Zimbabwe Hosts KAZA TFCA Structure Meetings as Regional Delegates Gather in Victoria Falls
Jonathan Sibanda
Zimbabwe is hosting this year’s Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) Structure Meetings in Victoria Falls, bringing together delegates from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to advance regional cooperation, sustainable natural resource management, and transboundary conservation.
Proceedings began with the 21st Joint Management Committee (JMC) Meeting and will be followed by meetings of the Committee of Senior Officials (COSO) and the Ministerial Committee later this week.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting yesterday, KAZA Executive Director Dr Nyambe Nyambe said delegates would assess progress, achievements, and challenges related to programme implementation across the conservation landscape.
“We are meeting today with the Technical Grouping or Joint Management Committee specifically to consider the progress, achievements and challenges made in the KAZA TFCA programming and programme implementation,” said Dr Nyambe.
He said discussions would focus on resource mobilisation, partnerships, commitments made by member states, and progress in implementing directives from the 2024 KAZA Heads of State and Government Summit.
The meetings are also taking place as Zimbabwe continues its tenure as the KAZA coordinating country, a role it assumed in August last year.
Among the key achievements to be reported to Senior Officials and Ministers is the mobilisation of €5 million from the European Union under the Nature Africa Programme.
According to Dr Nyambe, the funding will support the updating of integrated development plans across member states, the development of a KAZA conservation strategy and action plan, sustainable financing initiatives, and the strengthening of the KAZA Secretariat.
He added that KAZA’s Livelihood Diversification Strategy continues to be implemented across the landscape, with one project alone benefiting approximately 140,000 people.
The outcomes of the Joint Management Committee meeting will inform deliberations by Senior Officials and Ministers later this week as member states continue efforts to strengthen conservation, tourism development, and community livelihoods within the world’s largest transfrontier conservation area.
