THE Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) says the country’s decision to export wildlife to China will boost the Asian country’s tourism potential, prejudicing its economy of huge amounts in future revenue.
ZCTF chairman, Johnny Rodrigues, said instead of seeking short-term financial benefits by hiding behind the argument that the wildlife exports were necessary due to an over-population of elephants and other animals, the country should instead invest in eco-tourism projects that would economically benefit communities living adjacent to wildlife sanctuaries. This would go a long way towards helping conservation efforts.
The conservationist pointed out that the long-term effect of wildlife exports to countries like China was that tourist arrivals from these countries would decline as the tourists would have no reason to visit Zimbabwe since they would be able to see the animals in their zoos.
“If they export animals to China, they will discourage tourists from coming here to see the animals in their natural habitat. The tourists will rather go to China to see the animals in Chimelong,” Rodrigues pointed out.
“If an elephant is sold to China, it is sold for about US$20 000 which is a once-off (benefit). If it is left in its natural habitat, it can earn up to US$2 million dollars through tourism.”
There was an outcry last year when Zimbabwe exported 24 baby elephants to China. The elephants were put in Chimelong Safari Park near Guangzhou.
Government recently announced that it would be making more wildlife sales to China, arguing that it could afford to do so since the country’s wildlife population especially that of elephants, was way above what the country’s ecosystem could sustain.
Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, said early this month: “We are going to increase the number of elephants and other species we are exporting to China because they have done a good job in taking care of those they have already bought from us. We will not apologise to anyone. Not even once, because they are our elephants and our people live with a huge population of elephants and bear the trouble of interacting with them.
“The Chinese have inquired about more elephants, baboons, hyenas and lions among others and we will sell them more without hesitation. We are not going to apologise to anyone,” she said.
Rodrigues said instead of exporting the animals, government should partner other stakeholders in developing a sustainable eco-tourism programme that would bring more long term benefits to the country.
“Eco-tourism will generate more money to run the parks, but at the moment, it is not. Removing the animals from Zimbabwe and sending them to China is inhumane. We know there is a drought every four years and we should be prepared for this.”
He said the country needed to kick-start solar energy-based projects in the villages surrounding the wildlife areas, projects such as boreholes, fencing, electricity in their houses, bee keeping, market gardening, art and sculpture, chicken and rabbit farming, fish farming, chilli growing, making paper out of elephant dung as well as making organic compost, among others.
“Our programmes are that we have to try and go to the grassroots (all the people who live around the wildlife areas) to alleviate poverty by kick-starting solar energy (projects) in their villages. Where there is human and animal conflict, we need solar energy for boreholes and fencing. We need to show them that they can make money out of wildlife without killing it. This will alleviate poverty and it will work,” Rodrigues said.
Recently the Chinese government donated US$2,3 million dollars worth of vehicles and equipment towards Zimbabwe’s wildlife conservation efforts.
“This is strange as the biggest market for poached animals is USA and China. The Chinese are sending their own people to do the anti-poaching, but we should be using our own people to do this. The Chinese could help by banning the importation of animals into China,” Rodrigues argued.
In the past three years, poachers have poisoned water sources resulting in the death of more than 500 elephants and thousands of other wildlife species.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201601280305.html