March
31 March – Forests Are Crucial Natural Resources… The world commemorated World Forestry Day on March 21 2008 and World Water Day two days later on the 23rd. Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in marking these days. It becomes imperative for everyone to play their part in making the core aims of the commemorations a reality. In a way, marking the two days is an open illustration of accepting the importance of forests as well as the centrality of sanitation in peoples’ lives. From: AllAfrica.com
27 March – Birdlife Zimbabwe Babbler Newsletter – April/May 2008
23 March – Zimbabwe: white farmer Mike Campbell mounts last stand over land grab… The names on the court affidavit are stark; William Michael Campbell vs Robert Gabriel Mugabe. While 4,000 white farmers have been thrown off their land in Zimbabwe, Mike Campbell is the first to take the president himself to an international court. On Tuesday his case will open at the new tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Namibian capital of Windhoek. [Ed: This discusses some wildlife on these farms]
21 March – Okavango-Zambezi Project Gets 8 Million Euros… The Usd 24 million Okavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation project involving five southern Africa countries, will get a grant of eight million Euros from the German Non-Governmental Organisation (KHW), for its implementation.
17 March – More of Africa Urged to Boost Rhino Numbers, According to World Wildlife Fund… Today government representatives of Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia are expected to join in WWF’s African Rhino Program 10th anniversary celebration in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. They will join government and wildlife representatives, community representatives and eco-tourism operators from the current ARP participating states of South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
13 March – Tikki Hywood Trust given award… The Tikki Hywood Trust together Werribee Open Range Zoo on Friday 14 2008, were awarded the “Best Education Program for 2008”.
13 March – Forestry Fellowship available
13 March – Parks Auction Rakes in US$900 000, $15 Trillion… The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority last week raised about US$900 000 and $15 trillion from its annual auction of animals from three of its Zambezi Valley safari camps.
9 March – Country One of Tourism’s ‘Worst Destinations’… ZIMBABWE has been ranked as one of the worst tourist destinations in the world for the second year running, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report for 2008. The report released on Tuesday by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Zimbabwe a dismal 117 from 130 countries.
6 March – Government Insists On Taking Over Mines… THE government will not turn back on plans to forcibly acquire mining assets using a controversial mining law despite fears that the planned take-over could worsen the capital flight being experienced in the country.
6 March – Gold Panners Destroy Arable Land in Mazoe Valley…. GOLD panning activities resulted in the destruction of 2 000 hactares of arable land in the Mazoe Valley in 2006 and many more thousands of hectares were believed to have been destroyed in other areas during that period, a senior government official said this week.
2 March – CIO Land Grab in Tourist Resorts Irks Zanu PF… A drive by security agents to take over tourist facilities in Matabeleland North has sparked fears this might cost the ruling party votes in this month’s elections.
2 March – Slaughter at Kazuma Pans… A family holiday should not encompass the sights that we saw in Zimbabwe this last December. We decided to go north-west of Hwange National Park to Kazuma Pans after bitter disappointment in Hwange’s poorly maintained campsites with no electricity or running water, the relative exorbitant park fees, rangers openly drying game meat even in the public toilets and seeing nothing more than a few very skittish animals fleeing from the sounds of our vehicles.
1 March – Forestry Commission Confiscates Firewood… Firewood worth $7 billion suspected to have been illegally harvested in and around Marondera was last week confiscated by the Forestry Commission.
