Chronicle Editor
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has started training people in the proper handling of chemicals.
In a statement yesterday, the organisation’s publicity and education manager, Ms Amkela Sidange said they were jointly conducting stakeholder sensitisation meetings with the Ministry of Health and Child Care on proper handling of chemicals and their wastes under the Chemicals Observatory project (CHEMOBS).
This initiative, she said, was being funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with the UN Environment Program (UNEP) being the project implementer in the country.
The project seeks to develop national integrated health and environment observatories which provides evidence-based information to predict, prevent and reduce chemical risk to human health and the environment.
“We are targeting mining and farming communities in selected districts in Midlands, Matabeleland South, Mashonaland West and Central provinces.
Our aim is to strengthen at risk institutions and stakeholders on proper chemical handling, waste related interventions, and also interrogating environmental friendly options to use so as to reduce chemical risks to human health and the environment,” said Ms Sidange.
Such sensitisation activities, she said were important as the country is making full strides in rolling out several conventions it is a signatory to such as the Basel and Stockholm conventions as well as the recently ratified Minamata convention.
Ms Sidange said it is critical to involve everyone in the quest to have a clean and safe environment nationwide.
She said EMA is also working on a project that will see communities identifying and implementing nature based solutions to environmental challenges in their local areas.
“Critical to this approach is the attempt to strike a balance between environmental protection and improving community livelihoods based on the wise use of natural resources,” said Ms Sidange.
“The approach also allows for the hands on participation of them (communities) in the protection of natural resources through the implementation of environmental protection and livelihoods community projects, in the process establishing the nature based solutions to local environmental challenges”.
She said the Project based Extension Approach was initiated this year under the annual theme, ‘From Commitment – To Action’.
Ms Sidange said they were working with various stakeholders to implement the project.
“Working in partnership with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), we will this week be training communities and drafting Ward Environmental Local Plans(WEAP) under the Global Environment Facility Cycle 7(GEF 7) project on, ‘Sustainable Forest Management Impact Programme on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes’,” she said.
“Currently this is being implemented in eight districts Midlands, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces. Our other implementing partners include local authorities, Forestry Commission, Zimparks and the Private Sector.
The trainings will be done at community level in an effort to build their capacity on identifying local environmental challenges, opportunities and solutions based on local available resources and then actioned through local plans (WEAP)”.
Ms Sidange said communities and their local institutions remain key in the implementation of government projects and hence their thrust to involve everyone along starting from the grassroots level.
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