May
30 May – Biotechnology Could Help Solve Food Crisis, Monsanto Asserts… Biotechnology could play a role in staving off a food crisis not only in South Africa, but also in the rest of the world, says agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto sub-Saharan Africa MD Kobus Lindeque. From: Engineering News
30 May – Mugabe Presides Over Decline in Zimbabwe’s Wildlife Parks… “The lions went into the bush here. They’re hungry, so they’ll be irritable. Let’s follow them,” says Nigel the guide. If it sounds foolhardy to camp and walk in a big game park, doing so in Zimbabwe must be crazy as Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF militias roam the country beating and killing. But Zimbabwe’s enormous national parks are generally peaceful havens from the violence. And with Nigel and Xolani the bush tracker to look after me, I feel much safer on the trail of the lions than, say, a Zimbabwean refugee living in Johannesburg. From: The Guardian (UK)
27 May – Nyanga Park Loses 4 Horses to Stray Lions… Nyanga National Park has lost four horses in the past month to lions, which mauled to death three in the first instance before killing one more. Sources from the park said the attacks by lions had taken a worrisome consistency. “The horses were not being kept in their respective stables but were being kept huddled up in a pen without protection and this made it easy for lions to attack them. From: AllAfrica.com
23 May – Conserve Biodiversity for Food Security – Nhema… Zimbabwe should conserve landscape varieties of its major food crops and also integrate biodiversity conservation in the agricultural sector to realise the benefits of dietary diversity and promote food security, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Cde Francis Nhema, has said. From: AllAfrica.com
16 May – Parks Revives Wilderness Trails… The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has revived wilderness trails in selected national parks to allow adventurous travellers a close personal encounter with nature at night. From: AllAfrica.com
16 May – Firm Accused of Fraud… KM Auctions (Private) Limited has been provisionally interdicted from doing business on behalf of Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and the State Procurement Board pending an investigation into fraud allegations involving US$900 000 and $15 trillion. From: AllAfrica.com
8 May – 2010 Transfrontier Conservation Area Brand to be Launched at Indaba… Nine Southern African countries will converge at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban on Saturday 10 May 2008 to launch the consolidated 2010 TFCA Brand. Rejoice Mabudafhasi, Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism will officially launch the new joint brand aimed at promoting transfrontier initiatives in the region for the 2010 Soccer World Cup and beyond. From: Travelwires.com
Food for thought: Are There Risks in Giving Money Directly to Communities? (From: SANGONet)
6 May – Hope for Africa’s Endangered Wild Dogs… After the Ethiopian wolf, the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is the second most endangered carnivore in the whole of Africa. There are probably not more than three to five thousand wild dogs left throughout the continent. From: Telegraph (UK)
3 May – Quelea Birds Threaten Harvests… Quelea birds have invaded some sorghum fields in parts of Matabeleland North and South provinces, threatening the sorghum yields in the affected areas, the Zimbabwe Guardian has established. From: The Zimbabwe Guardian
2 May – 30 Register for Show… At least 30 foreign hunters have registered to participate in this year’s hunting show, the Parks and Wildlife Authority has said. The authority’s spokesperson, Retired Major Edward Mbewe, said hunters from the United States, Spain and Britain were expected to take part in the sport. From: AllAfrica.com
Resource tool: NGOs and charities active in Zim
