Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
ENVIRONMENTAL sub-committees in Insiza District are bearing fruit as villagers are more involved in environmental issues, giving rise to sustainable communities.
Through the sub-committees, villagers monitor waste management, effluent discharge, littering, illegal solid waste dumping, air pollution, hazardous waste dumping and hazardous spillages.
They are also involved in ecosystems protection, inspections of streambank and wetland cultivation, sand abstraction both river and pit, illegal mining, tree cutting, wood vending, soil erosion from gully formation, river and dam siltation.
Committee members are also tasked with veld fire outbreaks inspections where they do damage assessment, reporting offenders and report writing.
The environmental subcommittee members are trained to be grassroots environment monitors by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).
Insiza District Ward 22 Councillor Stella Dlodlo said the environmental subcommittee in her area is active in ensuring villagers do not cause damage to the environment.
“We’ve seen a significant change in behaviour among villagers such that they’re more conscious about the environment. Every two weeks, environmental subcommittee members move around the ward monitoring compliance and engaging villagers on environmental issues. When there are fires, they also go and assist,” said Clr Dlodlo.
She said the environmental sub-committees also hold meetings to raise awareness on environmental issues among villagers.
“Educating villagers on the various challenges is one of the key elements in ensuring they’re compliant. Most of them don’t cause harm intentionally but they’re actually in the dark on how to take care of the environment,” said Clr Dlodlo.
EMA Matabeleland South environmental education and publicity officer Mr Simon Musasiwa said the environmental sub-committees are led by councillors with traditional leaders being ex-officio members.
“Their role is to implement the local environment action plan through their localised ward environment action plans and by-laws working together with the relevant organisations for particular operations. For minor offences, traditional leaders can prosecute which is what we urge but for the more serious offences that traditional leaders feel are beyond their jurisdiction, Government agencies are notified and prosecutions carried out,” said Mr Musasiwa.
Environmental sub-committees also facilitate environmental education and publicity, meetings and workshops on environmental days, commemorations and events preparations, veldt fire preparedness, firefighting teams’ formation and training.
The environment is degenerating at a very fast rate and there is a need to take positive action by all stakeholders in order to ensure sustainable management of natural resources and protection of the environment.
It is the duty of every member of the community to use wisely, and to safeguard the natural resources on which the present and future generations depend on.
According to EMA, every rural district council is mandated to appoint, based on their resources, environmental sub-committees which will assist the environmental committee in carrying out its functions.
An environmental sub-committee consists of a village, ward or combinations of wards depending on the nature and size of the natural resource management activity for a given area.
It is mandated to organise field days, demonstrations, visits and tours for the purpose of increasing interest and knowledge of conservation work as well as to cooperate with EMA, council, farmers’ associations and all Government departments and parastatals involved in conservation. — @Yolisswa
Online Reporter