Suchergebnisse

Zimbabwe's problems of land degradation date back to the colonial era when the Rhodesian government created native reserves, the so-called Tribal Trust Lands (TTLs) in 1926. Through the enactment of the Land Apportionment Act of 1930, the country was subdivided into European and Native Lands. Since the Act ignored the population disparities of these areas, an environmental crisis was bound to occur in the near future. Furthermore, the Europeans took the best agricultural land while blacks were relegated to the drier and less productive areas. Due to the introduction of the ox-drawn plough, the communal lands were subjected to massive land degradation in the form of deforestation and soil erosion. Although massive land re-distribution has occurred since 2000, land degradation has spread to the newly-resettled areas as human and livestock populations continue to increase in these former white farms. The demand of timber for building purposes as well as wood fuel in these areas, have worsened the environmental crisis. In tobacco farming areas deforestation has been worsened by the demand for energy to cure the harvested crop. Another challenge has been that of a weak environmental education (EE) programme which focuses on scientific facts about the environment rather than behavior change. Organizations such as the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) are not well equipped to provide their mandate due to the lack of resources, vehicles for transport and inadequate manpower. Based on information that was collected in September, 2017, this paper examines Zimbabwe's land degradation problem from an historical perspective. It argues that unless the rate of deforestation and soil erosion are curbed or reduced, Zimbabwe's dream of achieving sustainable resource conservation in future is unlikely to be achieved in the long run. Article visualizations:

This paper examines how some Zimbabwean government departments/organizations have been involved in the management of natural resources with a view to achieving sustainable development (SD) at local and national levels. This includes the Forestry Commission (FC) which dates back to the colonial era. Zimbabwes forest resources are governed by the Forest Act (Chapter 19:05) of 1996 (G.o.Z, 1996). The Act was proclaimed through an Act of parliament in 1949 and has been revised numerous times since its inception. Following the promulgation of the Act, a Forestry Commission was established in April 1954 in order to protect and conserve the countrys forest resources including indigenous and exotic species. During the 1990s Ngamo Safaris was established with a view to generating income for the FC. Since then, Ngamo Safaris has boosted the commissions coffers and brought financial stability to the organization. Unlike other government departments, ministries and NGOs, the FC is now self-reliant due to its income-generating projects. As such, it has become a model in the execution of its statutory mandate. The FC has been involved in such activities as tree planting, land reclamation and soil control. It has also been supplying villagers with tree seedlings with a view to promoting SD at local and national levels. However, in spite of this invaluable contribution, the FC is under-staffed at district, provincial and national levels, which undermines its regular operations.

Mining plays a key role in Zimbabwe's economy, contributing 5% and 23% to the country's gross domestic (GDP) and total exports, respectively. It also generates foreign currency and supplies raw materials to some industries. As a 'robber' industry, it extracts minerals from the earth without replacing them. It also creates deep shafts and ugly pits which damage the landscape. In addition it causes environmental pollution and is a threat to the tranquillity of the natural environment. Based on information that was collected in August 2017, this paper discusses various aspects of the mining industry. These include Zimbabwe's mining legislation, environmental impacts of the mining industry at global level, in the SADC region and in Zimbabwe. Problems which confront the industry as well as their possible solutions in Zimbabwe are also examined. From a sustainable development (SD) point of view, mining poses a serious danger which should be addressed at both local and national levels. Since the early years of independence (1980-1984), several Zimbabwean mines have closed down either due to mineral depletion or dis-investment. Some of them have turned into ghost towns which have led to the decay of infrastructure. Little or nothing has been done to avert this crisis. Those mines which are still operational cause immense pollution to the natural environment thereby threatening SD at the national level. However, solutions to avert this crisis are hard to come by. Currently, there is a need to promote environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) at the national level. In this context, efforts should be directed at the establishment of EE centres throughout Zimbabwe as is the case in South Africa. Article visualizations:

