Environment Minister Francis Nhema was frustrating the director of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management Morris Mutsambiwa through his highly politicised board.
He was doing this through Vitalis Chadenga and Jerry Gotora who were reportedly involved in corruption deals and had close ties to ZANU-PF hardliners.
Chadenga was reportedly very close to Nhema, and was the point man for land reform as it related to wildlife management.
Chadenga replaced Mutsambiwa as director in May 2010 and died last week.
Mutsambiwa said up to 92 percent of the Parks and Wildlife budget came from hunting related revenue and about 60 percent of the hunters coming to Zimbabwe were Americans.
Despite the United States sanctions on Zimbabwe, some of the hunters were doing business with some of President Robert Mugabe’s lieutenants who were on the US sanctions list.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 08HARARE863, ENVIRONMENT SUFFERING AS POACHING INCREASES
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO8204
OO RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0863/01 2661042
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 221042Z SEP 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3471
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2313
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2432
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0947
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1710
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2065
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2486
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4918
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1581
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000863
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR G. GARLAND
DRL FOR N. WILETT
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
STATE PASS TO FWS FOR MICHELLE GADD
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2018
TAGS: SENV EAGR ECON KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC ZI
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENT SUFFERING AS POACHING INCREASES
REF: 07 HARARE 1130
Classified By: Charge d’Affaires Katherine Dhanani for reasons 1.4(b) a
nd (d).
——-
SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (C) Increasing pressures from poaching, deforestation,
and Zimbabwe’s economic free-fall pose serious threats to
Zimbabwe’s wildlife. Poaching is on the rise, with at least
38 rhinos killed so far in 2008. While much of this poaching
has come from organized groups trafficking ivory, skins, and
tusks to Europe and Asia, some has also been by villagers
attempting to protect their crops or grazing areas. The
decline in tourism dollars, which private conservancies and
Zimbabwe’s parastatal Parks and Wildlife Management Authority
(Parks) use to maintain their activities, has hurt
conservation efforts. Parks has suffered increasing
political pressure and budget constraints in recent years,
which has had a further negative impact on conservation
efforts. Revenue from American hunters is a significant
source of funding for Parks; in a reformed Zimbabwe, many
safari operators believe tourism will be one of the fastest
sectors to recover, provided the environmental decline is
halted soon. END SUMMARY.
———————-
Poaching with Impunity
———————-
¶2. (SBU) Raoul du Toit, director of the World Wide Fund’s
(WWF) Rhino Conservancy Projects, told poloff that, although
the black rhino population in Zimbabwe has experienced net
growth this year, poaching has increased dramatically in
¶2008. Of the 144 rhinos poached since 2000, 38 were killed
thus far in 2008. Rhino populations have dropped steadily
over the last 15 years on state-owned and other lands while
Zimbabwe’s private conservancies have – despite poaching –
experienced the highest rhino growth rates in Africa. The
southeast lowveld area of Zimbabwe is home to three large
private conservancies – including the nearly one-million acre
Save Valley Conservancy (SVC), founded in 1992 – which are
home to about 400 of Zimbabwe’s 525 rhinos. Before 2000, no
rhinos were poached in these conservancies, but poaching
increased dramatically with the initiation of the fast-track
land resettlement program in 2000. Since then, over 59
rhinos have been poached in the lowveld conservancies. In
the last three years, the proportion of rhino shootings
(versus snarings) has increased dramatically, indicating a
more concerted effort to kill specific animals with
“desirable” horns.
¶3. (C) Du Toit told poloff that in the last five years, only
two poachers in Zimbabwe had been convicted. However, they
were released on just US$5 bail. In every other case,
despite convincing evidence and – in one case – a confession,
the poachers went free or the charges were dropped. Du Toit
and other conservationists believe that the poachers are
well-connected to government insiders who have influenced
their cases. Du Toit said that in addition to rhino
poaching, there is massive poaching of zebras, which do not
require special export tags, for the German furniture market.
He said that much of the contraband is smuggled across the
porous border with South Africa by well-organized networks
that traffic the goods to Asia (ivory, tusks, and hides) and
Europe (mostly zebra hides).
¶4. (C) Clive Stockil, founder of the SVC and one of
HARARE 00000863 002 OF 004
Zimbabwe’s most highly regarded conservationists, told poloff
that there have been no convictions of poachers in the SVC
even though anti-poaching personnel employed by the
conservancies have turned over ballistics evidence and names
of poachers to authorities. He is deeply concerned about the
growing threats to wildlife in the lowveld and throughout
Zimbabwe. He cited reinstated law and order, an impartial
judiciary, and a prioritization of humanitarian response –
especially food – as the most important steps a new
Zimbabwean government could take towards improving the
environment. If the MDC is granted control of the Ministries
of Home Affairs and Justice, he believes this could be
possible, citing corruption in the police and judiciary as
key stumbling blocks to prosecutions of poachers.
—————————–
Power Cuts Fuel Deforestation
—————————–
¶5. (C) Dr. David Cumming, professor at the University of
Zimbabwe and former Deputy Director of Parks, told poloff
that in addition to poaching, deforestation has increased
dramatically, further fueling environmental decline across
the country. Consistent, ongoing power cuts throughout
Zimbabwe have led many families to rely on burning wood for
heat and cooking. Dr. Cumming said this deforestation is
notable in satellite images of Zimbabwe and increases
vulnerability to erosion and flooding.
