The Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area’s (KAZA TFCA) Great KAZA Birding Route (GKBR) takes flight with the new bird guide training programme. KAZA Secretariat and Birdlife Zimbabwe join forces to enhance the skills of over 60 elite guides, propelling avitourism across the landscape.
On 29 May 2024, Partner States Ministers responsible for KAZA TFCA launched the new tourism destination brand “Rivers of Life” during a landmark event at the KAZA Heads of State Summit in Livingstone, Zambia.
The brand, which embodies the region’s rich biodiversity and the life-giving rivers that sustain it, sets the foundation for innovative tourism initiatives across the landscape. The Great KAZA Birding Route (GKBR) builds upon this transformative development, strategically positioning the landscape’s exceptional avian diversity as a key attraction within KAZA’s broader tourism portfolio.
Says Dr. Nyambe Nyambe, Executive Director of the KAZA Secretariat: “This alignment between the new brand and specialized tourism initiatives like GKBR demonstrates KAZA’s commitment to showcasing the diverse natural heritage of the world’s largest terrestrial transfrontier conservation area. The GKBR also marks the start of implementation of relevant components of the recently approved KAZA Birds conservation strategy”
Spanning five countries – Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the Great KAZA Birding Route showcases the area’s rich avian diversity. To address the growing demand for birding tourism, the comprehensive training programme will commence in Zambia this November, followed by Namibia in December. Training in Botswana and Zimbabwe will begin in February/March 2025.
This training programme is a key component of the Great KAZA Birding Route initiative which the KAZA Secretariat embarked on last year. The initiative aims to enhance Kavango Zambezi’s tourism landscape by positioning KAZA as one of the premier global destinations for bird enthusiasts.
The GKBR encompasses routes and access information, birding sites, avitourism-friendly accommodation, and specialised guides for domestic, regional, and international birdwatchers. Its goals are multifaceted: diversifying Kavango Zambezi’s tourism offerings, minimising the effects of seasonality, and reducing pressure on popular “honey pot” areas by distributing tourists to lesser-visited locations.
Significant progress has already been made, with route scoping exercises successfully identifying key birding hotspots and engaging over 100 tourism businesses to support the initiative.
The KAZA Secretariat’s commitment to promoting avitourism is further underscored by its collaboration with Ethos Marketing, a UK-based firm, tasked with spearheading an expansive marketing campaign in 2024/25. This comprehensive campaign envisions a dedicated website, international and regional familiarisation tours, and press trips to showcase the birding routes.
The Great KAZA Birding Route, co-funded by the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW, represents one of several dynamic tourism initiatives spearheaded by the KAZA TFCA Member States in 2023/2024. Other notable projects include the rollout of the new “Rivers of Life” tourism destination brand, the implementation of the second Kavango Zambezi tourism marketing campaign and the promotion of the Tracks4Africa Map.
The launch of the GKBR training programme coincides with the KAZA TFCA Ministerial Committee’s recent approval of the KAZA Strategic Framework for Bird Conservation, developed in 2023/2024. The strategy dovetails with one of the expected impacts of the GKBR: improved bird and habitat protection based on an upsurge in the value attributed to birds in their natural habitat within the Kavango Zambezi landscape.
For further details on this initiative, please contact:
Bridget Siziba
Communication and Marketing Officer
KAZA Secretariat
Tel: +263 77 358 6807
Email: bsiziba@kavangozambezi.org
Web: www.uncoverkaza.com/
