December
30 December - ZMF advocates licences for small-scale miners… The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) is urging the Government to grant capable diamond small-scale miners mining licences in the diamond-rich Chiadzwa concessions in Manicaland province as a way of empowering indigenous people to contribute in the country’s economic turn around. From: Sunday News
25 December - Parks Authority Renovates Facilities… The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is upgrading its hospitality facilities countrywide in a move aimed at improving service delivery during the festive season, an official said last week. Director General Dr Morris Mutsambiwa said renovations at most facilities including those in Victoria Falls were already underway. From: AllAfrica.com
18 December - Zimbabwe: Extinction looms in a paradise lost to guns, greed and hunger… At first it seemed a paradise. Baboons played on the dusty track ahead of us. Impala and zebra, wildebeest and spiral-horned kudu bounded into the bush as our vehicle approached. We stopped to admire a 3,000-year-old baobab tree with a trunk that dwarfed our four-wheel drive, and spotted a herd of African elephants. It seemed scarcely possible that this semi-arid land in the Lowveld of southeastern Zimbabwe could support so much wildlife. From: Times Online
14 December - Kariba’s golden jubilee celebrations launched… Celebrations to mark Kariba’s golden jubilee have been launched in the resort town amid pomp and fun fare with new marketing strategies being rolled out for the revival of the tourism industry in the area. From: ZBC News
11 December - Okavango-Zambezi project discussed at ministerial meeting in Luanda… Angola will host the next meeting of Hotel, Tourism and Environmental Ministers to be held in September 2009, with a view to evaluating the progress of the Okavango-Zambezi project, Angolan news agency Angop reported Wednesday. From: MacauHub
11 December - Work to upgrade mega park facilities underway… The Parks and Wildlife Management of Zimbabwe said yesterday work is underway on the 16 sites earmarked for creation of tourism facilities in the Gonarezhou National Park, an official said. Parks and Wildlife Management Authority director Dr Morris Mutsambiwa said that of the 16 sites earmarked for development, 15 were awarded to local tourism players whilst one international player won the remainder. From: The Herald
11 December - Botswana hands over reins to Namibia… The Minister of Environment Wildlife and Tourism, Mr Kitso Mokaila, has handed over the chairmanship of the Kavango Zambezi Trans Frontier Conservation (KAZA) to Namibia following the end of a two year tenure. KAZA was formed by Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe to conserve the natural environment that borders them for maximum benefit to their communities. From: Daily News Online
6 December - ‘Zim Lacks Sound Minerals Policy’… The absence of a tight legal and policy framework for the local mining sector has seen the country losing potential revenue as influential people continue to take advantage of loopholes to smuggle precious stones, a leading MDC official said last week. From: The Zimbabwe Standard
6 December - World Famous Wildlife Sanctuary Faces Closure… One of Africa’s biggest wildlife rehabilitation centres, Chipangali, faces closure due to acute food shortages that threaten to wipe out the entire population of wild creatures that draw thousands of tourists every year. The wildife orphanage, which has been featured in several documentaries promoting tourism in Zimbabwe, lies a few kilometres from Bulawayo. From: The Zimbabwe Standard
5 December - Contradictory Claims About Ivory Trade After CITES… The decision by an international body to again allow some southern African countries to conduct once-off ivory sales has been attacked by an animal rights activist saying elephants are being threatened by poaching because of the breakdown in the legal and social order in Zimbabwe. From: IPS News
2 December - Harnessing the Zambezi… If the socio-economic development goals of the eight countries that share the Zambezi River basin are to be met, countries along the river should quickly implement plans towards managing water resources in an efficient, effective and sustainable manner. This was the agreement made during the Fourth Zambezi Basin-wide Stakeholders Forum which took place in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe from Nov. 26-27. From: IPS
