SIMALAHA COMMUNITY CONSERVANCY

Meaning ‘come together’, Simalaha is an apt name for the community conservancy inspired and driven by the Sesheke and Sekhute chiefdoms. Bordering the Zambezi River on the Zambezi-Chobe floodplain, Simalaha is where wildlife and people come together and co-exist under one sky as they once did many years ago.

The vision of the Sesheke and Sekhute chiefs to rehabilitate and conserve the region has become a reality through a partnership with Peace Parks Foundation. The development of this wildlife conservancy and the implementation of viable natural resource management have been key in uplifting local communities, creating income-generating opportunities through nature-based economies and tourism opportunities.

Simalaha forms part of the world’s largest trans-frontier conservation area, the Kavango Zambezi Transformation Conservancy Area (KAZA) that spans five countries and 520 000km² / 323 113mi². The conservancy is fundamental to re-establishing wildlife populations and their migration routes through KAZA.

Wildebeest, zebra, red lechwe, puku, hartebeest, impala, waterbuck, giraffe, buffalo, eland and sable have been re-introduced to the plains. More and more wildlife can start to traverse old migration paths safely and elephants have been seen walking their historical timelines. The days when the flood plains were teeming with wildlife, the forests thick and the people benefiting from this rich environment, are once more slowly being realised.