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PEACE PARKS PROGRAMMES

The programmes differ from the projects in that they encompass more than one peace park and rather include many, if not all southern Africa's TFCAs.  The Climate Change Programme, TFCA Veterinary Programme and Ecosystem Services are run by Peace Parks Foundation, whereas Boundless Southern Africa was launched and is run by nine southern African countries.  They all set out to achieve the best not only  for the region's TFCAs, but also for the partner countries and its people.
 

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

Development of the Buffer Zone of the Limpopo National Park

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In Mozambique all national parks are proclaimed with a buffer zone or “zona tampao” next to it. The buffer zone is a five kilometers wide strip of land which borders onto the core area of the park and the use of the land and activities allowed in the buffer zone is determined by the management plan of the park.

When the Limpopo National Park was proclaimed, the boundary of the park was proclaimed five kilometers to the west of the Limpopo river and the area in between the park boundary and the river was proclaimed a buffer zone. The reason for this was because there were 45 villages and approximately 25 000 people living within the area which was proclaimed a buffer zone. On the one hand it made sense to exclude 25 000 people from the core area of the park as there were already a 1 000 families living in the core area, but on the other hand it created a challenge for park management. The fact that humans and wildlife will have to share the Limpopo River as the only source of water in the whole eastern half of the park will pose problems in so far as allowing access to water for wildlife as well as increased human wildlife conflict potential.

The first management plan that was drafted for the park and the buffer zone stated that communities can continue with their agricultural activities in the buffer zone but the use of natural resources will be monitored to ensure sustainable land use practices.

The next step in the development of the buffer zone is to develop a management plan for the buffer zone together with the communities living in the area.  The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GTZ) has become involved and offered their expertise and experience in the development of management plans for dry forests. The French Development Agency (AFD) has made funding available to support specific interventions in the buffer zone. The aim of the interventions is to develop alternative livelihoods for the communities and in doing so, reduce their dependence on natural resource use and therefore limit their impact on the park. The first step is to do a land potential and carrying capacity study for the buffer zone.

Based on the outcomes of the study a management and development plan will be compiled for the buffer zone. The plan will identify important ecological areas such as unique forests that could add to the tourism appeal of the area and which could also serve as wildlife corridors to the river. It will also identify the best agricultural land and suggest appropriate crops and farming methods. AFD funding will be used to appoint consultants to do the studies and also to appoint a technical advisor who will assist LNP staff with the implementation of income generating projects for communities. Funding is also available to improve the access road to the communities living in the buffer zone to ensure improved access to markets.

The Project Implementation Unit (PIU) together with GTZ and AFD staff is working towards the implementation of this project. AFD has made € 11 million available for the LNP for the period 2008 to 2011.

To download Maps follow link

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To download entire document titled Land Capability of Support Zone of the Limpopo National Park:

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