A proposed road detour in an ecologically important Hwange National Park buffer zone has ignited concerns among Zimbabwe’s 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 weren’t consulted before the decision was taken.
Lake of engagement
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.
According to a local News Day report, Painted Dog Conservation Executive Director Peter Blinston also wrote to the government to raise concerns, describing the area as a “critical wildlife corridor and buffer” for the safe movement of animals between Hwange National Park and surrounding lands.
But, apart from one initial meeting with government officials following receipt of the letter, Stead said businesses have not received further feedback regarding a viable alternative.
While Stead’s letter focused on the direct, known impacts of the traffic on wildlife, the community and tourism businesses, the effect of destabilising access through sensitive wildlife areas could also make it more vulnerable to poachers, she added. “It inherently compromises the security and integrity of conservation zones.”
Stead said her organisation is not against national infrastructure development, which it supports. “Our significant concern is with this specific detour route, which we believe poses disproportionate and irreversible risks to the area’s ecology and economy.”
Environmental impact
She warned that the detour has potential to fragment wildlife migration routes.
“This detour reroutes high-volume, heavy traffic onto a route that slices directly through vital wildlife pathways and migratory corridors. While we don’t have a predictive model, it’s an established conservation principle that introducing this type of traffic into such a sensitive area will demonstrably elevate the risk of severe animal mortality. Past incidents of vehicle-animal collisions in the region already underscore this threat,” Stead said.
For wildlife, the impact goes beyond collisions – it includes noise pollution, dust and general environmental degradation.
“For tourists in this specific part of Hwange Main Camp, the experience is compromised before they even arrive. The detour adds an unnecessary 45km stretch on minor district roads that are simply not engineered for that load,” Stead said.
“This will inevitably cause significant delays, logistical logjams for transfers and supply lines, and directly interfere with scheduled activities like game drives, including those in the Painted Dog concession area,” she added.
Stead said there is concern the detour will affect the high-end tourism market, which is built on seamless logistics and pristine wilderness experiences.
“This detour directly threatens our ability to meet those service standards. When transfers are delayed, roads are degraded and the wilderness experience is compromised. Word spreads quickly. It absolutely jeopardises future bookings and the substantial tourism revenue that supports our local conservation and community employment efforts,” she said.
Infrastructure and community impact
Apart from the immediate effect on wildlife and tourism, there is also major concern about the long-term damage.
“These secondary roads will likely be decimated by traffic they were never built to handle. This leaves a permanent infrastructure problem for local communities and operators long after the main project is complete. This is especially challenging given our understanding that the contractor has the capacity and funding to construct a less intrusive alternative,” Stead said.
Probably the most “overlooked and critical point” is that the detour is being routed directly through the middle of Dete town – a rural community, she added.
“These residents, including children at four different schools and the elderly at the Dete Old Age Home, do not live along a major highway. They are simply not accustomed to this kind of high-volume, heavy ‘30 tonne rig’ traffic,” Stead said.
“The risk of tragic human fatalities is exceptionally high as this new ‘highway’ cuts right through their town where children are used to crossing the road freely. It’s a profound and, frankly, avoidable risk.”
Stead is not aware that an environmental impact assessment for the specific detour route has been shared with stakeholders.
“We have not been given a clear implementation timeline. However, suggestions indicate it will be in December, which only adds to the urgency,” she said.
The first step of engagement with the business has been the formal letter sent to government officials and agencies, Stead pointed out.
“A meeting was then held in Harare at the Ministry of Transport and Asphalt. As of today, we are still awaiting a formal, constructive response,” she said.
“We have respectfully urged a review of this plan and proposed an immediate discussion to adopt a viable alternative – using the existing commercial route. This would bypass the sensitive wildlife areas, protect our shared infrastructure and allow the main roadworks to proceed.
“We are asking for collaborative problem-solving to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Hwange ecosystem and its tourism economy. We are advocating for a common-sense solution that benefits the nation’s infrastructure goals without sacrificing its invaluable natural assets,” Stead said.
Asphalt Products MD Francis Mangwendeza and Zimbabwe’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Felix Mhona had not responded to questions at the time of publication.
