‘Involve youth in fight to curb environmental challenges’

Ashton Mutyavaviri

IT will take the active involvement of youths, strategic collaborations and effective resource mobilisation to win the battle against land degradation, desertification and droughts.

This was said by the Forestry and Citrus Research chief executive officer, Regional Focal Point for Africa to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Youth Caucus and Zimbabwe conservationist Mr Takudzwa Ashely Mlambo on Wednesday.

In a video on his LinkedIn platform, Mr Mlambo said healthy land and ecosystems were the bedrock of the planet’s economies and nature-based approaches to address the quintet threat of desertification, land degradation and drought, climate change and biodiversity loss.

“By engaging and empowering the younger generation and fostering collaborative relationships, we can effectively combat these pressing environmental challenges. Youths must therefore complement Government efforts to restore the degraded land,” he said.

Mr Mlambo said reforestation initiatives started in 2019 and they had managed to train more than 2 000 youths to be well equipped with various tree propagation techniques and be involved in community engagement and mobilisation since 2020.

“This initiative has borne an opportunity for the collaboration of various stakeholders within Zimbabwe, regionally and internationally in line with Government’s vision to restore 2, 5 million hectares of degraded land,” he explained.

He added that education and awareness campaigns were critical for combating desertification and drought.

Zimbabwe recently joined the world in commemorating Desertification and Drought Day, which was celebrated under the theme: “United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future.”

The day is commemorated annually on June 17, as part of efforts to promote public awareness of international and local efforts to combat desertification, land degradation and drought in line with UNCCD to which Zimbabwe is a party.

Zimbabwe has taken significant steps in addressing desertification, land degradation and drought through the implementation of various integrated programmes that include the National Wetlands Rehabilitation Programme, biodiversity and habitat protection, climate change management, the Sustainable Mining Projects for Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Enterprises, the Land Restoration Programme, the Veld Fire Management Programme and the National Tree Planting Programme.

Government remains committed to ensuring that land degradation neutrality is achieved in the country through strategic partnerships with the private sector, non-governmental organisations, development partners including the United Nations agencies and financial services institutions among others.

According to a report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Africa is particularly vulnerable to land degradation.

It is the hardest-hit region worldwide, with desertification encroaching on about 45 percent of Africa’s land area, while the remaining land is at high risk of further degradation.

The UNCCD is calling on countries to increase commitment to pursue effective policies on drought, improve and implement national drought plans and improve drought management through active participation of relevant sectors and stakeholders, local communities, women, youth, civil society and the private sector.

Zimbabwe is working towards achieving this through climate-proofing agricultural programmes premised on public awareness and capacity building among other several initiatives.

In line with aspirations of the blueprint National Development Strategy 1, conformity to the decade of ecosystem restoration from 2020 to 2030, focus is on land restoration projects and programmes being implemented by various communities, businesses, institutions, civil society, academia and governments in sustainable land management.