By Masuzyo Chakwe
OXFAM has expressed concern over the ongoing and “highly controversial” Lower Zambezi National Park mining saga and cautions government on the move to proceed with mining activity in the national park.
Country representative Yvonne Chibiya said on January 31, 2022 media reports cited the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment as having indicated that the embattled open pit mining project in the heart of the Lower Zambezi National Park would go ahead under strict adherence to measures set by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to mitigate environmental impacts.
Chibiya said this follows the Supreme Court’s dismissal of an appeal by civil society organisations in Zambia against the proposed large-scale open-pit mining project that has been raging for years.
She said while Oxfam acknowledges the decision made by the Court of Appeal delivered by justice Ngulube on February 27, 2021, to allow for the mining project by Mwembeshi Minerals to proceed, it is immensely concerning that the government has unilaterally and quickly positioned itself to accept the ruling, forgoing all public outcry and expert caution against the said project.
“This not only goes against the government’s pronounced commitments towards environmental sustainability but also sets negative precedent for Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Environmental Protection within the new dawn government’s industrialisation agenda,” Chibiya said.
“The Lower Zambezi National Park (LZNP) hosts a sensitive ecosystem sustaining a vast amount of biodiversity necessary for environmental sustainability in Zambia and some neighbouring countries. This region also provides a critical water resource for over 250 million people in the region that depend on the Zambezi river and surrounding ecosystem for water, fishing, wildlife, agriculture, tourism, forestry, and other livelihood activities.”
Chibiya said a disruption to the ecosystem could prove disastrous, particularly at a time when the world is battling a climate change crisis.
She said the impacts of climate change were glaringly apparent, with the most recent being the Tropical Cyclone Ana that has devastated the Southern Africa region particularly Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, including some parts of Zambia. Chibiya said a report by Investigative Environmental Journalism notes that an independent review of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done in 2012 and 2014 submitted to ZEMA showcased flaws against the tenets of sustainable development.
She said the intended project violates Zambian national environmental and public health laws as well as international environmental agreements which mitigate against environmental risk management set out in the Equator Principles, as well as standards for mining in protected environments established by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“The ZEMA board disallowed the mining project on similar grounds but was later overruled in judgement by then minister, Harry Kalaba, on grounds that the project would create jobs for locals and technologies be employed to mitigate environmental impact. This saga has highlighted two points of concern namely, ZEMA’s limited autonomy to execute its regulatory functions towards environmental protection due to political influence and conflicting laws that fail to recognise designated land use plans particularly for ecosystem protection,” Chibiya noted.
She said this was a threat to the objectivity as well as autonomy of the environmental management regulatory body.
“Oxfam also expresses concern over the high dependence on resource extraction for Zambia’s development agenda, evidenced by the new government’s pronouncements to upscale copper production over 250 per cent in the next decade. Whereas, this may pay back positively in revenue terms, it is worth noting that mining has serious implications on lives, livelihoods, and the environment,” Chibiya said.
“While acknowledging efforts towards environmental protection through creation of a Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, Oxfam cautions that without commensurate monetary investment to mitigate impacts (only 0.1 per cent of the 2022 national budget), and a clear-cut strategy for protection of key ecosystems in the country which have been grossly degazetted in past years, all efforts may be futile.”
She said mining, though a strategic sector for Zambia, had historically been cause for environmental and human rights concerns “with mining towns in the Copperbelt, Central and North-Western provinces being key examples of this”.
Chibiya said there was need to properly establish natural resource governance best practice for Zambia, governed by adequate laws and policies for beneficial and sustainable mining.
She said Oxfam remains committed to the call for resource extraction that was sustainable, contributes positively to development and is instrumental to fighting poverty and inequalities.
“Within this mandate, we call for the immediate stop to all mining activity or strides towards this in the Lower Zambezi National Park,” she said.
Chibiya proposed that the government, through the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development in working with the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment invest in expanding tourism and other productive sectors away from mining.
She said Lower Zambezi offered natural renewable resources that could increase employment and revenue generation while contributing to economic, environmental, and social development now and in future.
“We call for the autonomy of the environmental management body and upholding of decisions lawfully made by the ZEMA board. Development of a comprehensive economic-diversification agenda, within and away from mining. In keeping with the industrialisation aspirations of the new government and Africa Mining Vision, a deliberate approach must be fostered to broaden the local economy by ensuring the revenue rents from the mining sector expand other key sectors such as agriculture, tourism and manufacturing. Importantly, the extraction of other strategic and non-traditional minerals,” said Chibiya while urging the government to make positive strides towards prioritising environmental protection and climate change mitigation and action.