One of the significant activities carried out by Partner States in the third quarter of 2024 was the convening of National Committees in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe national committee convened in Victoria Falls Town on July 10, 2024. The national committees of Botswana and Namibia on the other hand convened on September 5, 2024, in Maun and Katima Mulilo, respectively. Over 160 stakeholders including public sector, non-state actors, communities, and the private sector participated in all three meetings.
National committees are an essential component of the broader institutional arrangements outlined in the KAZA Treaty, serving as a forum for country-level governance, coordination, and planning. They are expected to play an important role in in-country consultations and awareness raising, as well as transboundary and country-level planning for the KAZA TFCA’s respective country components. National Committees are meant to contribute to the advancement of the vision of the KAZA by addressing shared risks and ensuring strong and optimized cross-sector coordination, ownership, drive, and collective accountability.
Held against the background of inconsistency in convening national committee meetings which have, in turn, prevented effective and efficient execution of the oversight, communication, cross-sectoral oversight, and coordination and execution of their overall mandate, the convening of national committee meetings were an opportunity for Partner States to reflect on progress in the implementation of the country KAZA TFCA programme including decisions of KAZA TFCA Heads of State Summit which was held in Livingstone, Zambia on 31st May 2024.
In Namibia, the meeting was presided by the Director of Wildlife and National Parks, Mr. Benett Kahuure who highlighted key issues affecting the Namibian component of the KAZA TFCA, including the scourging drought, and lack of proper coordination of activities. He reiterated to the committee the importance of greater collaborations and ongoing engagements, positing them as reliable pathways and prerequisites of sustainable development.
Over 100 participants were received in Namibia and discussed a variety of issues, including updates on recent and upcoming activities such as drilling of boreholes to support wildlife in the Mudumu North and Mudumu South Complexes, researching potential leverage points following the lifting of the fishing season in December 2023: resource mobilization to increase awareness on wildlife corridors, wildfires, illegal fishing and hunting in the region and conservancies’ financial management. Some of the key outcomes from this meeting include the review and adoption of the Terms of Reference for the national committee, and the proposed formation of an inclusive task force to help drive the activities of the national committee. The meeting also agreed to have the national committee co-chaired by the Director of National Parks and Wildlife and the Chairperson of the Conservancies in the Zambezi and Kavango region.
The Botswana meeting, chaired by the Government Liaison Officer for the Gaborone Declaration of Sustainability in Africa, Dr. Cyril Taolo, agreed on the need to expand on the 2022 KAZA-wide Elephant Survey and further investigate the effects of the growing elephant population in the landscape on plant species and habitats. All three sessions in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe emphasized the need to start preparations for a prospective Phase IV investment from the Federal Republic of Germany as well as identification of key priority areas that are inline with National Development Plans.
Reflecting on the two meetings, the KAZA TFCA Secretariat Executive Director, Dr. Nyambe Nyambe noted that the KAZA TFCA’s vision is anchored on partnerships and collective action of stakeholders, including communities and key policy and decision-makers. He expressed hope for increased cooperation between public and non-state actors at the country level to drive joint accountability and ownership of the KAZA TFCA agenda in line with the KAZA Treaty and stakeholder engagement strategy.
Angola and Zambia are anticipated to hold similar engagements in the months.
