ON World Environment Day, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) calls upon government, the private sector, civil society organisations, communities and citizens to take urgent action to restore degraded land, combat desertification, build climate resilience and protect the environment for present and future generations.
World Environment Day, which is commemorated annually on 5 June to drive urgent action against interconnected crises like climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation, provides an opportunity to reflect on the growing environmental challenges facing communities in Zimbabwe and across the globe.
Land degradation, climate change, desertification, deforestation, pollution, biodiversity loss and the destruction of wetlands continue to undermine livelihoods, public health, food security and the enjoyment of fundamental human rights.
This year’s theme, “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future.”, reminds us that nature offers some of the most effective solutions to the environmental challenges confronting humanity. Healthy ecosystems, restored landscapes, protected wetlands and sustainable land use practices are essential in addressing climate change, preserving biodiversity and securing a sustainable future.
On World Environmental Day, ZLHR stands in solidarity with environmental human rights defenders who work tirelessly, often at great personal risk, to protect communities, ecosystems and natural resources. These environmental human rights defenders play a pivotal role in safeguarding environmental rights and ensuring that development occurs in a manner that respects and promotes human dignity, sustainability and the rights of affected communities.
On its part, ZLHR continues to utilise legal advocacy to protect affected communities and safeguard environmental rights for the benefit of present and future generations.
In Zimbabwe and across the world, humanity is confronting an unprecedented environmental crisis marked by the intensification of climate change, ecosystem degradation, pollution and biodiversity loss. These interconnected challenges disproportionately affect vulnerable communities and threaten the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights. However, restoring degraded land, protecting ecosystems and adopting sustainable environmental practices can reverse environmental damage and strengthen resilience against climate-related disasters.
In light of these challenges, the recognition and protection of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment remains essential. It is heartening that many countries have incorporated environmental rights into their constitutional and legal frameworks, which is critical in advancing environmental justice and protecting communities from harmful, hazardous and degrading environmental conditions.
In 2013, Zimbabwe took a progressive step by enshrining environmental rights in the Constitution, which in section 73 places a clear obligation on the State to protect environmental rights and requires it to take reasonable legislative and other measures to progressively realise every person’s right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being.
However, ZLHR is seriously concerned by persistent violations of these rights by both state and non-state actors.
In recent years, the destruction of wetlands such as the Monavale Vlei, which is a protected wetland in Harare and a designated Ramsar site of global importance, through unlawful infrastructural development, unsustainable agricultural activities, mineral extraction, waste disposal, freshwater diversion and deforestation has continued to threaten ecological systems and community livelihoods.
It is critical to appreciate that wetlands are vital natural assets that support biodiversity, regulate water systems and provide natural protection against the impacts of climate change.
In its bid to protect and safeguard the environment, ZLHR has intervened to challenge environmentally harmful activities across the country, including the discharge of hazardous mining effluent into water sources and actions that threaten communities’ access to clean water and a healthy environment and has also provided legal assistance to communities facing displacement from their ancestral land due to unsustainable and exploitative resource extraction projects.
ZLHR reminds both local and central government authorities that they have a constitutional obligation to protect and preserve the environment and to uphold every person’s environmental rights and this includes ensuring that environmental management practices do not endanger public health, undermine sustainable development or compromise the rights of present and future generations.
Environmental rights are indispensable to sustainable development and the enjoyment of other human rights, particularly socio-economic rights, which are now guaranteed in the Constitution, hence protecting nature is not only an environmental imperative but also an imperative human rights obligation.
As we commemorate World Environment Day, it is critical to draw inspiration from nature’s resilience and commit to protecting the environment, addressing climate change and building a sustainable future for present and future generations.
As an organisation that is inspired by nature and supports climate change action for the benefit of present and future generations, ZLHR calls upon government, the private sector, civil society organisations and citizens to:
- Make the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being and a sustainable environment a reality for all people and communities;
- Protect, restore and preserve degraded ecosystems, including wetlands and other critical natural habitats;
- Adopt sustainable extractive and development practices that minimise environmental harm and respect culture and community rights;
- Prevent pollution, ecological degradation and promote conservation;
- Secure ecologically sustainable development while advancing economic and social progress and protect the environment for the benefit of present and future generations.
ENDS
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
Kodzero/Amalungelo House
No. 103 Sam Nujoma Street, Harare, Zimbabwe
Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 242 764085/705370/708118
Email: info@zlhr.org
www.zlhr.org.zw
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