National parks and biodiversity
Zimbabwe is home to eleven national parks, which are home to exceptional biodiversity. It is home to an emblematic megafauna ("big five": African lion, African leopard, African elephant, African buffalo and rhinoceros), which is under protected status, but threatened in particular by poaching and the effects of climate change.
Chimanimani National Park: located in the east of the country, on the border with Mozambique, it protects mountain ecosystems associated with endemic species. Note the remarkable site of the Bridal Veil Falls.
Chizarira National Park : located in the north of the country, at the level of the Zambezi escarpment, in a relatively isolated and wild area, it shelters a great faunistic diversity (megafauna, avifauna) and exceptional landscapes.
Gonarezhou National Park: located in the southeast of the country, it is an integral part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park (which includes Kruger National Park in South Africa and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique). Despite poaching, there is a good diversity of wildlife (including the "big five") and plants (baobabs, mopane, sausage trees, etc.).
Hwange National Park: located in the northwest of the country, it is renowned for its megafauna, protected but also predated. Several episodes of poaching have marked the history of the park: nine elephants, five lions and two buffalos executed in 2011, more than a hundred elephants poisoned with cyanide in 2013, eleven elephants again poisoned in 2015, the same year that Cecil, a 13-year-old lion well known in the park, was killed for the pleasure of a single rich American tourist, who exposed himself with his trophy on social networks, arousing ire beyond borders.
Mana Pools National Park : located in the north of the country, it preserves ancient beds of the Zambezi River ("Mana Pools"). Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and classified as a Ramsar Wetland, it is home to magnificent landscapes and exceptional biodiversity (hippos, crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, leopards and cheetahs).
Matobo National Park: located in the west of the country, in the mountainous area (Matobo Mountains), it is classified as a world heritage site by UNESCO for the Pomongwe caves, decorated with rock paintings.
Matusadona National Park: located in the north of the country, on the border with Zambia, it protects the ecosystems of the Matusadona hills, Lake Kariba and the Ume and Sanyati rivers. It is home to remarkable wetland biodiversity, including hippos, rhinos and elephants.
Nyanga National Park : located in the east of the country, on the border with Mozambique, it is home to mountainous areas, including Mount Nyangani, the highest point in the country. Famous for the Mutarazi Falls (formerly Mutarazi Falls National Park), it protects a mosaic of ecosystems: tropical forests, mountainous moors, grasslands, wetlands (rivers, gorges, waterfalls).
Kazuma Pan National Park: located in the northeast of the country, on the border with Botswana, it preserves "open" landscapes of plains, associated with seasonally flooded lakes, where many animals gather in the dry season. It is included in the Kavango-Zambezi transboundary conservation area.
Zambezi National Park: located in the extreme northwest of the country, on the border with Botswana and Zambia, it protects forest ecosystems and associated biodiversity (including megafauna).
Victoria Falls National Park : Located in the northwest of the country, on the border with Zambia, it is home to the famous Victoria Falls and the banks of the Zambezi River. It is part of the Kavango-Zambezi transboundary conservation area. The characteristic ecosystems of the park are subtropical rainforests, associated with a very rich diversity of fauna (including birdlife, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hippos) and flora.
High impact mining activities
The country's mining activities (gold, platinum, diamonds, chrome) are not without impact on humans and the environment. The country also has lithium, for the extraction of which an environmental permit should be granted in 2023 to a foreign company. To be continued.
Facing climate change
Climate change is palpable in Zimbabwe and is adding to the country's woes (economic crisis, shortages, etc.). It is reflected in more frequent droughts and more intense cyclones. Cyclone Idai, for example, devastated a whole part of the country in 2019, causing severe flooding and loss of life and property, affecting nearly 270,000 people in the country. The year 2020 was marked by a major drought, which contributed to the food insecurity of 60% of the population. The climate change also has impacts on the production of electricity, mainly from hydroelectric plants. The Kariba dam has experienced very low water levels, leading to long power cuts (up to twenty hours a day!).
Adapt and terminate
Faced with the economic and ecological situation and food insecurity, farmers in some regions of the country have replaced maize (introduced during colonization and now a staple food) with ancestral crops more adapted to drought, such as millet and sorghum. In parallel, national and international projects are supporting the implementation of resilient agricultural practices. One example is the "Building Resilience through Ecological Intensification in Zimbabwe" program (2021-2026), which aims to develop agro-ecological practices that respect planetary limits and feed humans.
What about us?
Because each gesture counts, we can all act in the construction of a desirable future, in our individual and collective actions. Here are some links and tools to act on waste(www.zerowastefrance.org), ecological footprint (www.footprintcalculator.org) and carbon footprint(https://agirpourlatransition.ademe.fr).
