THE CASE OF FWANYA THE BULL RHINO FROM MOSI-OA-TUNYA NATIONAL PARK

In our coverage of a number of wildlife stories over the years we have sadly noticed a trend by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and Ministry of Tourism as a whole to not fully engage the public about a crisis situation until they are left with absolutely no choice because information has leaked into the public domain (we can point the cases of lions escaping from Munda Wanga, elephants being shot down in Livingstone due human-animal conflict and now the case of the Rhino called Fwanya). In the case of Fwanya the bull Rhino, it had to take the engagement of the Livingstone Mayor by Livingstone Tour Operators for a response to be triggered from the Minister and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism. Even after these official responses it is still not clear to this day where exactly Fwanya is (nor where the horn removed from him is). DNPW must view public engagement  and transparency as a strength and not a weakness, it is not every wildlife situation that requires the red tape and secrecy of an intelligence agency. The protection of wildlife is a mandate the DNPW carries out on behalf of the people of Zambia, therefore transparency in terms of constant briefs and updates to the public on key wildlife matters should be taken as standard procedure and practice. Secrecy and cover-ups only propel rumours and speculation which help no one in the long run. 

TRANSITION TO ALTERNATIVE GREEN ENERGY

The current drought has also triggered a critical shortage of water supply in our water reserves for hydroelectric power supply. The present climate crisis has placed a burden on our hydroelectric power sources that can only be eased with green energy alternatives- solar energy, biofuels and wind energy as well. Building more hydroelectric power dams will not be the best response to the climate crisis with the high deforestation rate we currently face-a multifaceted approach is better than sole dependency on hydroelectric power.

FOREST RESERVE No. 27's ACTUAL SIZE 

Forest Reserve Number 27 was de-gazetted on three occasions in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as per statutory instruments No. 62, 59 and 13 respectively. After the last degazetting in 2019 officially 716 hectares were said to be the full extent of the remaining forest. However, on these occasions the Honourable Minister of Lands and Natural Reserves Hon. Elijah Muchima has referred to the remaining extent, he has mentioned only '267 hectares' as the remaining extent of Forest Reserve No. 27. We seek clarity from the Minister as to which figure officially represents the remaining extent of Forest 27. This is particularly vital because developmental activities in the degazetted portions continue unabated even after a ministerial directive for such activities to cease. As of our last visit to Forest 27 in March 2024, some portions of the remaining Forest had private property signs, so clarity on the forest's full extent will help all stakeholders know what exactly the current position and situation is.  

WATER HARVESTING AS A RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT DROUGHT CRISIS

Zambia, just like a number of countries in Southern Africa, has been hit by a drought, and this has led to Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe declaring National Disasters and issuing calls for help from the global community. Zambian president His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema  requested assistance from a Norwegian visiting team with assessing the undergrounding water reserves we have with the hope of harvesting the water to aid with irrigation in the agriculture sector. We are of the opinion that the majority of our effort and finance should be focused on developing our capacity as a country to harvest rainfall water instead. We lose millions of litres of runoff water each year during the rainy season, this water could be harvested and stored for later use in water reservoirs. Our underground water resources are delicate and take many years to refill. It is therefore better to seek other more viable options for water harvesting and storage. 

With regards to the need for water supply for irrigation in the agricultural sector, it is vital for us as a country to see how best we help our farmers transition to agricultural practices that help maximise the water for their rain fed crops- conventional farming practices are clearly only exacerbating the effects of the drought. Our farmers must be empowered with skills that help them retain more moisture in our soils, skills such as the use of green manure, cover-crops, mulching, zero tillage, ripping and the use of conservation basins to mention a few. The transition to Agroecology should be a priority agenda item for Zambia and Africa as a whole.