DAY TWO
Participants spent the whole day in the field doing a physical survey of the park and its issues and problems. The following are some of the things observed:
Near northern end (Nakatindi Compound and Dambwa Site & Service extensions)
• What should be done about a gate at the railway crossing (Mulobezi Railway Line) in the north end of the park?
• What is to be done about a leaking water pipe near the park fence which is used by local residents in the nearby compound but also attracts elephants and other animals?
• Residential areas right up against park fence - some legal, some illegal - houses within 10 m of electric fence
• Buffaloes had gone through the electric fence the previous night, damaging it seriously.
• Littering inside park fence nearby compound
• Women go under the electric fence to collect firewood in the park by pushing a branch under and lifting it up.
• Cleared area along fence is used as toilet for compound residents
• Danger signs on electric fence have been vandalized
Sewage Settling Ponds
• Sewage ponds are right on park boundary
• Seepage of sewage into the park has caused death of trees in one area, due to high concentration of salts
• Leaking water pipe near the upcoming Chrismar Hotel is providing water for animals in the park - but needs repair. So far the Water company have been unable to repair it.
• Chrismar Hotel has encroached on to park land - still under discussion
Gate 1 (Main entrance and revenue point into zoological park)
• Gate house, toilets
• Steep river banks prevent small animals from using the Zambezi River for water
• Therefore water has to be pumped into the park from the river
• Water is carried in drums for the staff at the entrance
• Plot between main gate and waterworks intake has apparently been allocated to a private investor and title deeds given. ZAWA is trying to make a follow up to find out how this was done. Council does not seem to be aware of it.
• Waste disposal from litter bins is done twice a week by park staff. Recommendation that they register with Council
• Sewage goes into septic tanks which are emptied when required, however, there are no lids on the main tank due to risk of elephant damage, so emptying is done by sucking from a nearby inspection hole.
• Other developments nearby (e.g. Boat Club, Waterfront) all have septic tanks - same at Falls, except for Sun Hotel, which ran their own pipe to the main sewage system.
• Environmental Council, during a survey of sewage disposal in developments along the river, once found that some had soak-aways as close as 4 m from the river. Others pump out the sewage from septic tanks at night straight into the river.
• Recommendation to link into the main sewage line, e.g, via the new Chrismar Hotel.
Lookout Tree (southern end)
• There were now three cellphone antennae, for the three companies, each one being a very poor imitation of a tree, but in fact being an eyesore to everyone within about a 5 kilometre radius. They could even be seen from Zimbabwe.
• 2 boreholes had been sunk near the lookout tree to provide water for animals
Songwe Village
• The park boundary ran along Songwe River. However, Songwe Village had encroached beyond the river and up to the road. As a compromise to this problem it had been resolved to move the park boundary to the road.
• In compensation, Chief Mukuni had given a portion of land further north to the park. This included Chief Mukuni Royal Lodge (formerly Lost Horizons) and a plot earmarked for a Proposed Playland Lodge. This area constituted about 48 hectares.
Near Songwe River
• The fence will cross the road at this point, going towards the gorge. But local villagers had complained that they use the area for grazing their cattle.
Songwe Gorge
• This was the southernmost tip of the park
• The site had been advertised for tourism development (2 hectares)
• NHCC emphasized that when surveying the plot a 50m radius should be left around the national monument site.
• A question was raised as to whether water points should be provided at this point, since it was a very dry and rocky area
• There had been discussion as to whether to make fishing camps in the gorge, since some of the local villagers went to fish here. It was pointed out that there was a big cave at the bottom of the gorge which could be used by fishermen, although sometimes it was occupied by a leopard
United Air Charter (North of Songwe Gorge)
• This tourism development was built on land under title belonging to the Mwiinga family
• More than half of the plot was within the park
• It was not known how or when they got title
• There was need to decide what to do about it
• This was followed further north by Nawa Farm and then the Crocodile Farm, belonging to Joe Brooks
• The Crocodile Farm was also partly in the park
Park Headquarters
• The new park HQ would be built on the site of the old Maramba Cultural Centre, on the northern bank of the Maramba River next to the Road.
