A Matabeleland South wildlife safari operator, Bubye Valley Conservancy (BVC) is supporting 351 orphans as well as funding other wildlife conservation projects in communities surrounding game parks to reduce incidents of human-wildlife conflict.
BVC Community Education Engagement Coordinator Collette Sayi, said this during an indaba on human-wildlife conflict relief fund (HWCRF) organised by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management (ZimParks) last week.
The indaba focused on discussing HWCRF and protected areas management in the country.
“We have also made renovations to clinics,” Sayi said.
“So far we are actually supporting eight clinics especially for the waiting mothers who are normally the victims of wildlife- human conflict.”
Sayi said they were also pushing for the employment of locals in game parks and by ZimParks to encourage wildlife conservation.
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"It is important that at least the locals are actually employed as game scouts,” he said.
“They should actually constitute a higher percentage of workers.
“BVC policy is that the employment of people, a scout or any general labourer should be from near the conservancy and as we speak right now, about 52% of the 600 workers we have are from the local area.
“Out of this we want to believe that there has been vast improvement in the relations that have been there within the communities.”
Zimbabwe continues to record incidents of human-wildlife conflicts, resulting in loss of life and property.
Available statistics indicate that at least 35 people were killed by wild animals in 2023 down from 68 recorded in 2022.
"We have taken some of our victims to Mater dei Hospital for proper medical treatment,” Sayi said.
“Where damages have been done we sit down with the communities to make proper compensations.”