LEGACY DESECRATION

VICTORIA FALLS PLANNED AND SANCTIONED DESECRATION

The Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia
21st July 2006


1 INTRODUCTION

The Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and its parent Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (MTENR) have sanctioned the building of an eighteen-hole golf course, two hotel resorts, a club house and chalets in the Mosi oa Tunya National Park lying on the edge of Livingstone. On Thursday 27 July, Legacy Hotels and Resorts International are due to sign a Tourism Concession Agreement with ZAWA, and on Friday 28 July, the President of Zambia will lay the foundation stone.

This outrageous planned desecration of what is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), World Heritage Site has begun despite the rejection of the project’s environmental impact assessment by the Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) - and a call by it for greater consultations, and the objections of the local ZAWA office and of the Natural Heritage Conservation Commission. No application has been made to the Livingstone City Council, and no consultations of any kind carried out with the Natural Resources Consultative Forum of Zambia (NRCF) - established by the MTENR to oversee natural resource and conservation concerns, or with civil society in general. And, in flagrant disregard for international conventions, approval has not been given by UNESCO for the scheme, threatening its World Heritage status and prospects for the area’s conservation and economic development as a major world tourism destination. As the Park is currently receiving the investment attention of the World Bank under the SEED programme, it seems likely that they are not aware of the development.

2 THE AREA

The Victoria Falls and its surrounds - both in Zimbabwe and Zambia, is a World Heritage Site and is therefore protected by international convention. It is also a designated Important Bird Area (IBA) as declared by Birdlife International.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) management plan (The Strategic Environmental Assessment of Developments around Victoria Falls, June 1996) for the area states categorically that no developments should be allowed within the boundaries of the site, and that the wilderness value and the biodiversity of the area are prime resources which have to be maintained. This is further endorsed by ZAWA’s Mosi oa Tunya General Management Plan (GMP) of May 1999 which inter alia states:

A national park, by definition must possess nationally significant natural or cultural resources and retain a high degree of integrity as a true, accurate, and relatively unspoiled example of a resource;

Section 3 (Planning Guidelines) states clearly:

“Management emphasis in national parks will be to minimize all undesirable human impacts on wildlife populations”;

Section 3..5.1 (Natural Resources) states the priorities for the management of the national park will include:

Protecting and conserving the Zambezi River and its riverine vegetation. Any development – local, national, international – which threatens the integrity of the riverine ecosystem should be opposed in the strongest terms.

Figure 7 in the GMP illustrates the distribution of management zones within the national park.

A narrow river-side path route is provided between the Maramba River and the present Sun Hotel site for pedestrian access. The rest of that sector is designated for general tourism activity where permanent structures cannot be erected without full justification. Permitted activities in the Tourism Zone include only: game drives; escorted walks and picnics.

The narrow, river-side development zone north of the Maramba River will be restricted to existing developments and to jetties, information centres, car parks, toilets and picnic sites. In this area “…no new leases will be considered…These limitations are imposed to keep development to a minimum and safeguard the corridor used by wildlife in this narrow and restricted part of the park.”

The resorts are being built on that specifically identified narrow part of the national park where elephant cross the river and move through to the gorges - an area of major conservation importance for water birds and other wildlife, and also the only part of the river near the Victoria Falls accessible to the people of Livingstone. The road that runs from the cultural center along the Maramba River to the confluence is a public road and any change in its status requires that it be de-gazetted


3 THE DEVELOPMENT

The two hotels are to be built on either side of the Maramba River near its confluence with the Zambezi. The golf course will span either side of the Maramba River, surrounding Maramba River Lodge and extend up to the bridge that crosses the Maramba River on the Mosi o Tunya Road. Two bridges are to be built across the Maramba River, one near the confluence and one further along to allow golfers to cross. These developments are all in complete contradiction to the General Management Plan.

On the 20th July 2006 at least three beacons marking, apparently, some of the corners of the Legacy site, were erected. A vehicle belonging to Turner Construction, and some workers constructing the foundation stone near Maramba Cultural Village were also seen.

4 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
4.1 Wildlife
Elephant frequent the area between Sun Hotels and the Maramba River, their passage hindered by increasing tourist activity and the developments built to support them. The area in question is the last remaining intact area of good vegetation where elephant are free from human pressure. It is crucial that this area remains undeveloped and conserved as a route for animals within the Park and those crossing the river to travel to the gorge and the Mukuni area.

