Mozambican safari operator receives Markhor Award at COP17 — Mongabay

Mozambican safari operator Zambeze Delta Safaris received the 2026 Markhor Award for its contribution to nature conservation through sustainable wildlife management. The award was presented to the company, led by professional hunter Mark Haldane, on October 22 in Yerevan, Armenia, during the UN Biodiversity Conference COP17, Mongabay reports.

Population recovery in the Zambezi Delta

Zambeze Delta Safaris combines regulated trophy hunting with wildlife restoration, anti-poaching efforts and projects for local communities. The company operates in a region of Mozambique that was severely devastated by the civil war.

Haldane began working in the Coutada 11 hunting concession in central Mozambique in 1994, when wildlife populations had been significantly reduced. He later founded Zambeze Delta Safaris together with Mozambican businessman Carlos Pacheco Faria.

The company’s award nomination states that the region’s African buffalo population increased from about 1,100 to 35,000 animals, while the number of sable antelopes rose from 40 to 4,000. In 2018, 24 lions were reintroduced to Coutada 11; according to the nomination, about 120 animals now live there. Mongabay notes that it did not independently verify all these figures, although the Mozambique Biodiversity Conservation Foundation documented substantial wildlife recovery.

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Debate over trophy hunting

Trophy hunting remains a controversial practice, particularly because of questions over how revenue is distributed among communities. A 2013 study in Mozambique’s Niassa National Reserve found that one leopard could generate about $24,000 in hunting revenue, but only a small share of the money went to local communities.

At the same time, a 2026 review of 89 studies across 13 sub-Saharan African countries found that nearly two-thirds of the recorded effects of trophy hunting were positive for either wildlife or local people. According to Haldane, Mozambican law provides for communities to receive 20% of state revenue obtained from concession holders.

The Markhor Award was established in 2008 and is presented every two years. Previous recipients have included conservation initiatives from Tanzania, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Iran.