Online Reporter
Wesley Zvomuya
DURING a visit to China in 2024, I felt compelled to take a picture from several storeys up in the Grand Beijing Hotel.
Below, lush greenery melded beautifully and effortlessly with paved roads and high-rise buildings under clear skies.
Having travelled to a couple of provinces during this tour, including by train and bus through the picturesque countryside marked by lush mountains clothed in green trees, as well as serene water bodies, big and small, the serenity of Beijing was particularly striking.
It was therapeutic. After all, Beijing is a huge metropolis with a population of millions of people and vehicles.
On my first visit a decade earlier, Beijing was the metaphor of pollution — No sight of the beautiful skyline. Air thick with smog. Trees grey and heavy with mournful, sooty overcoats.
People moved with their faces hidden under protective masks. But the city has now become clean, cheerful and colourful, and it is breathing again. That is how the deliberate policy of modernisation and “harmony with nature” has changed the face of Beijing, and the country at large. Nearly all the towns and cities across different provinces I have visited in China have strikingly similar ambience of carefully planned buildings and well-manicured inner-city vegetation, mostly trees, bushes and flowers.
On one occasion, I also took note of how even new building sites were carefully planned with environmental dynamics in mind; landscaping done well before a building was complete, with green lawns already being nurtured.
Of Harare’s trees
To an outsider, the change in China is a development that is worth studying, especially for developing countries such as Zimbabwe where the quest for modernisation is often seen as an inevitable conflict with environmental stewardship. There seems to be no proper guidelines to steer development while maintaining harmony with nature.
Two issues emerge: First, modernisation/industrialisation within the urban setup; and secondly, economic activity in the countryside involving exploitation of natural resources.
A debate that raged in October is instructive.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Dr John Basera, wrote a letter to the Harare City Council bemoaning the neglect of trees and greenery “despite the remarkable investment in the well-being and aesthetic quality of the city by the Government”. He instructed Harare to “implement a comprehensive plan for tree and greenery maintenance, including regular watering, pruning and planting”.
“Dead or dying trees must be replaced promptly to maintain the city’s green cover.
“The neglect of roadsides and trees directly impacts the quality of life for citizens. It reduces air quality, increases urban heat and creates an inhospitable environment for pedestrians,” he said.
“Furthermore, the failure to maintain greenery diminishes the city’s role in combating climate change and preserving biodiversity.”
He accused the city authorities of “continued indifference to these issues” and reminded them that it was their “duty to ensure that the city is clean, safe and liveable for everyone”.
Earlier, Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume had also spoken out against the neglect trees planted by the Government ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in 2024. However, this is not the first time trees have been left to die due to lack of maintenance.
In recent years, some businesses invested in planting trees in the capital, starting with Airport Road, but there is clearly lack of commitment and capacity by the City of Harare.
What does this tell us?
Harare has not yet matured to embrace green, sustainable development.
At the same time, it is emblematic of the larger national problem where environmental stewardship is not given the priority it deserves.
Harare’s challenge is not pollution but simply lack of enforcement of anti-littering laws and regulations to ensure a clean environment.
Overall, various challenges that have arisen in recent years, including concerns over the impact of mining on the environment in the countryside, are attributable to poor application and enforcement of environmental regulations.
Critically, well before Chinese companies became a dominant force in Zimbabwe’s economic matrix, especially in the extractive sector, concerns existed in places such as Mutoko where black granite was mined by foreign entities, leaving the environment scarred and gutted. Even mining activities by the Germans in an earlier era left behind vast areas that remain unreclaimed.
From environmental notoriety to global leadership
Pollution in China in previous years was mainly caused by rapid industrialisation, which peaked in the 20th century.
Industrialisation in countries such as Britain, America and Europe was equally a messy affair.
It was these industries, fired by fossil fuels, that contributed to a changing climate.
Today, China is one big factory for the world.
And, as the biggest manufacturer of everything and anything, it has inevitably been at the centre of conversations around pollution.
China’s economic model, however, is shifting from manufacturing towards high-tech industry. Concomitant to this push has been the transition from fossil fuels to clean or green energy — and it is becoming a leader in the green revolution.
Chinese modernisation is no longer a dirty word. It no longer means smokestacks and smog. Instead, it integrates green energy, urban ecology and environmental regulation into national planning.
China is now a country of low-carbon cities, renewable energy expansion and strict ecological red lines that demarcate protected zones.
Even abroad, China has announced plans to limit expansion of coal-powered energy projects. But what lessons can be drawn from this?
The Chinese leadership has taken deliberate steps to promote environmental stewardship.
In recent times, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has spelt out policies for not just environmental stewardship at home but also global leadership in tackling climate change.
In 2018, President Xi outlined the key philosophical framework for environmental protection and preservation, which can be said to be a reflection of China’s leading role globally.
While addressing the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection on May 18 of that year, President Xi asserted that protecting the eco-environment is a common challenge and joint responsibility of the whole world.
He then set out six principles in this regard, making strong postulations that we must pursue harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature; clear waters and green mountains are invaluable assets; a good eco-environment is the most inclusive form of public well-being; mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands are a community of life; we should protect the environment with the strictest regulations and laws; and we should work together to promote a global eco-civilisation.
“In the whole process of economic development . . . we should protect the eco-environment as we protect our eyes and cherish it as we cherish our own lives,” said President Xi.
This was followed up by eco-friendly ethics and codes of conduct, nationwide green environment campaigns encouraging the “whole of society” to contribute to environmental protection by reducing pollution and consumption of energy and other resources, as well as strict enforcement of environmental laws and regulations.
Wesley Zvomuya is a Bindura-based analyst and international relations expert.
Clearly, the environmental challenges that Zimbabwe has experienced, including through heightened activity in the mining sector, are mostly due to poor enforcement of environmental laws and regulations.
It is the duty of local authorities to ensure that economic activities do not lead to wanton destruction of the environment and long-term, irreversible damage to flora and fauna.
In cities, towns and villages, Zimbabwe must take a leaf from China and introduce a whole-of-society participation in the protection and preservation of the environment and reduction of pollution.
But we have to get the basics right first by having the right culture and strictly enforce existing laws and regulations.
Wesley Zvomuya is a Bindura-based analyst and international relations expert.
