Professor Andrew Nambota discussing the IDP with a community living adjacent to the Sioma Ngwezi National Park. ©Melissa de Kock
Ngonye Falls. © Marina Faber
The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation provided a grant of £150,000 in 2007/08 to support the development of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), between Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe and to develop wildlife dispersal routes linking key conservation areas. The specific projects currently supported by The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation are as follows:
Sioma Ngwezi National Park
Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) appointed Professor Andrew Nambota as the Technical Advisor for Sioma Ngwezi National Park in May 2007. He is responsible for overseeing the rehabilitation and development of the park, with particular regard to wildlife law enforcement activities. He has also played a pivotal role in the compilation of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for the Zambian component of KAZA which addresses natural resource management, resource utilisation and benefit flow. This process was groundbreaking in that it brought together stakeholders representing government, the private sector, local communities and resource managers to discuss these issues collectively. This is the first time that such a participatory process was undertaken to compile a development plan in this area and more than 4,000 people were consulted. Furthermore, it has contributed significantly to creating an atmosphere of trust and cooperation amongst the stakeholders. Each stakeholder group had an opportunity to voice its needs and priorities and these were captured in the final IDP document. Eighty-nine projects were identified through the IDP process which relate broadly to natural resource conservation and use, community development and benefits, and planning and infrastructural requirements. Implementation of pilot projects stemming from this IDP will commence in July 2008.
Professor Nambota has also led the negotiations to establish Ngonye Falls National Park, which is close to Sioma Ngezi National Park. Once established, this park has great potential to attract tourists to the spectacular waterfall and thus generate income for both the park and the local communities.
Sioma Ngwezi National Park currently does not have a management plan, thus PPF in consultation with ZAWA, appointed a consultant to undertake an Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for the park. PPF also supported ZAWA to undertake an aerial survey in October 2007 that was conducted in Sioma Ngwezi National Park. This survey will provide the baseline information required for the development of the IMP, as well as guide the development of a restocking programme for this park.
Angolan Integrated Development Plan
Following on the success of the development of the IDP in the Zambian component of KAZA, PPF was requested by the Government of Angola to undertake an IDP in the Angolan component of KAZA. This project commenced in May 2008, and will be completed within a year.
The process will bring together the same range of stakeholders as the Zambian project, and the resulting discussions and information gathering will determine the priorities for the area in terms of resource management and utilisation, and generating income and benefits for local communities. It will also provide a plan for project implementation in the area to achieve the objectives of the KAZA TFCA.
Visit the Peace Parks Foundation website.