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"The Friends of Hwange"
"In partnership with Wildlife
& Environment Zimbabwe and National Parks & Wildlife Management Authority"
The
Friends of Hwange Trust was formed in November 2005, after the Hwange
National Park in Zimbabwe experienced an extremely severe drought, to
which hundreds of animal succumbed.
Hwange National Park is located in the western part of Zimbabwe between Victoria Falls and Bulawayo. The Park has little natural water and most of the water is pumped through boreholes into the pans and troughs. The situation is more severe in the dry season when there is no rainfall at all. Zimbabwe’s last rainy season was very poor, resulting in a terrible drought – the worst since 1992.
This situation was worsened due to Zimbabwe’s current state of affairs – an ailing economy, hyperinflation, a fuel crisis etc. Due to the major downturn of tourist receipts in Hwange, the National Parks Wildlife Authority has
minimal resources to adequately manage the 56 pumps in the Park, as well as maintaining roads and other conservation issues.
By the end of July there was little to no water in many parts of the park, resulting in nearly 500 elephants and many other animals dying of dehydration.
After receiving several devastating reports from Hwange, we decided that something had to be done. We have realized that the future of one of Africa’s most famous game parks is at stake and that the situation must be addressed for the sake of the wildlife and the people who depend on it, especially in the future. We decided to form the Friends Of Hwange Trust to offer a long-term solution to the water problems in Hwange.
While we had decided to form a trust, the situation in Hwange was not improving and we had to do something right there and then. We collaborated with the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force to get fuel and spares to the Park. The fuel (15 000 litres) and spares were stored and from The Hide in
Hwange.
What we do!
We will be raising funds to purchase diesel and spares to maintain a significant number of waterholes within Hwange NP, approximately 10 to begin with.
We will ensure that all funds raised are properly administered and are not used for any other purposes other than towards water supply management in Hwange National Park.
We will engage a permanent employee who will be equipped with a vehicle suitable for moving between the 10 waterholes to ensure they are being efficiently managed and serviced.
The Hide Safari Camp will be used as a base for holding fuel and spares reserves for the trust.
What we are up to!
Since founding the trust we have employed one full time person in Harare to run the administrative and fund raising side of the trust. Her name is Maha Doppelfeld and she is based in Harare. As of April 2006 we will have a full time employee – Mario Gomes - at Hwange National Park who will maintain and supervise the 10 pumps. Mario will start repairing and servicing the pumps for the next dry season, which will start in June/July this year, so that we are prepared and that last year disaster will not reoccur.
Maha is currently approaching potential donors in Harare and will happily see you or anyone you refer her to for a short presentation and to answer any questions you might have.
Mario has started fixing the pumps and engines at various waterholes in Hwange. Currently three waterholes (Kennedy 1 & 2 and Tshebe Tshebe) are being pumped on 17 hour shift, as the water levels were dropping quite quickly after the rains had stopped. Three other waterholes (Shumba, Inyantuie and Tshompanie) are in working order, but are not being pumped yet as they still hold sufficient water. Mario has also fixed a windmill at Kennedy 1, which can pump up to 5000 litres of water a day on a good windy day. This will not be sufficient water once we reach the middle of the dry season, but will keep the levels up for a while and is a more economically friendly way of pumping water out the ground than diesel engines.
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The future!
For the more immediate future Friends of Hwange would like to take on more than 10 waterholes. Further we will look at the feasibility of introducing more modern windmills to the park, to reduce the use of diesel engines, where possible.
We would also like to, as we go along, not only look after waterholes but get involved in other conservation projects, such as anti-poaching and the general up keep of the Park.
The Friends of Hwange Trust!
Trustees: G.R. Brown; A.J. Preston; P. Turner; D. Dell; B. Edwards; Founder:
R.A. Franklin
Newsletters
The Triton Centre, 176 Enterprise Rd, Chisipite, Box HG 261, Highlands, Harare,
Zimbabwe
Tel:
+263-4 498835/6;
Mobile: +263-11-870733;
The
Friends of Hwange – Tamryn Pohl Collection
Last
Friday was the launch of our Tamryn Pohl Raffle at Tamryn’s
“Hwange” exhibition held at Richard Rennie Art Gallery.
The evening was a great success, with Tamryn presenting some of
her best work yet. Our
raffle launch was also a great success and thank you to all of our
supporters that evening.
More information here.......
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