THE Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE) has won the Environmental Stewardship and Social Impact Award at the 2026 Manicaland Province Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental Sustainability and Governnce (ESG) and Responsible Business Awards, recognising more than three decades of community-led conservation work in Zimbabwe.
The recognition comes at a time when Zimbabwe has strengthened the legal framework for community participation in natural resource management through the Parks and Wildlife Amendment Act Number 4 of 2025, which formally recognises community environmental rights.
SAFIRE director Estella Toperesu said the recognition underscored the importance of putting communities at the centre of conservation efforts.
“This recognition is a proud milestone for SAFIRE and for the communities we have had the privilege to work alongside over the past three decades,” Toperesu said.
“It affirms our conviction that lasting conservation is achieved when local people are empowered to restore, manage and sustainably benefit from their natural resources.”
Toperesu said the organisation would build on its work by expanding partnerships and reaching more communities.
“At a time when Zimbabwe is placing greater emphasis on community-centred environmental stewardship and sustainable development, this award reinforces the relevance of that approach,” she said.
“We remain focused on scaling our impact, forging new partnerships and reaching more communities with solutions that protect ecosystems while improving lives.”
Founded in 1994 at Tongogara Refugee Camp, SAFIRE works with rural communities in Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland South to protect natural resources while creating income-generating opportunities.
Over the past decade, the organisation says its programmes have reached more than 33,000 households and increased average monthly household incomes by about US$165.
SAFIRE has also planted more than 500,000 trees, restored 50,000 hectares of degraded land and protected a further 5,600 hectares of arable land.
Its community-based natural resource management model, pioneered at district level about two decades ago, is now used by all 60 Rural District Councils in Zimbabwe.
The organisation’s work has also directly transformed the livelihoods of individual farmers.
In Mutasa District, farmer Tawanda Bukuta previously earned about US$100 a month from rain-fed maize grown on degraded land. After joining SAFIRE’s forest restoration programme three years ago, he established a nursery producing export-quality peach seedlings and now earns about US$1,500 a month.
Bukuta has also helped 60 other farmers form an orchard and nursery group.
“I have learned the importance of protecting and nurturing our forests,” Bukuta said. “There is life in these ecosystems.”
The award was presented at a gala dinner at the Golden Peacock Hotel in Mutare on Friday as part of the 10th Annual Zimbabwe ESG and Responsible Business Summit.
SAFIRE is a Zimbabwean non-governmental organisation that has spent more than three decades working with rural communities to turn sustainable natural resource management into a source of income and resilience. It currently operates in Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland South, supporting communities to restore ecosystems, develop sustainable businesses and improve their livelihoods through community-based natural resource management.
