Emergency Appeal Will Support Wildlife Conservation in Zimbabwe
Donate today and your support will go directly to fund much-needed food, fuel and equipment for wildlife rangers and park staff working in Zimbabwe. Without your help, years of conservation gains could unravel and Zimbabwe’s most fragile wildlife could be lost for good.
Once a vibrant center of conservation, Zimbabwe is caught in a crisis that is putting its natural heritage at risk.
In Hwange National Park, for example, armed and aggressive poachers have decimated the country’s black rhino population—resulting in dozens of rhinos being killed for their horn in the past year alone. These losses are especially critical because AWF and others had recently succeeded in bringing the population back from near extinction. Today, the population numbers just 26 rhinos.
Besides affecting individual species, the country’s ever-deepening economic crisis is hobbling its park facilities and staff morale. Many nonprofits have stopped or cancelled conservation programs. State funding to the wildlife and parks authorities has all but dried up. Consequently, scores of rangers and other park staff are working without pay, decent equipment, or basic food rations. “Some patrol teams go into the field without any communication radios--which is not only inefficient for stopping well-organized and well-armed poachers, but also poses great risk to their safety,” says Jones Masonde, an AWF ecologist.
On behalf of Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is launching an emergency appeal to raise much-needed funds for these brave and committed individuals. Your generous donation will provide emergency support to three park stations crucial to Zimbabwe’s park system and fund other important work.
