When the economy catches a cold the environment sneezes

In Zimbabwe and around the world, the ushering in of the 21st Century heralded a dark epoch in the history of climate and the environment.

Climate variability and other vagaries associated with environmental challenges were worsened by various economic and social factors such as mining, fishing, farming, energy generation, among others.

Despite all the above mentioned activities, they drive us to the great but neglected concept of “sustainable development” in environmental discourse.

At this juncture it is pertinent to highlight those events and circumstances which led to the birth of the “sustainable development” concept.

The concept of sustainable environment was as a result of the worrying and alarming levels of environmental degradation due to poverty, overpopulation, urbanisation and industrialisation.

International Instruments which contain the concept “sustainable development”, include the World Commission on Environment and Development which is notoriously known in environmental law as the Brundtland Report and the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.

However, although these two environmental international law instruments or Soft Law do not have persuasive legal implications, they provided a profound environmental philosophical underpinning which the whole world now uses as a hymn book in trying to protect the environment.

The World Commission on Environment and Development or the Brundtland Report defines “sustainable development” as that type of development which should meet the needs of our present or contemporary generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This concept of environmentally sustainable development aims to secure commitment to an ethic for sustainable living and to integrate conservation and development

The great environmental epistemological question is: Does Zimbabwe have such a development model which has the ability to make future generations enjoy without compromising the current generation’s needs?

In Zimbabwe the ethic of environmentally sustainable development should not be taken for granted in our new constitutional dispensation, because it promotes establishment and growth of a new democratic order premised on the improvement of the quality of life of all Zimbabweans.

The advent of the second decade of independence in Zimbabwe witnessed a number of disturbing developments which were a threat to the sustainable environment.

Economic challenges faced by Zimbabwe led to many people especially in urban areas failing to cope with their urban life-styles which are associated with failure to pay rentals, sending children to schools, transport to go to work and other urban life needs.

Post-independence economic challenges led to mass exodus of people from capital cities to peri-urban centres such as Epworth, Caledonia, Domboshawa and Goromonzi.

The majority of these peri-urban centres are associated with low income earners who are economically malnourished and the only life line at their disposal is the environment.

A high number of people in peri-urban areas and informal settlements solely rely on decimating biodiversity for their living.

A 2014  Harare Slum Upgrading Project, which was being implemented by Harare  City Council  the Dialogue on Shelter and Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, found over 31000  informal settlements in Epworth.

Epworth is Harare’s dormitory town located about 12km, South East of Harare.

The bulk of all these over 31 000 households in Epworth don’t have decent public utilities such as water, sewage and electricity.

For electricity they rely on firewood and charcoal, and to secure it the only cheaper way is to decimate woodlands or forests at their disposal as they cannot afford clean energy such as biogas, Liquid Petroleum Gas and solar due to their economic status.

The mentioning of Epworth is just an example, but according to the recent World Bank statistical report, nearly eight million  (7.8m)  Zimbabweans are living in abject poverty, and it further went on to elucidate that poverty levels in Zimbabwe has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data from Fight Inequality Alliance Zimbabwe revealed that in 2021 of the nearly 8m people in Zimbabwe each had the monthly budget of $US$29.80. Therefore an individual with such a paltry monthly budget cannot afford to pay electricity or to set up a solar system; the only thing he can do is to fetch firewood or make charcoal and biodiversity will suffer as a result.

In 2014, data from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate showed that more than six million tons of timber was being consumed annually for fuel, which translated to more than 300 000 hectares of forests being destroyed.

If that figure is put into context it means that more than 60 million trees in Zimbabwe are being destroyed annually.

All these trees help in the environment in various ways such as absorption of carbon gases and transpiration which is important for rain formation.

But in rural areas due to poverty a number of people resort to deforestation for them to earn a living.

Forests are destroyed by tobacco farmers so that they can produce the golden leaf for the market, but at the same time the environment is suffering.

As discussed above the trick in saving our environment as the country is to fight poverty and the increasing inequality gap in the country.

A number of urban dwellers are taking all open spaces for farming, a development which is worrying from an environmental perspective.

The reason for invasion of open spaces and wetlands by urban residents is now posing great environmental challenges.

In 2019, the Harare City Council revealed that Lake Chivero had 30 meters of silt while the Harava Dam had more than 80% of silt, which translate to the fact in 30 years from now Lake Chivero which is the major supplier of portable water to greater Harare residents will cease to exist.

The Lake is facing existential threat due to siltation caused by poor farmers who have no option in supplementing their paltry salaries other than resorting to urban farming.

The problem is not poor urban farmers who are causing siltation. Let’s take this issue from a holistic point of view: if authorities decide to improve the quality of life of our people; they will in the process protect our environment and biodiversity.

The use of executive authority, such as the police and the Environmental Management Agency in prosecuting environmental offenders is not going to yield any positive results in protecting our environment.

The only panacea to environmental challenges in this country is to fight poverty, nothing more, nothing less.

Zororai Nkomo is a Zimbabwean journalist and environmental justice activist who write in his personal capacity. He can be contacted on zoronkomo@gmail.com