WHAT IS 'AFRICA WITHOUT FENCES?'
The objective of Peace Parks is to bring about sustainable economic development by way of eco-tourism, which is the fastest growing industry in the world.
The idea behind Transfrontier Conservation Areas or Peace Parks is to address poverty, using conservation as a land-use option. Previously proclaimed national boundaries cut across tribal and clan groupings as well as wildlife migration routes, fragmenting eco-systems and threatening biodiversity. The establishment of peace parks ensures that a high level of biodiversity is maintained through the joint management of these resources
The cornerstone for Africa's largest transfrontier conservation area (TFCA), the Kavango-Zambezi TFCA (Transfrontier Conservation Area) was recently laid with the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the five participating countries to jointly work towards the establishment of the TFCA.
The Kavango-Zambezi TFCA is situated in the Okavango and Zambezi river basins where the borders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe converge. It will span an area of approximately 287 132 km², almost the size of Italy (300 979 km²), and will include 36 national parks, game reserves, community conservancies and game management areas. Most notably the area will include the Caprivi Strip, Chobe National Park, the Okavango Delta (the largest Ramsar Site in the World) and the Victoria Falls (World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World).
The KAZA TFCA promises to be southern Africa's premier tourist destination with the largest contiguous population of the African elephant (approximately 250,000) in the continent. |
