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Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan Part 1

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Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan Part 1 MANA POOLS NATIONAL PARK GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN PART 1: THE MANAGEMENT PLAN This plan was produced using a participatory approach involving stakeholders. Where possible, ideas and suggestions put forward by stakeholders have been included in the document. It represents the way forward for the park that has agreement from stakeholders. The document should be read in conjunction with Part 2 – Background – as this contain the information on which many of the decisions in the plan are based. Focussing the planning effort on Mana Pools rather than on the ZPWMA estate in lower Zambezi valley complicated the document. Some issues are obviously cross-cutting and are difficult to address in isolation. A valley-wide planning effort should be considered a priority. Writing a management plan for a protected area in Zimbabwe presented special challenges owing to the economic situation that the country finds itself. On the one hand we are confident that recovery is imminent and that the park and its facilities and management will be restored. However, there is a danger that the document will become a wish list and that implementation will be difficult. In addition, some of the issues facing Mana Pools need to be addressed at a countrywide level by the Authority. Important among these are standardisation of accommodation and leases. For this plan to be successful, both the political and financial commitment must be forthcoming from the Government of National Unity and from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. Without this prospects for implementation and efficient management of the park are dismal. Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan Maps MAPS Roads and Infrastructure Road Status All Weather Adequate Tracks {{ Important Bridges ¡¡ Airstrips - Page i - Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan Maps Relief and Drainage Metres asl 1500 1250 1000 750 500 250 Location and Neighbouring Areas Safari Area /GMA Communal Land/State Land National Park - Page ii - Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan Foreword FOREWORD - Page iii - Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan: Part 1 - The Plan Approval Page APPROVAL PAGE - Page iv - Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan: Part 1 - The Plan Contents CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................1 1: PLAN FUNDAMENTALS...................................................3 1.1: INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................3 1.1.1 The Planning Area ..........................................................................................................3 1.1.2 Document Structure And Function..................................................................................3 1.1.3 Previous Planning Initiatives ...........................................................................................3 1.1.4 Current Planning Process ...............................................................................................3 1.2: BACKGROUND INFORMATION SUMMARY...........................................6 1.2.1 Legal And Administrative Framework .............................................................................6 1.2.2 Resource Inventory.........................................................................................................6 1.2.3 Management And Use ....................................................................................................9 1.3: EXCEPTIONAL RESOURCES AND PURPOSE ....................................11 1.3.1 Exceptional Resources .................................................................................................11 1.3.2 Mana Pools Purpose.....................................................................................................13 1.4: MANAGEMENT ZONING .......................................................................15 1.4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................15 1.4.2 Mana Pools National Park Zones ..............................................................................15 1.5: MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES...........................................................17 1.5.1 Background...................................................................................................................17 1.5.2 Management Programme Definition And Objectives Summary ................................17 2 BIODIVERSITY PROGRAMME .......................................21 2.1 INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE AND KEY COMPONENTS.........................21 2.2 THREATS, ISSUES AND CONCERNS .....................................................23 2.3 GUIDING PRINCIPLES..............................................................................28 2.4 CONSERVATION TARGETS ....................................................................30 2.4.1 Methodology..................................................................................................................30 2.4.2 Mana Pools Conservation Targets................................................................................30 2.5 OBJECTIVES, TARGETS AND ACTIVITIES ............................................33 2.6 MONITORING AND RESEARCH FRAMEWORK .....................................47 2.6.1 MANA POOLS ECOLOGICAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH PLAN .....................48 2.7 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION ....................................51 2.8 INDICATIVE BUDGET ...............................................................................51 3 TOURISM PROGRAMME................................................55 3.1 INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE AND KEY COMPONENTS.........................55 3.2 THREATS, ISSUES AND CONCERNS .....................................................57 3.3 GUIDING PRINCIPLES..............................................................................60 3.4 ZONES AND LIMITS OF ACCEPTABLE USE..........................................62 3.5 OBJECTIVES, TARGETS AND ACTIVITIES ............................................71 3.6 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION ....................................91 3.7 INDICATIVE BUDGET ...............................................................................91 - Page v - Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan: Part 1 - The Plan Contents 4 PARK OPERATIONS PROGRAMME............................. 95 4.1 INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE AND KEY COMPONENTS ........................ 95 4.2 THREATS, ISSUES AND CONCERNS..................................................... 96 4.3 GUIDING PRINCIPLES ........................................................................... 100 4.4 OBJECTIVES, TARGETS AND ACTIVITIES.......................................... 101 4.5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION.................................. 118 4.6 INDICATIVE BUDGET ............................................................................ 118 5 NEIGHBOURS PROGRAMME ..................................... 121 5.1 INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE AND KEY COMPONENTS ...................... 121 5.2 THREATS, ISSUES AND CONCERNS................................................... 122 5.3 GUIDING PRINCIPLES ........................................................................... 124 5.4 OBJECTIVES, TARGETS AND ACTIVITIES.......................................... 126 5.5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION.................................. 137 5.6 INDICATIVE BUDGET ............................................................................ 137 ANNEX: PLANNING PARTICIPANTS ................................. 141 1 Core Planning Team ................................................................................. 141 2 Meeting Attendance.................................................................................. 141 - Page vi - Mana Pools National Park General Management Plan: Part 1 - The Plan Contents FIGURES Figure 1: Zone plan for Mana Pools National Park ..................................................................................1 Figure 2: The planning cycle framework for the ZPWMA ........................................................................5 Figure 3: Zone plan for Mana Pools National Park ................................................................................15 Figure 4: Mana Pools Zones ..................................................................................................................62 Figure 5: Zambezi Zone and Nyamepi Sub-zone ..................................................................................65 Figure 6: Nyamatusi Zone ......................................................................................................................66 Figure 7: Rukomechi and Kanga Zones.................................................................................................67 Figure 8: Chiruwe Zone..........................................................................................................................68 Figure 9: Southern, Escarpment and Springs Zones.............................................................................69 TABLES Table 1: Mechanisms for stakeholder participation in the KWS planning process ..................................4 Table 2: Summary of exceptional resources of the Mana Pools National Park.....................................11 Table 3: BIODIVERSITY Exceptional Resources ..................................................................................11 Table 4: SCENIC Exceptional Resources..............................................................................................12
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