ZimParks grapples with escalating human-elephant conflict amid climate pressures

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) says the country is grappling with a surge in human-elephant conflicts, directly attributed to increased elephant populations and localised overabundance.

This came out during a recent review of the Zimbabwe Elephant Management Plan (2021-2025) to assess implementation of the plan, emerging issues, evaluate management approaches, and exploring effective strategies from past experiences.

ZimParks said the human-wildlife conflict impacting communities is compounded by the severe underfunding of elephant conservation efforts.

Climate change exacerbates the conflicts by changing rainfall patterns and natural resource availability, forcing both human settlements and elephant populations to converge on shrinking and increasingly fragmented shared territories.

“The country’s elephant conservation efforts are severely under-financed, with the current budget for Hwange National Park falling below US$500,000 annually, compared to the estimated US$21 million required based on management costs in other well-managed protected areas in Southern Africa,” ZimParks said in a statement.

The Zimbabwe Elephant Management Plan, originally established in 1992, aims to conserve elephant populations while promoting biodiversity and contributing to national socio-economic development.

ZimParks said various stakeholders participated in the review and updating process, and several issues were noted, among them are management of excess elephant populations, co-existence, funding for research, community resilience and sustaining livelihoods.

“For the first time in the history of elephant meetings, five Chiefs from the Hwange district attended, who expressed their concerns on the lack of tangible benefits for communities who bear the brunt of sharing borders with elephants and relief fund for injured community people,” ZimParks said.

It said sustainable utilisation is hindered by various factors, including global trade restrictions.

“While elephant poaching for ivory has declined, effective partnerships have played a vital role in enhancing conservation efforts. ZimParks emphasises that elephant conservation requires collective efforts from all stakeholders. We therefore invite everyone to participate in the review of the management plan, which will transition to a ten-year strategy,” ZimParks said.