Citation:

Erdwin Ndinaani Muradzikwa. "Reconfiguring Conservation Finance and Governance: A Household-Centred Economic Model for Wildlife Corridor Sustainability in the KavangoZambezi Transfrontier Landscape" International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies, Vol. 5, No. 7, pp. 104-110, 2026. Crossref. http://doi.org/10.56472/25835238/IRJEMS-V5I7P113

Abstract:

Wildlife corridors are critical ecological infrastructures that sustain biodiversity, facilitate species movement, and underpin transboundary conservation systems. However, their persistence in human-inhabited landscapes remains constrained by governance fragmentation, livelihood dependence, and structural inefficiencies in conservation finance. This study investigates these dynamics across the 520,000 km² KavangoZambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA)-Bwabwata National ParkZambezi Region (BNPZR) interface. Methods: A mixed-methods study using population-based spatial analysis, household surveys (n = 321), statistical testing and ARIMA time-series modelling was used to contextualise BRFSS estimates of the select health outcomes among Africans Americans in one Richmond neighbourhood. Our results show that 2,442 km² (14%) of the BNPZR landscape is potentially usable wildlife corridor area but that more than three-quarters of households farm among these potential corridors, and another 6.54% unwittingly occur within them a reflection of long-established reliance on agriculture for livelihoods. Agricultural production per household averages 852.81 kg hot water produced with maize takes up to 68% of the crops grown (7146 ha). Statistical analysis revealed a significant inter-zonal variation (p 99%), overwhelmingly favouring combined efforts provisioning for both conservation and livelihoods. The paper argues that securing long-term sustainable wildlife corridors will require transformative changes away from business as usual, toward economic and governance frameworks centred on households where effectively connecting conservation finance with local institutions and livelihood systems is critically important.

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Keywords:

Wildlife Corridors, Conservation Finance, Transboundary Conservation, Community-Based Conservation, Household Livelihoods, Governance, HumanWildlife Coexistence, KavangoZambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), Protected Area Management, Sustainable Conservation.