Coxswains capacitation to fight wildlife crime

Calvin Manika

Zimbabwe’s largest national park, the Hwange National Park, is located in Hwange district. In the vicinity of the park, there have been numerous incidences of poaching by residents. Some villagers have joined scout and ranger groups to aid Zimparks in battling wildlife crime in the face of poaching.

Due to the small water bodies in Hwange, most poaching occurs in the forests and grasslands rather than the water. The Zambezi River has been used for wildlife trafficking. The river flows through the Victoria Falls that borders Zimbabwe and Zambia before passing through Musuna Hills in Hwange and Binga on its way to Kariba, where it shares a border with Zambia once more. 

International poachers from Botswana and Zambia are allegedly utilizing local syndicates to help them cross the Zambezi river from Zimbabwe to neighbouring countries via the Binga passage in order to avoid possible arrest. Few arrests have been made in the river around Binga.

Some poachers are highly trained individuals, some are former military officers. One of the scouts, Tapson Ndlovu, claims that lack of advanced training in fighting wildlife crime in and around water bodies severely limits the local scouts.

“There are not enough resources to meet everyone’s needs. Dealing with wildlife criminals in water bodies demands specialized individuals and expertise. Our basic training is just not enough. Some of us can’t even  swim,” Ndlovu remarked.

Kariba is located 480 kilometres from the Zambezi river’s banks of Binga and presents a different problem.  In Kariba, the biggest man-made dam in the world, where poachers and other wildlife criminals have used the water source as an escape route, cases involving water routes have been highly prevalent. In a bid to fight crime, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) trained coxswains to combat wildlife crime and support government initiatives. A coxswain is the person who steers a boat.

15 advanced coxswain trainees were graduated by the African Wildlife Foundation Zimbabwe (AWF) on April 21 during a pass-out parade ceremony held at Moth Camp in Kariba.

With more than 60 years of innovative conservation leadership, AWF is one of the biggest and oldest international conservation organizations in Africa. Through an African-led conservation agenda, the organisation concentrates on creating a future for Africa where people and wildlife coexist in harmony. The conservation efforts integrate science, practical solutions, policy, and education.

The African continent is covered through AWF’s networks, commercial development, and policy strategies, which operate directly in 10 nations and across 17 landscapes. Since 1999, when AWF began implementing projects in Zimbabwe, they have been leading initiatives that have a profound impact on communities and wildlife habitats in the Mid Zambezi Valley.

The graduation came after a rigorous three-week advanced coxswain course that gave trainees vital information and practical skills on animal conservation, with a focus on anti-poaching and law enforcement efforts in marine or water-based ecosystems. Technical assistance from AWF in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) and the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Boat Squadron Regiment facilitated the training.

The training is funded by the European Union (EU) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (CITES MIKE) project.

Important topics like suspect handling, respecting human rights in anti-poaching work, first aid, physical training, weapon handling, boarding and alighting from watercraft, ecology, routine ambush and raiding patrols, boat operations, and other pertinent modules to enhance river patrols were covered in the training.

All graduates are in possession of valid class 1 and class 2 Launch-Master certificates, and Zimparks coxswains will be stationed in Lake Kariba, Hurungwe Safari Area, Chewore Safari Area, and Dande Safari Area to support the biodiversity conservation mandate. 

“We expect that the training would be extended to regions like Binga and Musuna to firmly secure our wild animals and step up river patrols. Reversing biodiversity loss and tracking down international criminals will be a start in the right way,” said Christopher Mwembe, a former game ranger in Hwange. 

Zimparks Director General Dr. Fulton Mangwanya was represented at the pass out parade by Director of Operations Arthur Musakwa. There were 15 graduates, 12 of whom were from Zimparks (two of whom were women), and three from ZNA.

“As we continue to appreciate the need for gender balance and equality, these trainings have continued to recognize the relevance and talents of the girl child. I salute women for continuing to overcome obstacles and proving that female rangers can compete with male counterparts by taking on riskier duties like navigating the choppy waters of Kariba and other water bodies,” said Mangwanya.

He emphasized the significance of the assistance provided by AWF in establishing ZARSAU, a water-based anti-poaching specialized unit operating from beneath the Kariba Dam Wall to Kanyemba.  

“This unit has become a vanguard for the conservation of the aquatic as well as terrestrial resources in the landscape as they have forged collaborative links with our Zambian counterparts. This support has continued to improve the efficiency of law enforcement and has also brought about desired conservation outcomes,” said Mangwanya.

The training was extremely difficult, according to Olivia Mufute, country director for AWF in Zimbabwe.

“I am very happy with the thorough and rigorous advanced coxswain training that the rangers completed. These efforts will further strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of Zimparks rangers, particularly for rangers who conduct anti-poaching river and land patrols within the Mid-Zambezi Valley landscape. With these advanced skills, Zimparks rangers will be instrumental in conducting local as well as transboundary patrols and can contribute significantly to species protection and reducing illegal wildlife trade and trafficking,” said Mafute.

23 law enforcement officers from Zimbabwe and Zambia participated in a cross-border river patrol on September 21, 2022, to increase the efficiency of patrols against poaching and the conservation of wildlife in the Mid Zambezi Valley.

“AWF Zimbabwe’s 10-year Conservation Strategy (2020-2030), which outlines the need to conserve Zimbabwe’s wildlife, reduce poaching and trafficking through supporting wildlife monitoring and protection systems, is in accordance with the training of rangers on river anti-poaching patrols. I think coordinated efforts from all conservation-related parties will go a long way toward protecting our mega fauna and flora, “added Mufute.

The prize for top student went to Thomas Zhou, a 25-year-old ranger working out of Chewore North in the Kapirinhengu region of the Mid-Zambezi Valley landscape.

He declared, “Both coxswain trainings have helped us since the way we communicate with anti-poaching river patrols now is more sophisticated than it was before. Now that we have learned how to deal with poachers who jump into the water to avoid capture, among other concerns, we can conduct our river patrols in a professional manner.”

“This time, the training was challenging. To be able to handle challenging scenarios, one would spend up to three hours swimming. We acquired skills in suspect arrest, ambush, and other procedures involved in anti-poaching river patrol job,” said Rosemary Kateguru, one of the graduate trainees.

As evidenced by a number of joint cross-border patrols conducted by law enforcement officers from Zimbabwe and Zambia, AWF said the training support, which includes courses on court procedures and digital wildlife monitoring, has helped to strengthen local and transboundary anti-poaching patrol effectiveness in the Mid-Zambezi Valley.

“The partnership, supported by the European Union (EU) through funding from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (CITES MIKE) seeks to train and equip wildlife law enforcement officers with the skills they require when conducting river patrols; it continues to yield positive results in the anti-poaching work and species protection,” said Mafute.

The advanced coxswain training, along with other courses on the use of the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), court procedures training, and other topics, has been crucial in areas like transboundary joint river patrols conducted by law enforcement officers from Zambia and Zimbabwe, which support the conservation of species. 

AWF supports the preservation of 600 lions and 150 African wild dogs in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Increased anti-poaching patrols, de-snaring, and capacity building inside and outside of national parks are all made possible by these activities.