QUESTION: HONOURABLE BRIAN JAMES asked the Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife to apprise the House on the policy regarding the protection of wetlands and sensitive water bodies under all local authorities.
THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE AND WILDLIFE (HON. DR. NYONI): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I would like to thank Hon. James for the question. The management of wetlands is becoming critical, especially in the face of the increasing impact of climate change. As part of combating the management of wetlands locally and globally, the country has acceded to the Ramsar Convention in May 2013. Furthermore, the provisions of Ramsar Convention have been domesticated in terms of Section 113 of the Conventional Management Act [Cap: 20:27].
The legal framework that governs wetlands utilisation is provided in the Environmental Management Act [Cap. 20:27] under the following sections:
Section 113 provides for declaration of any wetland to be an ecologically sensitive area which the Minister of Environment may impose limitations on development in or around such an area.
Section 113 prohibits the reclamation of draining of any wetland, disturbance by drilling or tunneling, construction of hard-core buildings with reinforced concretes and steel foundations that interfere with the natural function of the wetland without authority from the agency or the Minister. The foregoing is provided for under the Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007 on EIAs and Ecosystems Protection.
Mr. Speaker Sir, Government having noted gaps in the wetland management legislation in the country, a robust policy framework was developed in 2021 leading to formulation of the National Wetlands Policy, National Wetlands Management Guidelines and National Wetlands Masterplan. This framework enables the Government to map and gazette all wetlands in the country followed by gazetting of ecological sensitive areas for specific wetlands in urban and rural local authority areas covering 259 092 ha. Urban centres covered are Harare, Chitungwiza, Epworth, Ruwa, Mzingwane, Marondera, Bindura and Gweru.
Currently, preparatory work to gazette ecologically sensitive areas in Chinhoyi, Mutare, Bulawayo and Masvingo has been completed for gazetting this quarter covering 4 000 ha. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker Sir, Government has developed a five-year wetland restoration roll-out plan (2021 to 2025) targeting priority 40 wetlands in both rural and urban areas with a budget of USD11. 5 million, which Treasury has been supporting. I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.
HON. JAMES: Thank you Hon. Minister for a very comprehensive reply. Is the Minister aware that some local authorities are merely applying for change of use on some of these areas, how does the Ministry curb that?
HON. DR. NYONI: I am aware. No local authority has the authority to change the land use and abuse the proper use of wetlands, that only lies with the Ministry of Environment. If there are such cases, please bring them to our attention because our idea is to protect our wetlands. They are very important for keeping our underground water and also for biodiversity. So, we need to join hands to preserve, protect and develop our wetlands. I thank you.
