In December 2006 the governments of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the establishment of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) TFCA over a huge area of land that stretches from the Khaudum National Park in Namibia in the west to Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe to the east.
The vision for the KAZA TFCA is ‘to establish a world-class transfrontier conservation area and tourism destination in the Okavango and Zambezi river-basin regions within the context of sustainable development’.
One of the main objectives of the KAZA TFCA is to join fragmented wildlife habitats into an interconnected mosaic of PAs and transboundary wildlife corridors, which will facilitate and enhance the free movement of animals across international boundaries. The KAZA TFCA area incorporates the largest contiguous elephant population in Africa. The number of elephants in northern Botswana alone is estimated at more than 130 000. The area includes at least 3 000 species of plants, 100 of which are endemic to the sub-region, as well as more than 600 bird species.
The KAZA TFCA would also promote cross border tourism, linking some of the world’s premier tourism destinations, including the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The Namibian component of KAZA TFCA plays a pivotal role in providing migration routes for wildlife between Angola,Botswana and Zambia.
