HUMAN wildlife conflict, as the name suggests is gradually becoming a proverbial thorn to those living within periphery of national parks where human beings and wild animals are always on a collision course in terms of survival among other related issues.
On a rather similar note, Yours Truly last week wrote a piece on how a house wife was seriously injured by a rowdy elephant in the Makwika high density suburb, Hwange which left her in dire need of specialist medical attention.
The lady, Loveness Munsaka could not raise US$800 in ambulance fees in order for her to be moved to Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo for specialist care. However, it was through generosity of some residents in wards 8 and 15 who donated funds towards this worthy cause.
And as fate would have it, Hwange Rural District Council chipped in through the provision of an ambulance whose 'salivating' payment plan was second to none.
At the time of writing this column, it was reported that Munsaka after necessary and intricate theatre procedures was recuperating well in the high dependence unit at Mpilo Hospital.
Donations also continued to pour in from a number of Hwange well wishers while Yours Truly is yet to ascertain if some local companies that had earlier pledged assistance have followed through their commitment.
Some of the companies and organisations (named) not to be outdone had promised to pay for ambulance fees, groceries, medical fees among others.
It remains to be seen if all these pledges will be executed because Yours Truly believes on seeing as grandstanding has no place in this column.
Last week's incident developed so much interest from the likes of Zifiso Moyo, Morris Mpala, Augustine Zimbili among others who called for the establishment of a human-wildlife conflict fund (HWCF) that can be handy in such cases. Yours Truly also joined the fray on trying to untangle this 'animal' called HWCF which could prove to be a panacea in the long run.
Morris 'Mo Bashe' Mpala had this to say: "Zimbabwe Human-Wildlife Conflict Fund is an initiative at mitigating conflicts between humans and wildlife, particularly in rural areas where wildlife reserves and national parks border communal lands.
"The fund provides financial compensation to farmers and communities for crop damage and livestock losses caused by wildlife such as elephants, lions and hyenas. This approach seeks to reduce retaliation against wildlife through co-existence promotion.
"The fund is managed by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) with support from organisations such as World Wildlife Fund(WWF) and the international Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
"By providing compensation and support, the fund encourages communities to tolerate wildlife and participate in conservation efforts, ultimately contributing to conservation of the country's rich biodiversity," said Mpala in a recent contribution.
To the uninitiated, Mpala is among the country's leading economic commentators who are in the same category as professor Gift Mugano, Eddie Cross, Busisa Moyo among others and ironically he (Mpala) was born and bred in Makwika which also happens to be in Ward 15.
He is a proponent and champion of value addition of mango fruit whose trees are abundant within Hwange.
Sam Mwiinde, an environmental officer with Binga Rural District Council also added that the country's human wildlife conflict policy aims to mitigate conflicts between humans and wildlife especially in areas where human settlements and wildlife habitats overlap.
He went on to explain that the fund seeks to come up with a compensation model to areas such as crop damage, livestock losses, human injuries or any form of mishap. There would also be conflict mitigation measures such as fencing and establishment of wildlife corridors while empowerment of local communities to manage as well as beneficiation from wildlife resources might also be implemented.
Yours Truly tried to contact the ZPWMA public relations and communications department on the existence of human-animal conflict fund but nothing was forthcoming at the time of writing this article.
However, government has gazetted the Parks and Wildlife Amendment Bill which also seeks to establish a fund to compensate victims of human and wildlife conflict through an elaborate way as stipulated by laid down procedures.
At least there could be some light at the end of the tunnel.
Till we meet again in the next column.
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