Livingstone — President Mnangagwa has arrived in Livingstone, Zambia,to attend the Kavango Zambezi (Kaza) Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) Summit, where Zimbabwe is expected to assume the position of Kaza TFCA coordinating chair.

The President was welcomed at the Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport by Zambia's Minister of Green Economy and Environment Collins Nzovu, Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Zambia Charity Charamba and other dignitaries.

Five Sadc Heads of State from Angola, Botswana, Namibia. Zambia and Zimbabwe are attending the Summit.

As the chair, Zimbabwe will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Kaza TFCA secretariat, which is located in Botswana.

This is a significant role for Zimbabwe, as the Kaza TFCA is the largest transfrontier conservation area in the world, spanning 520,000 square kilometres across the five SADC countries.

The area has a population of over two million people and well over 200 000 elephants.

Seventy percent of the land is under conservation, with 103 wildlife management areas, 85 forest reserves and three world heritage sites.

The 2024 Kaza Heads of State Summit was supposed to be held close to four years ago but was disturbed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Friday, Kaza TFCA unveiled a new tourism brand - Rivers of Life.

This brand captures the region's rich biodiversity, iconic wildlife like elephants, diverse cultures and life-giving rivers.

Part of deliberations at the Summit will include the continued ban on ivory trade by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Kaza member States are reportedly sitting on over US$1 billion worth of ivory stockpiles. Zimbabwe has the world's second largest elephant population at about 100 000 after Botswana, which has about 130 000.