Sadc prioritises sustainable financing for transfrontier conservation areas
SADC member states have a shared vision to foster integrated and effective management of transboundary landscapes and seascapes, ensuring that they thrive for generations to come, the Permanent Secretary for Environment, Climate, and Wildlife, Ambassador Tadeous Chifamba, said yesterday.
In his remarks during the ongoing SADC Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCA) International Conference in Harare, Ambassador Chifamba said securing long-term sustainable financing for the areas was a top priority.
“Without adequate resources, our efforts to conserve and manage these vital ecosystems will fall short.
“In this regard I urge all of you to put your best feet forward and come up with sustainable financing frameworks to ensure the TFCA programme is sustainable now and into the future.
“We need to consider how we can rope in the private sector and ensure TFCAs attract not only grants but also private capital,” he said.
The Summit of Heads of State is expected to be convened on Friday, led by SADC Chairman President Mnangagwa, as the regional bloc continues to show its commitment to transboundary cooperation.
SADC, said Ambassador Chifamba, stood at a pivotal moment where its collective actions can lead to transformative changes, benefiting not only our ecosystems but also the communities that depend on them.
“By working together, we can address the complex challenges facing our landscapes and seascapes, while unlocking opportunities for sustainable development and regional growth. I urge all of us to engage in open, constructive and forward-looking discussions.
“Let us seize this opportunity to strengthen our partnerships, align our priorities and chart a course towards a more sustainable and prosperous future for our people and our planet,” he said.
Delegates to the Southern Transfrontier Conservation Areas International Conference pose for a group photograph in Harare yesterday. — Picture: Kudakwashe Hunda
The five-day gathering, which runs until Friday, also marks 25 years of regional cooperation in biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and ecotourism.
As such, Ambassador Chifamba said there was also a need to focus on enhancing local community engagement and beneficiation.
“There can be no conservation without local communities who since time immemorial have lived and carefully conserved the natural resources that we so dearly enjoy today.
“We therefore need this conference to consider innovative ways of ensuring communities are well capacitated, supported and directly benefit from the TFCA programme,” he said.
On his part, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) country director Mr Itai Chibaya said the SADC region leads the world in demonstrating that when Africa comes together for nature, prosperity follows.
“TFCAs are no longer just conservation zones; they are corridors of connectivity, bridges between nations, cultures, ecosystems and economies.
“They represent regional integration in action, not only in conference halls, but in the savannahs and forests, where real people live, herd, farm and thrive,” he said.
In KAZA, over 227 900 elephants now roam across five countries, thanks to aligned policies, coordinated wildlife protection, and shared monitoring like the 2023 KAZA Elephant Survey, a global conservation success story.
In Ruvuma, community forest patrols supported by WWF and partners have led to a 33 percent drop in illegal logging.
In SOKNOT, peaceful cross-border cooperation has secured migratory routes for elephants and wildebeest, while over 20 000 pastoralist households have regained access to critical grazing land.
In Zimbabwe, in the Hwange-Kazuma-Chobe corridor, nature-based tourism and sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products are transforming rural livelihoods.