WATER FOR HWANGE
Helping to sustain water resources vital to wildlife and communities in Zimbabwe’s largest national park.
ATCF Contribution: $20,000
Grant Awarded: 2018
Location: Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
IMPACT: added 4 Solar-hybrid water pumps for two villages and two wildlife refuges
The overall goal of this project is install solar water pumps to provide a more sustainable, clean and reliable source of water for the wildlife in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe and for the people in the bordering communities. Specifically, there are two village/school boreholes and two wildlife waterholes which will be funded by this grant.
Imvelo Safari Lodges aims to use the funding to purchase solar kits for the existing water pumps and towards the purchase of water tanks for the community pumps. By replacing the dirty diesel engine water pumps with solar pumps to provide water for wildlife and people, we are aiming to reduce the carbon footprint in these areas to provide a more eco-friendly environment for wildlife and human population surrounding the boundary of Hwange National Park.
The ATCF and its members have awarded Water for Wildlife Trust $20,000 to conserve elephant and community life by providing solar-hybrid pumps in and around Hwange National Park.
THE ISSUE
Hwange National Park, lying an hour south of Victoria Falls, is unique among "Africa's Great Parks" in that it has no major rivers within its boundaries. When this park was created in the 1920’s, its borders failed to include reliable year-round water sources, a major ecological oversight. Ted Davison, the first Warden in the park was faced with a growing number of human-elephant conflicts during Zimbabwe’s annual dry season when thirsty herds migrated outside the park and into surrounding communities in search of water. He thoughtfully established a network of windmill-driven pumps within the park which provided reliable water during the dry season and in turn, kept the elephants and other wildlife from straying into local villages. The wildlife of Hwange flourished under his legacy of protection and year-round water supply. Diesel generators replaced the windmills but now those generators have aged, begun to fall into disrepair and need to be replaced. Modern technology has made solar-diesel hybrids more affordable and the best solution for providing the water resources for both wildlife and the surrounding communities.
THE GOAL
Four new solar water pumps providing clean water for:
Two wildlife waterholes inside Hwange National Park, providing critical and much needed water to animals during the dry season.
450 pupils and 10+ teachers at Mtshayeli School which services 9 villages on the border of Hwange National Park. As a result, school hygiene will also be improved, and the surrounding villages will also benefit when their boreholes are down.
600 residents of Emanaleni Village. As a result the community will incur less costs on repairing the borehole, adequate water shall be available for humans, cattle and wildlife, and the establishment of a community vegetable garden will provide an improved diet for villagers.
The solar water pumps will results in: reduction in carbon footprint, reduction in fuel costs, adequate water supply to the community and livestock, less time spent on fetching water and more on uplifting the community, less maintenance fees on boreholes, healthy population and less migration of wildlife outside of the park into community areas thus reducing human/wildlife conflict.
PROJECT UPDATES
MORE ABOUT Imvelo Safari Lodges
Our goal and long term vision is that by building safari lodges and camps within the communal lands and peripheral areas around our parks and bringing people closer to nature, a symbiotic relationship between conservation, responsible tourism and local communities can grow. This in turn promotes conservation of the local wildlife and natural resources, and encourages sustainability for these village communities while at the same time adding significantly to the experience for the responsible safari enthusiast.
“Water 4 Wildlife Trust and Imvelo Safari Lodges are delighted to be recipients of Grant Funding from Adventure Travel Conservation Fund.The grant fund will be used to enhance biodiversity conservation and rural development through responsible tourism.Specifically,three water boreholes currently pumped by hand and diesel engine have been targeted in an extremely remote location for conversion to pumping with solar power.Two of the boreholes provide water to communities living adjacent to the park while the third provides water to wildlife inside the park,including many hundreds of elephant during the dry season.The target project area is on the frontline of human/ wildlife conflict,hence the grant funding will achieve the twin objective of enhancing broader goals of conservation and improving the quality of life for local communities.” - Njabulo Zondo, Director of Conservation & Activities