Air pollution is a major environmental problem in industrialized countries such as: the USA, China, Japan and most European countries including: France, Germany, Italy and the UK. One of its major causes is modern technology which depends heavily on fossil fuels (coal and oil) and dates back to the Industrial Revolution, which started some two centuries ago. Although the level of industrialization is quite low in developing countries such as Zimbabwe, air pollution is now posing a threat to the nations environmental security. This paper examines the problem of air pollution in Zimbabwe with a view to suggesting possible solutions. While previous researches have given brief and rather superficial accounts on the problem, this paper seeks to provide an in-depth study on the issue for the benefit of researchers, stakeholders and policy makers. The paper examines issues such as: causes, sources, health impacts, and possible solutions within the legislative and policy framework of Zimbabwe.Based on information that was collected in August 2014, the paper shows that air pollution is a major environmental problem and should be addressed seriously at both local and national levels.

In Zimbabwe, gold mining dates back to the pre-colonial era and has remained one of the major economic activities in the country. In recent years, the industry is predominantly conducted by small-scale operators and informal gold panners scattered around the country. Recently, the government has recognized the contribution of these people and has advised them to sell their product to Fidelity Printers. Through the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), the government has encouraged small-scale gold mining in different parts of the country. Jena mine which is located in Silobela 80km from Kwekwe district is a member of the ZMDC and has caused several environmental challenges, which are discussed in this paper. The mine produces waste materials in the form of overburden and tailings which have found their way into the environment surrounding Silobela. In a research conducted during the period between 2016 and 2017 (using both qualitative and quantitative research methods), this paper reviews some of the challenges affecting the mine. Some of the problems, which the company is facing in its waste management programmes include financial constraints, poor infrastructural capacity and environmental pollution. This study notes that Jena mine needs to resuscitate its infrastructure and enhance its security to prevent illegal mining on mine dumps which are contributing greatly to environmental pollution. Article visualizations:

Drought induced famine has been the worst disaster from which most rural people experience immense anguish. It still remains a National Policy Agenda and a problem in most developing countries like Zimbabwe. Due to climate change, the impacts of droughts are expected to deepen where the capacity to adapt is low. Though it remains a challenge in communities, local people have devised different coping mechanisms based on the resources that are locally available but the effectiveness of these are questionable. Therefore, using both qualitative and quantitative methods this work aims at identifying the drought mitigation strategies used in ward 12 of Chegutu district. People are using drought mitigation strategies which include food aid, food for work, and sale of livestock, remittances and irrigation schemes where provision of food aid and food for work while the least effective were remittances and irrigation. The study also revealed that 72% of the community was not familiar with the effectiveness of all the drought mitigation strategies used. The strategies are held back by challenges in the ward which induce poor service delivery by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government departments in mitigating droughts, poverty, corruption, lack of resources and unclear selection criteria of beneficiaries as well as lack of markets thereby leading to inefficiency of the drought mitigation strategies. The study recommended the construction of more dams and necessary infrastructure for irrigation, adoption of local knowledge into mitigation strategies, improving access to agricultural inputs and enhanced provision of technical assistance to farmers in the area. Article visualizations:

The growth pole theory originates from Francois Perroux, a French economist who visualized growth poles in economic space (Perroux, 1955). As such, his theory had nothing to do with physical or geographical space (Glasson, 1978). In fact, Perroux was mainly concerned with interactions among industrial sectors rather than spatial development processes (Hansen, 1981). However, geographers and planners adopted his theory for planning purposes. In this way, they developed the growth center theory. Some of the proponents of this theory were Boudeville, Friedmann, Myrdal and Hirschman. The growth center theory was first applied in European countries such as Britain, France and Italy in order to address the problems of economically depressed regions. Later on the strategy was adopted in developing nations of Latin America, Asia and Africa. In colonial Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), it was adopted in 1969 with the aim of decongesting major urban centers such as Salisbury (Harare), Bulawayo, Gwelo (Gweru) and Umtali (Mutare). However, the main problem of colonial growth points was the racial context in which they were conceived. At independence in 1980, the new black government adopted growth centers or growth points as a national strategy for rural development (Underwood, 1986). While colonial growth centers were introduced under the Tribal Trust Land Corporation (TILCOR), those of the post-colonial era are under the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA). This study examines the challenges and prospects of Murewa growth point before and after independence in 1980. Article visualizations: