23 Apr 2026

Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust (CECT) is targeting expanded hunting avenues to maximise returns from its wildlife hunting quotas.In an interview, CECT board chairperson, Mr Thabo Zambo noted that a pivot strategy was one of the paramount issues he stressed at their recent AGM in March to ensure that the trust explored ways to penetrate and compete directly within the hunting industry.

He said that while CECT previously entered into joint venture agreements with investors, the trust recently shifted its strategy to auction its hunting quotas directly.

He added that the new move generated P5.1 million in Control  Hunting Areal 1(CH1) and P7.4 million in CH2 last year, which proved that highly lucrative opportunities existed within the sector.

He emphasised the need to tap into local skilled professionals who had studied professional hunting to drive their direct hunting ambitions.

“This effort would be complemented by their longstanding reputation, as CECT has over 30 years of experience in signing business deals,” he said.

Mr Zambo acknowledged that penetrating the hunting industry independently would be a difficult undertaking due to market barriers. 

However, he remained optimistic, saying “the trust has built a strong rapport with international investors over its long existence and we want to leverage on these relationships to negotiate multimillion deals in highly lucrative American markets.”

He further indicated that many Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) experts held the view that community trusts issuing hunting quotas to outside investors received only a small fraction of the total value. 

He stressed that by hunting directly, the trust would reap significantly higher returns because of massive untapped opportunities.

Mr Zambo stated that of the P20.3 million total income generated by CECT in 2025, P7.4 million was raised from the CH2 hunting quota while P5.1 million was raised from the CH1 hunting quota.

He indicated that one of the goals of the newly elected committee was to petition government to issue CECT with CH2 land for tourism business ventures.

Currently, he explained, CH2 was a forest reserve that served as hunting grounds. 

Mr Zambo noted that amending its status to allow for more than just hunting would cultivate further economic growth for the Chobe Enclave. ENDS