Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
A LOCAL environmental conservation organisation is pushing for inclusion of the campaign against illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe in the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP27) to be held next month.
COP27 will run from 6 to 18 November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
The event is a platform where countries come together to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement.
Director of Green Shango Environmental Trust based in Hwange, Mr Daniel Sithole said economic sanctions have a burden on environmental conservation in the country.
He said developing countries hit with sanctions dedicate a lot of resources on other economic sectors at the expense of environmental issues.
“Sanctions exacerbate climate change thereby compelling sanctioned countries like Zimbabwe to rely heavily on fossil fuels for their economic turnaround which is against the Paris Agreement. As we head towards COP27, we wish this could be top of agenda for sanctions on Zimbabwe to be lifted,” said Mr Sithole.
Zimbabwe has been under illegal sanctions for the past two decades following an embargo imposed by America and its Western allies as a response to the country’s fast track land reform programme which started in 2 000, to correct the skewed landownership that favoured white farmers.
The region observed the Sadc Anti-Sanction Day on Tuesday.
Sadc Heads of State and Government in 2019 proclaimed October 25 as a day of solidarity with the Zimbabwean people against sanctions.
This followed a meeting held by Sadc leaders in Tanzania where member States resolved to conduct activities in their respective countries on the day to resoundingly call for the immediate removal of the sanctions.
Mr Sithole said the economic sanctions are aimed at isolating Zimbabwe and hurting its economy thereby trying to force regime and policy change.
He said the country may be forced to adopt some policies that give a blind eye to climate issues.
“We have the second-largest elephant population in the world after Botswana. We have a rich biodiversity with thriving ecosystem services making us one of the most lucrative destinations to visit in terms of tourism.
“However, sanctions brew a negative narrative which blocks funding for our conservation and this fuels human-wildlife conflict. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Paris Agreement to end coal emissions by 2030 but sanctions work against such ambitions as the country suffers limited funding for renewable energy. As we approach COP27, we want it known that climate change is real and affects the economy and leaves environmentalists with a mammoth tasks in pursuit of advocacy for sustainable development,” Mr Sithole said.
He said citizens suffer from economic challenges and end up embarking in activities that degrade the environment to eke a living.
As a result Government efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals especially SDG 2 towards eradication of hunger are hampered.
-@ncubeleon
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