As a government agency for wildlife conservation, ZimParks manages approximately five million hectares of land. From 2020 to 2021, widespread poaching was seen in the parks as a result of a pandemic-impaired local economy and an absence of tourists in the parks. Wildlife-human conflicts were on the increase. In 2020, there were more than 50 injuries and 60 deaths due to growing wildlife-human conflicts, according to ZimParks’ records on its website.

To better equip its staff, especially its “boots on the ground” - the rangers, with the essential tools they need to cope with the situation, ZimParks has teamed up with Hytera to build a communication and dispatch system that allows the staff to be mobilized effectively and efficiently across the sprawling parks. The cooperation has also brought Hytera digital two-way radios to the rangers, granting them access to park-wide radio communication.

“We have rangers who are actually doing their jobs very effectively on the ground. They are our boots on the ground. But they are facing a lot of challenges as they do their work. You would find, the poachers want to kill them. The same animals they are protecting also want to kill and injure them. So the best way out, for us to actually deal with the first line of defense effectively, is to come up with effective communication, which is radio communication,” said Dr. Fulton Mangwanya, Director General of ZimParks. “Given that GSM is not covering all the parks in most cases. So, with radio communication which is very effective, our problems are solved in terms of protecting wildlife or law enforcement issues.”

“The remoteness of the area and absence of present-day cellphone signal coverage coupled with the nature of the work, with high chances of encountering armed and dangerous wildlife criminals as well as dangerous animals, reptiles, and insects, make our work all the more challenging. However, my training as well as reliable Hytera radio communication coverage in the area give me the confidence to engage the poachers, and even the excessive heat,” said Ms. Theressa Makunike, one of ZimParks’ rangers.

Mark Zheng, director of Hytera Southern Africa commented on the partnership, said, “We are committed to supporting ZimParks’ efforts to tackle poaching and enhance the safety of rangers. Wildlife conservation is crucial to a sustainable future and we are glad that our radios are making contributions to this. We wish ZimParks all the best in their efforts to protect wild animals and will continue to work with them closely.”

Zimbabwe recorded a decline in wildlife poaching in 2022, with a total of 36 key wildlife animals being poached in 2022, down from 42 in 2021.