Preserve the aura of Mana Pools

Preserve the aura of Mana Pools http­://www.thestandard.co.zw

September 16, 2012 in Environment

“HERE is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural

resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your

children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy

interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”Report

by Chipo Masara

The above quotation, by Theodore Roosevelt, might be beginning to gain

relevance in Zimbabwe.

A conflict is currently brewing over what environmental conservationists

perceive to be an ongoing system that fulfils economic needs at the expense

of the environment and tourism.

There is growing concerns that conservation and biodiversity areas that had

for long been set aside for not only the financial benefit of the country’s

tourism industry, but especially for the posterity of present and future

generations, may be facing serious dangers, which many fear may spell out

their demise.

The current bone of contention is a Unesco World Heritage Site, which

encompasses Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari areas.

A locally-owned company was allegedly issued with a licence last year in

September to undertake exploration activities for heavy mineral sand

deposits (HMSD) in Ruckomechi and Chewore rivers. The extracted sands would

consist of ore deposits yielding minerals such as thorium, titanium,

tungsten and zirconium. Diamonds and other gems may also be discovered.

To get the deposits, experts believe two mining methods would most likely be

employed; either dredging or suction (sucking up of the sand), or earth

moving, which would involve actually moving the sand and trucking it away.

The licences are said to have covered an area from the escarpment to the

Zambezi River (65km from Chewore and 45km from Ruckomechi).

Besides the unavoidable damage to the flora and fauna that tends to take

place when a project of such a nature is undertaken, mining in the area

presents many problems.

The human traffic in the area, besides that of tourists and the Heritage

Site employees, is bound to intensify the already problematic human/wildlife

conflict as wildlife still thrives in the area.

There are currently serious fears that poaching activities may have greatly

decimated the country’s wildlife, with elephants and rhinoceros being the

main targets.

Mining activities in the rivers will also result in the water getting

heavily polluted.

Furthermore, if mining activities in this area were to be given the green

light by responsible authorities, it is bound to compromise the area’s

standing as a World Heritage Site.

A place is considered a World Heritage Site if “it is a property of

outstanding universal value because of its cultural and/or natural

significance, which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries

and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all

humanity . . .”

There are 962 properties from all over the world on the Unesco World

Heritage List.

By being on the list, it means the Mana Pools area is not important only to

Zimbabweans, but to the whole world. This explains why there has been an

outcry from people from different parts of the world concerning the intended

mining venture and a plea to the government to put an immediate halt to it.

A Facebook page, which has since gained popularity (currently with more than

2 000 likes), has been created, called Save Mana Pools. Many that have been

commenting on the page said they had visited the World Heritage Site and

cherish the area. They expressed hope that their children would also be

allowed the chance to enjoy the God-given natural resource.

But according to a well-placed source, the explorations, and possibly even

the actual mining, might have long begun if it wasn’t for a late request for

an environmental impact assessment (EIA). This brings us to the issue of

EIAs.

According to the country’s environmental laws, any activity of such impact

cannot be carried out before an EIA is conducted, to ensure that the

potential impact of a proposed action upon the environment is identified and

disclosed prior to a decision.

It then makes one wonder how it would be that a company that plans to mine

in a World Heritage Site may be handed a licence to explore before an EIA is

conducted and the results are available.

For the sake of preserving the World Heritage Site, its environment and the

tourism benefits to be reaped through its thriving, I hope there is no truth

to the allegations!