A proposed road detour in an ecologically important Hwange National Park buffer zone has ignited concerns among Zimbabwes tourism industry with experts warning it could destroy critical animal migration corridors, trigger wildlife deaths, cripple high-end tourism bookings and put rural children in the direct path of 30 tonne trucks.
The detour from Cross Mabale to Mpofu and Dete to Cross Dete is the chosen 45km temporary route while contractor Asphalt Products rehabilitates the crumbling Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road. Stakeholders, including Painted Dog Conservation and the Amalinda Safari Collection, which runs three lodges in the area, claim they werent consulted before the decision was taken.
Sharon Stead , CEO of Amalinda Safari Collection, which operates Khulu Bush Camp, Ivory Lodge and Sable Valley, detailed the operational and ecological threats in a letter sent to the contractor last month. She also sent the letter to key stakeholders: the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and the Forestry Commission.