The Republic of Zimbabwe will host the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCA) International Conference and Summit of Heads of State and Government, from 19 to 23 May 2025 at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC). The summit will be held under the theme: “Transfrontier Conservation Areas-25 years of cooperation for regional integration and sustainable development.”
TFCAs are collaborative conservation efforts that span across national borders, designed to promote biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of resources, and eco-tourism.
These initiatives hold significant importance for Zimbabwe and other SADC Member States covered by TFCAs, as they not only safeguard vital ecosystems and wildlife but also contribute to economic growth, enhance regional cooperation, and empower local communities.
This pivotal summit will bring together delegates from across the region, including current and former Heads of State and Government from SADC Member States, traditional leaders, conservation partners, international organisations representatives, and experts from relevant sectors.
The primary objectives of the conference and summit are to strengthen political commitment to the TFCA Programme, promote investments in TFCAs, and enhance cross-sectoral integration for sustainable development.
The SADC TFCA International Conference and Summit is supported by the European Union and Germany as its key institutional partners. For Germany, the development of TFCAs has been a major focus area of its cooperation with SADC and its Member States, during the past 25 years, with an overall investment of more than 270 million Euros, via instruments such as the SADC TFCA Financing Facility and the Legacy Landscape Fund. The EU has just kickstarted it’s NaturAfrica Global Gateway flagship initiative accelerating the support to SADC TFCAs with 33 million Euros for the SADC region. This programme focuses on conservation of natural resources, improvement of livelihoods and governance in TFCAs
Expected outcomes from the summit include the development of an action plan to support the SADC TFCA Programme (2023 - 2033), new binding agreements for establishing additional TFCAs, the signing of Joint Management Frameworks, and sustainable financing agreements between SADC Heads of State and Government and International Cooperating Partners. Additionally, there will be a review of ongoing efforts to implement the SADC TFCA model of cooperation, reinforcing partnerships among SADC Member States.
Through this summit, SADC and TFCA partners aim to strengthen their collective commitment to preserving Southern Africa’s rich biodiversity and to creating a sustainable future for generations to come, especially for the SADC citizens, who are essential to the success of these conservation efforts and their beneficiary.
For more information, please contact:
Tinashe Farawo (ZimParks Spokesperson) on Tel:+263772433901 Email: tfarawo@zimparks.org.zw
Ms. Barbara Lopi, Head of Communication and Public Relations, SADC Secretariat Tel: (+267) 364 1790; (+267) 395 1863 (Ext 1790) Email: blopi@sadc.int and cc to prinfo@sadc.int
SADC in Brief
SADC is an organisation of 16 Member States established in 1980 as the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) and later, in August,1992 transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The mission of SADC is to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through efficient, productive systems, deeper cooperation and integration, good governance and durable peace and security; so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy. Member States are Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
EU in Brief
The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political union between 27 European countries. The objectives of the EU are to safeguard peace and to ensure economic and social progress through the creation of a European internal market and the strengthening of social cohesion. Over the years, the EU saw its competences expanded through successive treaties. While its vocation was initially primarily economic with the creation of a huge single market, the European Union has become an eminently political entity. From six founding countries or Member States in the 1950s, it has grown into a Union of 27 countries with a population of almost 450 million people, expanding over nearly the whole European continent.
Historically, EU’s cooperation support focused on promoting regional economic integration and infrastructure in the Southern African region, and, since the early 2000s, the EU has provided over 400 million Euros to advance the regional integration agenda through SADC. In 2007, cooperation expanded to cover peace and security. In 2014, environmental management and SADC institutional strengthening were added. Today, the priority areas are regional economic integration, peace and security, regional natural resources management, and institutional capacity building. These priority areas are aligned with SADC’s Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030 and Vision 2050.
Germany in Brief
The Federal Republic Germany is the world’s third-largest economy and a founding member of the European Union. German development cooperation exists since 1961. The most important tasks of German development policy include the global realisation of human rights, the fight against hunger and poverty, the protection of the climate and biodiversity, health and education, gender equality, fair supply chains, the use of digitalisation and technology transfer, and the strengthening of private investment to promote sustainable development worldwide. Germany aims to strengthen SADC in order to promote political and economic cooperation in the region. German-SADC cooperation is closely aligned with SADC’s policy priorities as well as to the advancing of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.
Germany has provided over 500 million Euros to the SADC Secretariat since 1992. Additionally, Germany is undertaking substantial bilateral development cooperation with eight SADC Member States – Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. On top of that, Germany is among the top contributors to multilateral institutions such as the EU, UN agencies, IMF, World Bank, AfDB and other development banks
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