Sino Zimbabwe (SinoZim) Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), yesterday donated six drones to capacitate the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) in its endeavour to fight poaching.
BY FARAI MATIASHE
Speaking during the handover ceremony in Harare yesterday, CAS president Chunli Bai said the organisation also donated a laptop, projector and an oil pump truck, six first aid kits and 1 000 school bags valued at US$62 000.
Acting Environment minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu said wildlife was part of Zimbabwe’s natural heritage, which the country always jealously guarded.
“From your experience, you know that conservation is a very expensive and demanding undertaking, it calls for concerned and devoted conservationists like SinoZim to assist in pooling resources towards strengthening the capacity of ZimParks so that it is able to fulfil its mandate of wildlife conservation in the whole country,” he said.
Ndlovu said the drones would improve the working conditions of the ZimParks rangers and ensure that there was improved ground coverage during patrols.
ZimParks director-general Fulton Mangwanya said having the anti-poaching equipment was among his organisation’s priorities.
Mangwanya said if anti-poaching rangers were provided with better equipment, including guns or technical support such as GPS, compass, hand-held data recording devices, binoculars, cameras and rain gear, among others, they would become motivated and more effective in reducing poaching in the country’s protected areas.
