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Conflict In Chiawa
For a while now, I’ve been hearing mutterings about the situation in
the Chiawa Game Management Area (GMA), but have never quite been
able to get a good understanding of it : there seem to be so many
different factors and so many different viewpoints.
At
the end of September I spent a few days in the area. This was a day
or two before a foreign visitor was shot and killed, and what was
clear, even before this terrible incident, is that things are not
right down there.
The history of the area is that this was a severely depleted area;
one of the main reasons being the Zimbabwean war which was waged in
that area during the 70’s. During the 80’s, part of the area was
declared a national park and photographic safari operators began to
invest in the GMA
Of
course, the influx of photographic operators into the area was not
without its problems. There was now conflict with the people living
in the area, and finally, an agreement, known as the Mutondo
Agreement, was drawn up between the community and the NPWS
(forerunner to ZAWA), following consultation with the operators.
Since this agreement was made, things have operated fairly smoothly
with operators not only training and employing people from the local
community (and through this improving the lives of these people and
their families), but also paying a bed levy which is channelled back
to the community. In return, the community would not hunt or fish in
the eastern part of the Chiawa GMA; the area bordering on the Lower
Zambezi National Park (LZNP).
In
the early years of the agreement, ZAWA were very slow to remit the
bed levies to the community and this I know for fact, as I attended
a meeting way back in 2002 when ZAWA admitted that funds due had not
been remitted. But what was worse was that they, ZAWA, had been
telling the community that the operators had not paid what was due.
Hardly an action likely to inspire trust and confidence! I
understand that money is now being remitted on a timely basis, but
it would be interesting to know what percentage is being kept for
administration or other fees – an issue to research in the future.
The main issue right now seems to be a hunting concession which has
been granted in the east Chiawa GMA and the fact that the community
have now stated that they no longer recognise the Mutondo Agreement.
Whether this decision to unilaterally break this agreement was as a
result of ZAWA’s failure to remit what was due to the community or
whether it was as a result of pressure from the hunting company, I
cannot say. But following ZAWA’s decision to allow hunting in this
area, the Community Resource Board (CRB) did obtain a court
injunction against ZAWA. Some 18 months later, this matter is still
before the Courts, unresolved. As such, we are unable to comment on
it except to say that the hunting concession is being taken up and
hunting is being conducted in this area.
Whilst visiting the area, I heard an awful story of how the only
male lion in the area had been shot, how the lioness had resorted to
hunting goats and had, eventually, to be shot as well. This also
meant the demise of the cubs. The operators feel that a large mammal
survey should be carried out prior to any hunting concession being
given, or even considered. ZAWA say that the off take quotas have
been based on the ‘approved methodology in the quota setting
manual’, using a technique similar to that used in other Southern
African countries. This includes population estimates on information
obtained through counting, field observations and anecdotal reports
from field staff, CRB members, professional hunters etc.
One also hears stories of elephants being shot because they are
straying into populated areas. I have visited this area many times
in past years and noticed (and commented at the time) on how calm
and relaxed the elephants were and it was clear that they avoided
the populated areas. What has caused this to change? Could this be
because they have now become the hunted rather than the protected
and are seeking new safe areas?
There are also issues regarding safety. The east Chiawa GMA is a
small area, bordered by the Zambezi River, the Zambezi Escarpment,
the LZNP and the western (populated) Chiawa GMA. If hunting is to be
conducted, there must be exclusion zones so that no human life,
whether it is members of the local population or tourists travelling
along the road, is endangered.
There is also a need to respect the sensibilities of tourists
visiting the area – they do not wish to come across animals which
have just been shot.
You may well think that I am a full bunny hugger. Quite the
opposite – I recognise the place that hunting holds in wildlife
conservation; the benefits that accrue to the local community where
hunting takes place; the efforts which hunters make to prevent
poaching and the overall benefits to our economy. But somewhere
there is a balance so that it is a win-win-win situation for the
local community, for the photographic operators and for the hunters.
And this is possible but it requires all parties to sit down (ZAWA,
the Royal establishment, the community, the operators) with open
minds to work it out. And I am sure with an independent person
chairing these meetings and with a bit of compromise here and there,
this can be achieved. Because there is no conflict of interest.
There is only the interest of this country, of its people and its
diminishing wildlife.
We
shall be watching developments in this area with interest.
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December
2005