Biodiversity in peril

This experience is not only restricted to Seke. In vast districts of the country, settlers, developers and farmers have joined the bandwagon. Just how fast the Zimbabwes biodiversity is disappearing is not exactly known – but biodiversity scientists and environmental activists say it is catastrophically fast.

Biodiversity in Zimbabwe is central to the national economy and to human survival – as shown by the heavy dependence on natural resources like forests, wildlife, aquatic life and agriculture for generating employment, income and foreign currency.

According to environmentalists, although forests provide a wide range of timber and non-timber products and services to the majority of Zimbabwes population, they are being lost at alarming rate. It is estimated that 100 000-320 000 hectares of Zimbabwes forests are lost to agriculture each year. It is said 66 percent of the country is still covered by woody vegetation. But the cover in some districts such as Chivi now stands at only 30 percent. The situation has been worsened by the recent electricity cuts and the indiscriminate tree-cutting by new settlers on the acquired farms.

Land reform is the biggest contributor to deforestation in the recent years. Says Mutuso Dhliwayo, director of Zimbabwe environmental Law Association (ZELA), which is alarmed by the rapidly declining biodiversity base.

He says the unsustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products, coupled with veldt fires which have destroyed 1, 2 million hectares of land, has exacerbated environmental degradation. In 2010 alone, 21 people lost their lives to lives as a result of veldt fires, 20 elephants were burnt, whilst 60 huts and countless small livestock like goats and chickens were also destroyed.

In addition, mineral panning by an estimated 20 000 panners, as well as illegal sand and clay panning, stream bank cultivation and urban agriculture, has made the situation look grim. Wildlife, which is important as a source of meat especially in the rural areas, and for tourism, is severely compromised by the increasing human population and poaching.

According to the findings in the book State of the Environment Zambezi Basin 2000 pollution is becoming a major threat to humans and the environment.

Although the severity of the impact of some of the pollution is well researched and documented, there seem to be no political will to implement measures to curb the environmental damage being caused. Studiers on rivers like Manyame, that feeds into Lake Chivero, and along the Zambezi Valley have revealed that sewerage, metal and batteries dominate industrial wastes in Chivero and Lake Kariba, respectively.

Land degradation, poor watershed management, sewerage and industrial pollution, drainage of wetlands, water abstraction and general in fractural development have reached a magnitude which calls for urgent action in terms of environmental sound economic management. We have to revisit the issues of Environmental Rights in order to safe guard our environment, says Dhliwayo.

Our constitution is silent over Environmental Rights, leading to poor implementation of environmental laws in this country.

He says political polarization has worsened the problem as some communities, police and institutions are not willing to enforce orders given even by the courts. Again the law enforcement agencies and courts are not enthusiastic in dealing with environmental cases as opposed to human rights issues, but they are the same despite being third generational rights, says Dhliwayo, who is also an en environmental lawyer.