No abstract

Despite the tourism sector having great potential for growth in Zimbabwe, the contribution of wildlife to the country"s GDP has decreased in the post 2000 era. This makes it necessary to examine practices in wildlife management to determine the strategies that might enhance sustainable tourism especially in protected areas. A self administered questionnaire was given; face to face interviews and focus group discussions were conducted as primary data collection tools. Despite all efforts made to control and protect wildlife, there is need for involvement of local communities in wildlife management as community-based conservation in particular has been subjected to a series of scathing criticism and it has become increasing unacceptable to advocate for a return to more coercive forms of conservation. The study recommends that the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to integrate their efforts with those of the private sector. Effective conflict prevention mechanisms need to be developed together with the communities especially in the implementation process.