The IUCN management plan states “there should be access to the riverbank and animal crossing points”. The Legacy development ignores this stricture. In the case of Sun Hotels, they failed to solve the baboon and elephant problem and have fenced in order to keep the elephant out. How will Legacy cope with elephant, baboon, hippo if Sun Hotels have failed? ZAWA’s recent directive that all fences in the Park be taken down - including Maramba River Lodge and Sun International, will increase the number of people killed, and that of elephant in retaliation. And an unfenced golf course will place golfers at risk. Should ZAWA relent and allow Legacy to fence the area, it would cut off elephant and other wildlife from the other sections of the Park and the gorges below the Falls. There are already problems of elephant raiding villagers’ crops and destroying life and property due to their normal routes being disturbed.

Tourism is beginning to expand in Livingstone, and apart from the Victoria Falls, one of the main attractions is the wildlife to be found in the Mosi oa Tunya National Park. The present fenced area of the Park is being seriously degraded by elephant which have stripped and ring-barked trees. The area allocated as a golf course is prime elephant feeding and resting ground with thick forest and undergrowth, giving them some respite from the pressure of helicopters and microlights, tourist activities and lodges, hotels, farms and villagers. The area is also a critically important hippo grazing area, and the Maramba River confluence is important for crocodile viewing and for water birds. As an undeveloped area with minimal road access, the area is crucial for breeding and feeding grounds for a number of species.

WECSZ and the Livingstone Museum has, twice a year for the past ten years, conducted a bi-annual water bird count in July and January along this stretch of the Zambezi and the Maramba. The new development will impact on this study as the count includes the area 10km up river of the Victoria Falls. Already river access for this type of study has been cut off by the Sun Hotels, Waterfront, Boat Club and other developments, so that the Legacy development will leave only the fenced area of the Park, a comparatively small part of the river to conduct a census of water birds (49 species of birds were identified on the north bank on a recent survey by WECSZ).

4.2 Vegetation
The IUCN report states that no mature trees or riparian vegetation should be cut down. In a study by the WECSZ, a total of 54 species of woody plants were recorded on the right bank of the river. It was found to be heavily infested in places with exotic Lantana, melia and gums (Eucalyptus); apart from these the indigenous vegetation appears intact, Kigelia Africana, Combretum, Acacia, Diospyrus, Terminalia, Bauhina are just some of the 54 species of trees recorded and are of good size, being undisturbed by human encroachment. Of special interest is tree wistaria, Bolusanthus speciosus, a marginal species for Zambia but an endemic monobasic genus of the Zambezian phytochorological region. This species by itself is enough to recommend the site for preservation, as it is of frequent occurrence here and the trees are of good form and height, thus offering Zambians a unique opportunity to see this beautiful tree within their own country.

4.3 People’s access to the Zambezi and Maramba Rivers
This stretch of river - particularly between the Maramba River and the Falls, has always been a favourite spot for picnics and social outings – though it has reduced recently because of the thugs and bad roads. It is crucial that this area is kept open for Zambians. The Legacy Holdings Development will permanently remove all the river frontage from the general public.

4.4 Golf courses
The Livingstone Golf Course has just opened in town after a 2 million US$ renovation. This is the second oldest golf course in Zambia, and is a historic site. The Elephant Hills golf course is opposite the proposed Legacy site across the river. There is no need for another golf course.

5 CONCLUSION
Livingstone residents are not against development. They need and want development. But one of the main attractions for visitors (and hence the thousands of visitors every year) is the Victoria Falls, the Mosi-O-Tunya National Park and the wildlife in the area. IUCN stresses that one of the principle attractions of the area to visitors is its perceived “wilderness” value and “the juxtaposition of natural wild area with modern visitor amenities. If this wilderness is lost due to over-development, then the visitors will not come and the economy and social structures will suffer.” IUCN Victoria falls – Skeleton Management Plan Part 1. Quite simply, if the Park is destroyed through over-development many of the visitors will stay away.

However, as a World Heritage Site it is incumbent on us to protect it for all mankind by respecting and using the planning and conservation frameworks already available in a long-sighted and conscientious manner that are not driven by short-term commercial motives.