Zambia’s first conservancy, Simalaha Community Conservancy, has received the first 90 of 200 buffalo – presented to the community by the Peace Parks Foundation in ongoing efforts to restock this important link in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA), bridge the human/wildlife gap, and encourage greater tourism to the conservancy.

Executive Director of the KAZA Secretariat, Dr. Nyambe Nyambe, said: “Our vision is to establish KAZA as a world-class transfrontier conservation and tourism destination. Within this, socio-economic development is critical. This can only be done by increasing sustainable livelihood and development opportunities for the local communities, such as those in Simalaha, who often bear the ‘cost’ of living with wildlife.”

This will make the eighth wildlife species to join the community conservancy. In 2013, income from wildlife management was identified as a critical component of the conservancy, and a wildlife sanctuary extending 24 000ha was established as part of Simalaha. The active reintroduction of wildlife to the area – along with the recent introduction of the buffalo – equates to a total of 1 600 animals currently residing therein.

A total of 200 buffalo are earmarked to relocate to Simalaha, purchased from the Waterberg Plateau Park in Namibia which has exceeded its capacity for the species. A full quarantine and disease-testing process was implemented, to ensure that only healthy animals are rehomed in Simalaha. This addition is crucial to the area, as buffalo make up a part of the Big Five, which draw millions of tourists to Africa each year. Income will also be generated for the local community through the sale of buffalo offspring to other areas in Zambia.

Speaking at the ceremonial release of the buffalo to the community, CEO of the Peace Parks Foundation, Werner Myburgh, said: “These buffalo represent intrinsic economic value and improved livelihoods for people living in the Conservancy and demonstrate our continued commitment to the Simalaha initiative. Simalaha serves as a model of success for community-based conservation engagement and we are continuously inspired by the community’s devotion to protecting the region’s natural and cultural heritage.”