Jumbos and Humans - the Conflict
Davis Mataka
16 March 2010



A COUPLE of weeks ago, Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata made a startling statement, this was after President Rupiah Banda commissioned the rehabilitation works of the Chipata Mfuwe Road.

He contended that the reconstruction of the road was a waste of tax-payers money as it would only benefit elephants and hippos.

And how wrong he was because the importance of that stretch of land is that it leads into one of the last bastions of true African wilderness and the vast opportunities it presents in terms of tourism potential and jobs for the locals is infinite.

It is also part of the reason that this week, Zambia among other countries will be in the spotlight at in Doha, Qatar at the 15th meeting of the Conference for Parties to the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES) where issues of wildlife will be critically examined and reviewed and very important decisions made.

This is mainly because this country plays host to a sizeable percentage of wild animals, thanks to the sound policies of the Government on tourism over the years.

Of utmost importance on Zambia's agenda at the meeting will be its attempt to have the status of its jumbos reviewed and most cardinal, if its stockpile of ivory can be deposed of.

Not so long ago, I took a drive on the rugged dirty paths of the Luangwa Valley or Malambo as it is fondly known, past the desolate, deserted village of Chimbwa in Chief Malama's area and as I painstakingly meandered through, the scenes evoked a sense of deep anger and resentment.

I have never, in my entire life, seen so much splendour and beauty as giraffes, zebras, an array of antelopes, elephants, lions and other smaller animals strut in perfect compliment, unperturbed by the hustle and bustle and contamination of the cities.

However, it is maybe in this part of the sprawling South Luangwa National Park more than anywhere else in the country that the realities of human-animal conflict come alive, exposing you in stark and vivid manner how this partly self inflicted phenomena has manifested.

In Chimbwa, one of the cluster of once bustling villages of the diminutive Kunda tribe, a people who settled in the game-rich area in the early 1700s from Kola in Congo, the going has not been as good as the late legendary musician Lazarus Tembo once sang: "Kwasu Ku Malambo Nkwabwino", literally translated 'because of the abundance of game, Malambo is a haven of good life.'

For hundreds of years, these people lived in perfect harmony with the wild, helping keep a delicate balance between themselves and the hundreds of different species of animals and always ensuring they were on top of the food chain- but not anymore.

A shadow of its once former self, Chimbwa has been deserted, with humans upstaged by nature as the masters over everything- the village left to the fast encroaching forests where man dares not venture out or risks being mauled by a marauding leopard or lion, or even a scavenging hyena scraping for some abandoned carcass.

The biggest danger of all is the likelihood of being trampled by a herd of elephants - These giants of the jungle reign supreme and no creature, not even humans dare stand in their way as they scour for food.

In Chimbwa, only two huts and huge mango trees stand as evidence that once, this was an inhabited village with all the trappings of a community.

At closer scrutiny, shows that a spirited attempt to erect electric fences around the village to keep the jumbos away from the humans was made.

A weary-looking village headman, the last remaining care-taker of the culture and history of the place stands dejected as he shows the damage to the huts of the previous night of continuous harassment by elephants.

Not in the very distant past, projects to grow chili-pepper bushes around human settlements to snuff off the elephants also proved unattainable as their undying yearning for the mango fruits and maize crop grown near and around the villages proved too overpowering.

Such attempts through local and Government-funded initiatives to protect human life from destruction by wild animals, especially elephants have failed lamentably - The jumbos are just unstoppable.All this human-animal conflict thanks to a very successful Government-aided campaign to save the elephant population from extinction initiated in the 1990s when the jumbos were in serious threat from being wiped off the face of Africa, largely due to over- poaching for its ivory tusks which fetch fortunes on the world market.

The programme was such a hit that from the threatened populations of just a little more than 20,000 elephants in the 1990s, the population has soared to over 30,000 animals.

From miles around, the scars of elephant over- population inflicted on the vegetation of largely sparsely wooded grassland are visible.

Fallen trees, stripped barks, soil erosion and just general degradation of the environment is evident.

The once inherent danger posed by poachers has since dramatically reduced and this thanks also to highly successful programmes which encouraged poachers to exchange their firearms for money and free rehabilitation coupled with a more sustainable mode of income to raise their families.

The political leadership has since become more sensitive to the growing number of complaints of human-animal conflict, perpetuated deaths and destruction of property and food and has reviewed some of the undertakings that it has in the past kept as regards to the preservation and protection of animal species and in this regard elephants.

At the Doha meeting, Zambia's proposal is intended to enhance sustainable conservation practises for the African elephant population which no longer falls under the category of endangered species with over 30,000 animals in the wild at the last count.

According to Environment Minister Catherine Namugala, part of the Government proposal is to also clear stock of ivory which has soared in excess of 30 tonnes since 1992, largely from those animals which have died from natural causes and others retrieved from poachers.

Zambia's position is that it will not, in this era, allow for human-animal conflict to escalate to levels where communities are disadvantaged by the growing populations, especially of elephants when this can actually be used to their advantage.


Through the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), Government wants to use the status quo to improve the standards of living for its people through sustainable conservation practises where communities can get a livelihood and set up development programmes using the abundance of the jumbos.

Another way Government hopes to raise the standard of living of the communities which share the same habitat with the animals is through trophy hunting.

This can be a lucrative way which, while keeping the elephant population in check, the inhabitants will benefit through the co-ordination of hunting licences.

It is hoped that those representing Zambia can put up a good case for her to ensure that decisions that were made decades ago, in some cases, even displacing people from their homes to pave way for the large national parks and sanctuaries should begin to pay off.