Zambezi River Basin

Reverse biodiversity loss by 2010 The Government of Zimbabwe has maintained the size of protected areas since 1990 at 46 504 sq km, which is 12 per cent of the national surface area, as shown in Figure 4.54. Zimbabwe is home to charismatic mega fauna such as the elephant, leopard, black rhinoceros, and giraffe. During the 1980s, Zimbabwe lost over 1 500 rhinos due to heavy poaching, but enhanced conservation measures have increased the population to an estimated current figure of 800, making Zimbabwe an important stronghold for this critically endangered species (SADC and SARDC 2008).

Through the intensified conservation programmes, including the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE), the number of threatened species was reduced from 38 in 2000 to 32 in 2004 (Figure 4.55). CAMPFIRE is a community-based natural resource management programme in which Rural District Councils, on behalf of communities on communal land, are granted the authority to market wildlife in their district to safari operators who then sell hunting and photographic safaris to mostly foreign sport hunters and eco-tourists.

Number of threatened species in Zimbabwe

Protected areas share of total land area in Zimbabwe 0

Number of species

45

40

12%

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

Source: SADC and SARDC 2008

0

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Figure 4.54

Source: IUCN 2003, 2007, 2009

Figure 4.55

© A_I_S/iStockphoto.com

The black rhino is one of Zimbabwe’s critically endangered species.

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