Latest News17 May 2013
Savé Valley Conservancy upgrades local schools
The German government through the Deutsche Gesellschaft fĂĽr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is funding the translocation of animals donated by the SavĂ© Valley Conservancy, while making funds available to the conservancy to support community development projects in the area. → read more…
Background
© Michael Viljoen
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park straddles the borders of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe and joins some of the most established wildlife areas in Southern Africa into a huge conservation area of 35 000km² (± the size of the Netherlands). This forms the core of the second-phase transfrontier conservation area (TFCA), measuring almost 100 000km² - the world's greatest animal kingdom.
The larger transfrontier conservation area will include Banhine and Zinave national parks, the Massingir and Corumana areas and interlinking regions in Mozambique, as well as various privately and state-owned conservation areas in South Africa and Zimbabwe bordering on the transfrontier park.
Progress
© 2007 Koos van der Lende
The three heads of state signed a treaty establishing Great Limpopo on 9 December 2002. In 2006 the Giriyondo Access Facility between the Kruger and Limpopo national parks was opened. Almost 5 000 animals have been translocated from Kruger to Limpopo National Park. This, combined with 50 km of fence being dropped, has encouraged more animals, including more than 1 000 elephants, to cross the border of their own accord. The harmonisation and integration of various policies to improve the cooperative management of the transfrontier park are under way. Processes such as standardising a fee and rate structure, introducing a border-crossing protocol and a tourism strategy that will optimise the transfrontier park’s tourism development opportunities, in particular cross-border products, are also far advanced.
Current Projects
© Michael Viljoen
Great Limpopo’s tariff structure harmonisation process is ongoing and work on the Gonarezhou National Park component was undertaken.
The Shingwedzi Cliffs Trails Camp, which will be a joint venture between Kruger National Park and Limpopo National Park (LNP), was designed and operating procedures for crossing the border at an undesignated point were drafted.
Great Limpopo’s Safety and Security Management Committee spearheaded joint training for field rangers from Limpopo National Park, Lebombo Conservancy (south of LNP), Kruger National Park and Gonarezhou National Park in cross-border patrolling and anti-poaching procedures at the Southern African Wildlife College.
Operational cooperation continues between Kruger and Limpopo national parks and includes regular operational and strategic meetings, intelligence sharing, joint border patrols and placement of a permanent Limpopo National Park field ranger team at Giriyondo to provide a fast reaction support to cross-border operations. The parks have also increased cooperation at executive management level. During the year, joint meetings were held and field trips undertaken to improve inter-park communications and to allow for a better understanding of the challenges of poaching, largely attributed to socio-economic imbalances and the extremely lucrative market.
Mozambique proclaimed Limpopo National Park on 27 November 2001 and requested Peace Parks Foundation's assistance in overseeing its development as a SADC-approved project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development throughKfW, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the World Bank. In 2001 a project implementation unit was set up to develop this million-hectare park.