ZIMBABWE - Destruction of wildlife, the environment and sensitive eco-systems

Conclusion cont....

The situation on the conservancies is now critical. If they are not to go the same way as Bangala, whose wildlife and natural resources have been lost forever, the destruction has to be stopped now. Already the long-term negative implications of the deforestation and poaching in the Conservancies are significant. There is much more at stake than the current economic losses; Zimbabwe is loosing its heritage and unless some drastic steps are taken to curtail this massive onslaught, there will be nothing left.

'The wildlife industry is so delicate. Trees that take hundreds of years to grow are being chopped down, breeding herds slaughtered. In 1992, government helicopters were involved in saving dying animals and everyone in the country tried to keep the game alive. That same game is now being slaughtered and no one in government is lifting a finger to stop it. They're chopping firewood, moving it out by the truckload and snaring. Every month it costs me $250,000 to pay my game scouts - how long can we keep this going whilst they're destroying it around you at a rate you can't imagine? Sooner or later, financially it's going to cripple you. It's a lose-lose situation. Nobody's going to gain from it. The whole thing's been motivated by a government trying to stay in power, it doesn't matter if the economy collapses or people starve. It's just a case of staying in power at any cost. When it comes to politics, wildlife takes second place. The guys at the top understand this is a problem but they don't understand how sensitive it is. It's a crisis situation and we need immediate action. The longer we wait the more animals are being killed, and the less likely it'll be that we can ever make use of wildlife in this country's economy. All we want to do is preserve the little bit that's left. The wildlife can't wait until the next election, by then it will be too late.'
- Digby Nesbitt.