POACHING threatens tourism development considering that wildlife is the backbone of the industry, Tourism deputy minister Anastancia Ndlovu has said.

By Munesu Nyakudya

Speaking at the launch of the Zimbabwe Parliamentary Conservation in Harare yesterday, Ndlovu said many animals were being killed through poisoning.

“We have aptly named it biodiversity terrorism. In 2013 over 100 elephants were killed through cyanide poisoning in Hwange National Park,” Ndlovu said.

“More animals of different species have been at the mercy of poaching threatening the survival of the tourism industry. This has been fuelled by lack of adequate resources and co-ordination among transfrontier countries in fighting poaching.”

She also said a major component of scenic tourism was facing major deforestation.

“Nyanga is one tourist resort which is fast losing its appeal to tourists due to deforestation. The replacement rate for the trees that are cut down currently stands below zero, meaning no efforts are being made to replace these wild lands,” Ndlovu said.

She said it was important to develop more sustainable tourism products that linked communities with nature.

Ndlovu said government had set targets to achieve a $5 billion tourism economy backed by 5 million arrivals, contributing to 15% of gross domestic product by 2020.