Zambezi Valley without whom the organisation would lose sustainability.

At Annual General Meetings, members elect an Executive Committee comprised of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer and several Committee members that are charged with the ultimate control, management, and conduct of the affairs of the organisation. Currently CLZ includes three sub-committees in the organisational structure: Community Affairs, Anti-poaching, and Conservation Camp. Chairpersons of all sub-committees are voting members of the Executive Committee.

Since the inception of CLZ the organisation has continued to strengthen its capacity to implement conservation projects. Anti poaching has been the main priority due to the alarming increase in the mortality of animals caused by poaching. Without base line data or accurate population surveys in the Valley, African elephant mortality figures, field reports and informal aerial surveys are used as indicators of poaching activity in the area. Recently CLZ have started to implement a comprehensive GIS (geographical information systems) database that should provide good data to monitor trends and needs for the conservation of the environment around the Lower Zambezi.

By all available indicators CLZ intervention and support to National Parks anti-poaching units has led to a major reduction of poaching activities in the LZNP in the past three years. Large animals have migrated back across the Zambezi from Zimbabwe to the increasingly protected Lower Zambezi National Park. Legal hunting operations in Zimbabwe also push many large animals into Zambia. With ongoing protective policies implemented in the LZNP, it is the hope of CLZ that bio diversity will continue to expand into richly diverse levels.

Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA)

The Lower Zambezi Management Unit of Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) has been given the responsibility of administering and policing the LZNP and surrounding GMA's.

The former National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) were officially replaced by ZAWA in January 2000. This problematic transition period has proved to be an enormous challenge and is expected to continue for at least two to three years.

Already, as part of the transition process, Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) has seen a marked reduction in funds for the protection and conservation of wildlife that had been available to the former NPWS command in the Lower Zambezi National Park. The immediate result has been a lack of law enforcement patrols to prevent poaching of African elephant and other endangered species in the LZNP and surrounding GMA’s and, therefore, a growing dependence on Conservation Lower Zambezi's (CLZ) resources.

Also in the process ZAWA has been restructured right from the top and middle management though to the field officers. The organisation has been downsized to approximately half the number of employees as the former NPWS. As a result this has put additional stress not only on ZAWA but also the National Parks and GMA’s under its responsibility.

The ZAWA Area Warden and the officers within the Lower Zambezi Command Unit  are responsible for the protection of an enormous area covering not only the LZNP but also the Chiawa GMA to the West, the Rufunsa GMA to the East and the Luano GMA to the North. This area is all expected to be policed with the resources of "two" vehicles and limited manpower.

© Afrikeye 1999 - 2007 (certain items under permission of original copyright owner)

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