Transfrontier Conservation Area biggest in the world

MINISTERS responsible for Environment, Wildlife and Tourism from five SADC countries have agreed to set up infrastructure for the day-to-day activities of a cross-border conservation initiative.

The Interim Secretariat of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA), set to be the largest transboundary conservation project in the world, will be based in Gaborone, Botswana. The Ministers responsible for environment, wildlife and tourism from Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, met in Gaborone on June 28 to review progress made in the establishment of the KAZA-TFCA.In a joint communiqué, the Ministers noted that progress has been made towards the creation of the Secretariat with funding already secured from the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Peace Parks Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund in the Netherlands to cover operations for a two-year period.”The governance structure for the TFCA as well as the staffing and budget for the Secretariat were approved, thus paving the way for its operations,” said the communiqué.The Ministers said they had directed their officials to develop a long-term sustainable funding strategy for the development and operation of the KAZA-TFCA.At the meeting, Namibia was represented by Environment and Tourism Minister Willem Konjore.The next meeting will be held in Angola before the end of this year.On June 29, officials from participating countries hosted a conference for donors in Gaborone, to share information and the KAZA vision with them, with a view to forge partnerships and synergies for it’s future development.The project is based on the sustainable use of resources of the Kavango and Zambezi river ecosystems and will cover the largest conservation and tourism area in the whole of Africa, measuring 280 000 square kilometres.The Ministers responsible for environment, wildlife and tourism from Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, met in Gaborone on June 28 to review progress made in the establishment of the KAZA-TFCA.In a joint communiqué, the Ministers noted that progress has been made towards the creation of the Secretariat with funding already secured from the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Peace Parks Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund in the Netherlands to cover operations for a two-year period.”The governance structure for the TFCA as well as the staffing and budget for the Secretariat were approved, thus paving the way for its operations,” said the communiqué.The Ministers said they had directed their officials to develop a long-term sustainable funding strategy for the development and operation of the KAZA-TFCA.At the meeting, Namibia was represented by Environment and Tourism Minister Willem Konjore.The next meeting will be held in Angola before the end of this year.On June 29, officials from participating countries hosted a conference for donors in Gaborone, to share information and the KAZA vision with them, with a view to forge partnerships and synergies for it’s future development.The project is based on the sustainable use of resources of the Kavango and Zambezi river ecosystems and will cover the largest conservation and tourism area in the whole of Africa, measuring 280 000 square kilometres.