Friday, March 29, 2024

Zawa warns of stern action to squatters of Lukusuzi national park

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THE Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) has warned the people who have illegally encroached on Lukusuzi National Park in Lundazi District, Eastern Province of stern action.

Zawa Public Relations Officer Sakabilo Kalembwe said yesterday that it was illegal for people to be squatting in the national parks.

Mr Kalembwe said the law was clear that the people should not squat in the national parks because doing so was depleting the wildlife.

He said the people who were illegally settling in the national parks were cutting down trees thereby threatening the wildlife.

Mr Kalembwe said Zawa shall apply the necessary tools to ensure that the people who were squatting in Lukusuzi National Park move out.

He said the people who were illegally in the national park were suppose to move out in 2013 and wondered why the people were still squatting.

“Zawa shall move in to chase away people who have settled in the Lukusuzi National Park because as far as I am concerned these people were supposed to move out in 2013,”Mr Kalembwe said.

He said Lukusuzi National Park was in a joint programme of Zambia-Malawi Transfrontier saying the encroaching of the people was giving a tight corridor to the wildlife.

Recently Lundazi District Commissioner Mukule Banda said more than 3,000 people have encroached on Lukusuzi National Park in Lundazi.

3 COMMENTS

  1. If they were to vacate in 2013, what took ZAWA this long to make a move? It’s also about resource use so how are they managing in a game park? Are they depending on wildlife for consumption and what about cooking methods which can cause fire. Have we thought about human waste as well as waste production and where it is being deposited or recycled? ZAWA and the tourism minister of arts Jean Kapata should have taken a proactive role in maintaining the well being of the national park: economically, social-culturally and environmentally. If not managed and maintained, then the well being of the park will be jeopardized. For example a rapid surge of people might create an unbalance and exceed sewage disposal. It is key for management to find a balance in order to sustain the environment.

  2. I FULLY SUPPORT ZAWA. GUYS SQUATING IN THE PARKS ARE DEPLETING WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

    IF THIS IS NOT CHECKED INCLUDING CHARCOAL BURNING, WE AS A COUNTRY SHOULD FORGET TREES AND WILDLIFE IN FIVE YEARS TIME FROM NOW.

    WHY CANT PARLIAMENT PASS A STIFF LAW AGAINST SQUATING IN THE PARK, WILDLIFE AND CHARCOAL BURNING TO PRESERVE THESE ENDANGERED SPECIES?

    GO ZAWA GO!!!!!!!! DO IT IN KNP AS WELL.

  3. You say these people were supposed to move out in 2013, and you are warning them in 2015, can I conclude that you will move in to evict them in 2017, perhaps? The question is why did you not act to move them out in 2013? Did you want them to harvest their crops before forcing them out? If so, how possible is it for them to grow crops with wildlife around them?

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