Zimbabwe is set to participate at The Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) Heads of State summit scheduled for the end of this month in Zambia.
KAZA is a partnership dedicated to conserving biodiversity on a large scale, promoting cross-border management and utilizing nature-based tourism for rural economic growth.
The summit will run under the theme: "Leveraging KAZA’s natural capital and cultural heritage resources as catalysts for inclusive socio-economic development of the eco-region."
The summit will attract official representatives of the five Southern African Development Community (SADC) partner states, International Cooperating Partners (ICPs), communities, private sector, Non-Governmental Organisations and academia. An estimated 400 participants are expected.
“The summit is an opportunity to review and track progress in the establishment and Development of KAZA TFCA since the partnership was forged through the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in 2006 which culminated into the KAZA TFCA Treaty,” the organisers said in a statement.
KAZA also noted that the summit will help to address inherent challenges and reposition KAZA TFCA to better leverage existing and emerging opportunities in the region.
“It will also help reset priorities, where necessary, in anticipation of evolving challenges and reposition KAZA TFCA to better leverage existing and emerging opportunities. Central to the Summit is a shared desire to build the resilience of the people and biodiversity and strengthen institutional arrangements in pursuit of the KAZA TFCA vision and objectives,” read the statement.
Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park is the country's largest and oldest national park and is strategically positioned within the KAZA TFCA.
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In 2019, a ZimParks-IFAW conservation partnership was signed with the aim of revitalizing the world-famous wildlife sanctuary by strengthening law enforcement, improving ranger welfare, and renovating ageing infrastructure.
The strategic collaboration, which was initially set for five years, has recently been extended to 25 years with a value of US$50 million.
The ZimParks-IFAW partnership has also invested over US$1 million dollars towards the construction of the Hwange tourism complex in line with the KAZA TFCA vision to transform the region into a world-class tourism destination by providing quality infrastructure and ancillary services.
The mega project is an effort aimed at increasing the visibility of Hwange National Park and repositioning it as a competitive destination.
