While driving in the Kakluwani area in Mwandi, Zambia, Simalaha’s Community Development Manager Kabika Kumoyo comes across a herd of elephants ambling across the road. And what a beautiful sight it was! These elephants were undoubtedly following an ancient migration route that flows through the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) – the world’s largest terrestrial transboundary protected area.
Last year, Peace Parks TV sat down with Dr Katharina von Dürkheim to learn more about the connection between this transboundary protected area and elephant migrations.
The Significance Of The Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area
Situated in the Zambezi and Kavango river basins, this large conservation area is spread over Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is home to an estimated 220 000 elephants – that’s roughly half the African elephant population.
As they wander far and wide in search of food and water, they inevitably come across human settlements, often resulting in human-elephant conflict. It is, therefore, important that these conflict hotspot areas are identified and that measures are put in place to help keep both elephants and humans safe.
How Is This Being Done?
Dr von Dürkheim, who heads up the Wildlife Free to Roam postgraduate research programme at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, explains how Peace Parks Foundation and partners are taking action to try and mitigate human-elephant conflict in KAZA.
With a long and experienced history in transfrontier conservation area development, Peace Parks is deeply involved in developing a network of protected areas linked through wildlife corridors. These linkages will enable wide-ranging migratory animals, such as elephants, to move freely and safely through the landscape. Just as their ancestors would have done hundreds of years ago.
Elephant collaring operations are already underway, which will help researchers further understand how these large mammals are moving through the landscape. The satellite information gathered will help us determine which areas are important for the elephants as well as how artificial barriers like fences and infrastructure impact their movement.
If you would like to know more about this fascinating topic, make sure to watch the full interview on Peace Parks TV.
