Zimbabwe National Elephant Management Plan (2021 – 2025).

The Zimbabwe National Elephant Management Plan (2021 – 2025) has as long term vision to conserve elephants at levels that will enable them to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, national development and Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage.
The key components of the Plan are: 1. Protection and Law Enforcement; 2. Biological Monitoring and Management; 3. Social, Economic and Cultural Framework; 4. Building Conservation Capacity; 5. Coordination, Collaboration and Programme Management. 1) Under Law enforcement actions are aimed at minimise illegal losses of elephants and their habitats from all populations, and include: establish highly trained rapid response anti-poaching units for deployment to areas under threat; Set up, resource, and maintain national and local intelligence database; Enhance social (community) involvement in law enforcement through incentive schemes and introduction of hotlines for reporting wildlife crime; etc. 2) Biological monitoring include monitor impacts of elephants on habitats and diversity of selected indicator plants and animal species, monitor elephant population dynamics, investigation and research. 3. Social, Economic and Cultural Framework include actions aimed at implementing strategies that enhance the contribution of elephant to rural livelihoods and national development, these are : conduct benefit/cost analyses of elephants as a component of land use in protected and non-protected landscapes in the four elephant regions in Zimbabwe, provide incentives and promote partnerships and joint venture opportunities to strengthen elephant management, including across land use boundaries, promote education and capacity building. 4. Building Conservation Capacity aims at ensuring that sufficient and appropriately trained personnel, equipment, infrastructure and financing are mobilised, available and used efficiently and effectively. 5. Coordination, Collaboration and Programme Management has the purpose to ensure effective coordination and collaboration with national and international stakeholders to achieve these strategic objectives, through for instance: Establishment of a national elephant conservation & management steering/implementing committee, regional management committees, coordination between the hunting industry and the elephant management programme.