Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) has said Covid-19 has affected its conservation efforts due to dwindling revenues realised mainly from tourism activities.

National parks and other recreation sites under Zimparks closed down as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak which has killed over 70 000 people globally and one in Zimbabwe.

In a telephone interview, Zimparks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said national parks, which are currently closed to the public due to Covid-19, were operating on a shoestring budget as no money was coming into its coffers.

He said over 500 cases of human wildlife conflict, including a number of fatalities had been recorded since January this year and they were expecting an increase in numbers of cases following the poor rains.

“We get most of our money from tourism. Now that tourism is zero, what do we do? We are in a tight situation. Although our parks are closed, our work continues. Someone needs to look after the parks. Our rangers are deployed and research work continues. We are affected big time. We used to get money from tourism to fund our activities. We do have a lot of partnerships for conservation programmes,” he said.

The Zimparks spokesperson said there is need for a shift from overreliance on tourism activities.

He said national parks can be used for research purposes which could earn Zimparks and the country a lot of income.

Mr Farawo could not immediately share the exact figures on how much Zimparks has lost to date.

He, however, said some organisations were demanding refunds following cancellations as a result of the pandemic.

“Tourism is not a panacea to conservation, but it can play a part. It cannot be tourism alone which can deal with human wildlife conflict, do research, assist our people to benefit from wildlife and parks and other resources,” he said.-@andile_tshuma.