Online Reporter
Takudzwa Manzero
Post Correspondent
STAKEHOLDERS from Manicaland joined hands to commemorate Africa Environment Day, which coincided with national clean-up day clean-up campaigns at Hande High School (Buhera) and Mutare Central Business District (CBD) yesterday morning.
The Environment Patron in Manicaland Province, Mrs Rosina Mugadza officiated at the event in Buhera, which also included the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), local vendors, the police, and Government officials to promote environmental cleanliness.
The commemoration were held under the theme: “Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods” – highlighting the indispensable role of indigenous knowledge, customary practices, and cultural values in the conservation and wise use of natural resources. EMA held a clean-up campaign at Hande High School, along the Dorowa-Murambinda Road, where a tree-planting exercise took place.
Mrs Mugadza said Africa is faced with environmental issues, including biodiversity loss, waste management, climate change, land degradation, desertification, and increased pollution.
“Hence, this day aims to raise awareness, promote sustainable use of natural resources, and encourage tree planting activities. Globally, around 40 percent of the world’s land surface is currently degraded, meaning the land has lost some of its biological productivity, soil quality, water retention, or biodiversity due to human activities and climate change. Current trends suggest global land degradation will continue increasing if unsustainable land use patterns are not reversed. Some reports project up to 90-95 percent of land could be degraded in some form by 2050. It is indeed a shocking statistic. Coming closer to home, an estimated 36.5 percent of the country’s land area is affected by land degradation. This includes degradation from soil erosion, poor land use, and deforestation, among others.
“The expected result is to sensitize our community on the challenges of land degradation and the diverse activities that can be undertaken to combat it, including tree planting that we have all witnessed here. I urge all of you to continue with the collective responsibility to work within your houses, institutions, communities, workplaces, and indeed the whole district to keep our environment free from litter through regular clean-ups,” she said.
Telecommunications giant, NetOne, demonstrated its commitment to environmental sustainability, with its staff and stakeholders taking part in a clean-up exercise in Mutare.
NetOne public relations officer, Mr Ernest Magadzira, said the initiative is part of the national clean-up programme introduced by President Mnangagwa – which calls on citizens, companies, and organisations to gather on the first Friday of every month to clean their workspaces and surrounding areas.
“This clean-up is not only taking part in Mutare, but also throughout the nation. We are also encouraging citizens to take control to ensure that all the areas we are working in are clean. We are happy with the turnout and number of people who have been part of the awareness drive. We are not going to end here, but adopt it as a company cultural activity so that we practise cleanliness every day. This is a collective effort to ensure that as part of our NDS 2 we are working in a conducive environment that can yield conductivity,” said Mr Magadzira.
