Natural Resources, Conservation and Environmental Management
Resources and their use
Zimbabwe's natural resources include land and soil, water, minerals, forests and woodlands, wildlife and solar energy. These support farming, mining, tourism and energy supply, but they are finite and easily damaged.
Environmental problems
The main problems are deforestation (fuelwood, clearing land, tobacco curing), veld fires, soil erosion (overgrazing, streambank cultivation, poor ploughing), siltation of rivers and dams, poaching, water pollution (industrial and sewage effluent, as at Lake Chivero), litter and plastic waste, and invasive plants such as water hyacinth and lantana.
Who manages the environment
EMA (Environmental Management Agency, established 2002) enforces environmental law and requires Environmental Impact Assessments for major projects. ZIMPARKS manages national parks and wildlife, including Hwange, Gonarezhou, Mana Pools, Matobo, Nyanga and Chimanimani. The Forestry Commission controls timber and woodlands, rural district councils and traditional leaders manage land and grazing, and CAMPFIRE lets communities earn income from wildlife and so value it rather than destroy it. Wetlands such as Monavale Vlei and the Driefontein Grasslands are protected under the Ramsar convention, and Great Zimbabwe, Khami, Matobo, Victoria Falls and Mana Pools are World Heritage Sites.
Conservation in practice
Conservation means using resources sustainably - meeting today's needs without spoiling tomorrow's. Practical actions include terracing and contour ridges, planting trees, controlled grazing, recycling under the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), saving water and reporting illegal dumping or poaching.
Trap: do not mix up the roles of EMA (regulation and pollution control) and ZIMPARKS (parks and wildlife). CAMPFIRE is about community benefits, not about banning hunting.
Rule of thumb: "take only what can grow back" - if a resource cannot renew itself, use it sparingly.