——————————————— —————
Parks and Wildlife: Limited Budget, Increasingly Politicized
——————————————— —————
¶6. (C) Director of Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management
Authority, Dr. Morris Mtsambiwa, told poloff that poaching is
a serious issue and that about 100 elephants had been poached
thus far in 2008. He said elephant poaching is particularly
problematic in and near Chizarira and Hwange National Parks
(in the west) and to a lesser extent in the Zambezi and
Limpopo River valleys. He cited food, ivory, and horns as
the main motives for poaching. He also conceded that some of
his staff had been implicated in elephant poaching, but said
the Authority had dealt with those individuals.
¶7. (C) Parks and Wildlife – a parastatal since 2002 – is
allowed to take in forex and has been financially independent
of the state budget since 2000. Regardless, declining
tourism revenues have depleted Parks’ funds (reftel). Dr.
Cumming told poloff that in the 1980s, Parks had operated on
a budget of about US$250/square kilometer. He said he would
be surprised if Parks was currently operating on US$10/sq km.
Parks has increased other money-making endeavors such as
crocodile farming to boost its meager budget. Dr. Cumming
believes Parks is in serious financial trouble. He also
believes that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) does
not understand environmental issues or the potential
contribution of parks and tourism in rejuvenating Zimbabwe’s
economy.
¶8. (C) Dr. Cumming, Stockil, and du Toit all praised Dr.
Mtsambiwa, who has a PhD in ecology from the University of
British Columbia and has worked for Parks since 1985, as
competent and doing “the best he can” under significant
pressure. (COMMENT: Dr. Mtsambiwa extolled the virtues of the
American National Parks system at length to poloff and spoke
fondly of his visits to the U.S. END COMMENT.) However, he
has come under growing pressure in the last couple of years
from the increasingly politicized oversight board, which
includes members appointed by Environment Minister Francis
Nhema. According to du Toit and Dr. Cumming, the board has
HARARE 00000863 003 OF 004
become increasingly involved in internal management of Parks.
Du Toit cited two members of the board, Vitalis Chidenga and
Jerry Gatora, as forming an “unholy alliance” for their
reported involvement in corruption deals and close ties to
ZANU-PF hardliners. Chidenga, in particular, is reportedly
very close to Minister Nhema, and is the point man for land
reform as it relates to wildlife management.
——————————————-
Land Reform Beneficiaries Threaten Wildlife
——————————————-
¶9. (SBU) With the land reform program in 2000, ZANU-PF
supporters were settled in the area between SVC and
Gonarezhou National Park (GNP), which is part of the
Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) with national parks in
Mozambique and South Africa. These settlements not only
block potential migration patterns between the SVC and TFCA,
but also pose significant poaching threats to wildlife.
According to WWF, all cases of armed rhino poaching have
occurred in areas where subsistence farms surround parks or
conservancies. Recent settlers may be attempting to
eradicate the rhinos not for their horns, but to consolidate
their farming areas. Small-scale farmers have attempted to
use pesticide-laced melons to kill rhinos that were
destroying their crops. Plans are underway among the private
conservancies and National Parks to create corridors for
wildlife. However, this will require relocating several
villages. (COMMENT: Driving through the area on September 17
and 18, poloff observed very little agricultural activity in
these villages, aside from limited livestock grazing. END
COMMENT.)
——————————————— ———-
American Hunters Contribute to Conservation… and SDNs
——————————————— ———-
¶10. (C) Stockil believes that wildlife safaris and
ecotourism represent the easiest and fastest means to
rejuvenate Zimbabwe’s economy, particularly at the local
level. When Stockil started the SVC in 1992, he and other
landowners in the SVC planned to focus on photographic
tourism. However, since the land reforms of 2000 started,
photographic tourism in the lowveld has suffered, and now he
and others like him are almost entirely dependent on hunters.
Stockil estimates that over 90 percent of his clientele are
American hunters. Dr. Mtsambiwa told poloff that up to 92
percent of the Parks and Wildlife budget comes from
hunting-related revenue and that about 60 percent of hunters
in Zimbabwe are Americans.
¶11. (C) Don Heath, a professional hunter and former Parks
official, told poloff that some American hunters
inadvertently contribute funds to properties owned by
Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs). Numerous safari areas
are owned by individuals on the Department of Treasury’s
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list of SDNs
(reftel). However, many of these safari areas and SDNs do
not organize hunting safaris on their own. Rather, they
sublease hunting rights to other safari operators who bring
in clients – including unsuspecting Americans – who are
unaware that they are hunting on land owned by an SDN.
(NOTE: Post is exploring means to help Americans better
identify these areas. END NOTE.)
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶12. (C) As reported reftel, hunting remains a vital source
HARARE 00000863 004 OF 004
of revenue to both Parks and private conservancies and
cutting off American hunters from Zimbabwe would have a
devastating effect on efforts to maintain Zimbabwe’s
conservation efforts. The politics that influence Parks
indicate that, in addition to the importance of balancing
ministries, the MDC should push for appointments on the
boards of parastatals and in administrative positions in the
ministries in order to promote a reform agenda. Continued
and increased poaching – without prosecution – reflects the
ongoing and widespread impact of Zimbabwe’s economic and
judicial crisis. In addition, it reflects the probable
collusion of the current regime with traffickers and corrupt
schemes. Despite these pressures, Zimbabwe’s parks and
private conservancies pose significant potential for rapid
recovery if tourists regain confidence and return to
Zimbabwe. END COMMENT.
DHANANI
(161 VIEWS)
