Wildlife Research Strategy (2018-2022).

The Wildlife Research Strategy (2018-2022) seeks to respond to the legal and policy changes that have occurred, the current conservation challenges facing the country, and the scientific advances in conservation theory and practice that have occurred. The Strategy focuses on the following long term and short-term goals and six research themes. Long term/Overall Goal: To contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of wildlife in Zimbabwe by conducting exemplary research and providing scientific information and advice to policy makers, resource managers, stakeholders, and the public. Short term/Immediate Goal: To develop and implement a research strategy that will: (a) Provide science-based information on wildlife conservation and management options to support the implementation of the Environmental Management Act, the Parks and Wild Life Act, the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan, and other relevant provisions; (b) Focus and coordinate wildlife research in Zimbabwe on key wildlife conservation and management issues; and, (c) Build wildlife research capacity in the ZPWMA and associated research partners in the country. In order to meet these goals and to effectively contribute to national policy objectives, the following six themes are proposed as the primary focus of research for the Scientific Services Unit. These themes represent broad areas of research to which partners and private researchers will be encouraged to contribute. 1. Transparent, participatory, and inclusive conservation planning and implementation, the core of which involves systematic conservation planning at local, eco-regional and national levels. Activities include: Conduct baseline species and habitat inventories for each ecoregion (NBSAP); Conduct landscape and institutional mapping of target areas; 2. Monitoring of, and conservation research on, threatened and keystone species, habitats and ecological processes. Activities include: Assemble and review available information on status and trends in endangered, endemic, and ecologically and economically important species of fauna and flora, and habitats; Conduct risk analyses on vulnerable species; Establish appropriate monitoring and response protocols. 3. Research to enable protected areas, conservancies, and CAMPFIRE areas to function as sustainable, resilient and integrated components of larger landscapes. Activities include: Conduct resilience analyses of protected area; Explore the potential for developing adaptive co-management arrangements for each area. 4. Research to support the conservation and management of wildlife on agricultural, communal lands and in transboundary ecosystems. Identify significant areas and ecosystems and species populations outside the Parks & Wildlife Estate that require research; Monitor status and distribution of selected species. 5. Natural resource use policies and decisions based on sound, science-based, information. Activities include: Identify areas/regions of land and natural resource use conflicts that are impacting on biodiversity; Conduct EIAs / SEAs and related analyses of trade-offs to inform land and natural resource use decisions; Monitor impacts of land and natural resource use, and conservation decisions on biodiversity and socio- economics of associated landowners, households, and communities. 6. Build research capacity in ZPWMA and partners to meet the demands of national conservation policy. Activities include: Build collaborative research partnerships with universities (local and abroad), NGOs, International NGOs, and the private sector; Develop incentives and guidelines that will attract private / visiting researchers to contribute to the country’s research agenda.