The Zimbabwe National Organisation Associations and Residents Trust (ZNOART) has urged Harare City Council and Chitungwiza Town Council to stop allocating housing stands on wetlands.
ZNOART chairperson, Shalvar Chikomba, said allocating stands in wetlands results in environmental degradation. H-Metro quoted Chikomba as saying:
Wetlands are essential for the environment, providing habitats for wildlife, purifying water, and protecting against floods and droughts.
It is disheartening that Councillors and senior management have sold and invaded our wetlands and open spaces, so we call for an immediate end to this.
The recent case in which Councillors allocated themselves commercial and industrial land and shared it among themselves, their companies and their cronies, with the connivance of Council officials, is the first flash point.
By now, we expected them to have done the honourable thing, that is to resign.
The Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as “ecosystems where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life.”
In line with its Ramsar Convention commitments, Zimbabwe has identified 7 sites as major national wetlands.
These are Lake Chivero, Cleveland Dam, Middle Zambezi / Mana Pools, Victoria Falls National Park, Chinhoyi Caves, Driefontein Grasslands, and Monavale Vlei.
More: Pindula News