• It was still to be decided where the park entrance gate would be.
Legacy Holdings
• Just next to the plot designated for park HQ was the foundation stone for the proposed Legacy development. This development would span the whole width of land between the Zambezi River and the road all the way to Sun Hotels, an area of about 200 hectares.
• Apparently the developers had been given a 75 year lease
• The development would include 2 five-star hotels conference facilities and an 18-hole golf course
• After questions it was revealed that Tourism Investments Ltd (Zambia) had originally applied for a small plot of land along the Zambezi just north of Maramba River mouth and south of the ‘Common Marina’. This plot had been advertised and apparently covered 4 hectares. After winning the tender the company requested for more land, since their proposed development would not fit within the 4 ha. They were granted more. They then went into partnership with Legacy Group of South Africa. Legacy expanded the project idea and demanded for more extensions to the land. These demands were made through higher offices in government and ZAWA was forced to grant it to them.
• ZAWA were then INVITED to a ceremony for the unveiling of the foundation stone to be done by the President of the Republic.
• The current situation was that an EIA was underway and was due to be submitted by the end of the week. The document would then become public and a copy deposited with the local authority for public scrutiny. This would be followed by a public hearing.
Picnic Site near Gate 4 (north-eastern end Riverside Drive)
• There was need to consider the damage to the trees in the park by elephants
• Consider if this site was suitable as a picnic site
• The New Imusho Village was now about 1 kilometre away, upriver
• The Old Imusho Village Site had been advertised and for tourism development. The tender was won by Wilderness Tours Ltd, who were to build Imusho Lodge. A Tourism Concession Agreement had been signed and the EIA was in process.
Rhino monitoring centre
• This was the old staff compound. It had been abandoned due to the state of disrepair of the houses and the lack of suitable facilities
• Now only one house was used to accommodate staff who were monitoring the rhino and worked in shifts
• National Milling had recently donated some old bags of animal feed for the rhinos. It had been stored in some of the houses at the centre. But in the night the elephants had come and broken into the houses, knocking down walls and pulling out window frames to get at the food. The food had since been distributed at suitable points in the park and the remaining bags taken to HQ.
Islands
• Two islands had been advertised for tourism activities - Kakunka Island (opposite Riverside Drive) and an Island near Thorntree.
• No permanent structures were to be allowed on these islands.
• It was pointed out that if these were within the World Heritage Site appropriate measures should be applied
Victoria Falls
• The Field Museum, under NHCC was to be rehabilitated to international standards
• The shop next to it, the ‘Shop that Thunders’ belonged to NHCC but was on lease.
• There had been some disturbance to the vegetation around the Falls by elephants
• About 50 species of indigenous plants had been added to the area
• Water was pumped from the river for irrigation
• Lantana camara plant, an invasive alien species, was a problem, particularly on Knife Edge Island
• Livingstone Island was leased from ZAWA by Tongabezi. The investors did not like the public to use ‘their’ island.
Boiling Pot and Palm Grove
• A ZESCO diversion pipe from the power station used to drop unused sediment water at the Falls, making a mini-falls
• ZESCO had been requested to move the pipe away from the Falls since it made an undesirable visual impact at the Falls, particularly during the dry season when the actual Falls was almost dry
• The pipe had therefore last year been redirected to the Boiling Pot route. The pipe now goes down the path through Palm Grove to the Boiling Pot. Works had finished early in 2006.
• This redirection was not without its own problems. The gullies left in the gorge from digging the ditch for the pipe were prone to serious soil erosion.
• It had also now created a mini-water fall at the bottom of the gorge, which could be seen from the Falls lookout points. The steps down to the Boiling Pot had also been disturbed but efforts to repair them had been made.
• ZESCO and NHCC had made a rehabilitation plan to repair all the damage to the environment, but this plan had not yet been implemented, probably due to lack of funding
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