Zimbabwe commits to land restoration as World commemorates Desertification Day

EMA Principal Environmental Officer, Precious Magwaza

TODAY marks World desertification day, a day that the United Nations set aside for focusing on combating desertification and drought while creating awareness of the existence of the two, attention is also directed towards preventive methods to curb the phenomena.

The commemorations are this year being held under the theme, “Restoration, Land, Recovery-We build back better with healthy land”
Zimbabwe is currently implementing a number of programmes that are aimed at land restoration in the wake of almost 40 percent of the country’s land having been affected by land degradation, an Environmental Management Agency of Zimbabwe, (EMA) official has said.

Addressing a virtual meeting organised by EMA in conjunction with Rejuvenate! Umhlaba to mark the day earlier today, EMA Principal Environmental Officer, Mrs Precious Magwaza said the country is signatory to a United Nations convention that deals with combating desertification, an indication of the country’s commitment to deal with the phenomenon.

“Zimbabwe is signatory to the United Nations Convention to combat desertification, which focuses on reducing desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) and its impacts particularly in dry land areas.

“In line with the convention and SDG 15.3, the country has committed to the achievement of Land Degradation Neutrality through establishment of Land degradation neutrality targets,” she said.

According to statistics from the environmental agency, land degradation now accounts for a total of 36.5 percent of the country’s land area, hence the need to swiftly act in order to mitigate the negative impacts that come with land degradation.

Mrs Magwaza mentioned that some of the programmes currently being implemented include, among many others, environmental education, awareness and capacity building, law enforcement and environmental monitoring, aforestation, conservation agriculture and land restoration and range land management.

In that vein, EMA is targeting to improve land cover of forests, wetlands, shrubs, grasslands and sparsely vegetated areas by 70 percent to almost 6,5 million hectares from the 2008 levels by 2030.

This would be a direct response towards the country’s contribution to the Bonn Challenge – a global goal initiated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) together with the German government in 2011 in order to respond to the urgent land degradation issue and deforestation.

The challenge’s thrust entailed bringing 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes into restoration by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030.

The Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe, (FCZ) is also actively involved in ensuring the Bonn Challenge targets are met within the desired time-lines.

Speaking at the same event, FCZ Operations Manager, Mr Lewis Radzire expressed their commitment towards the Bonn Challenge through various endeavours.

“Tree planting and conservation of existing woodlands is on-going in Zimbabwe. Other programmes that are under implementation to restore degraded landscapes include Agro-forestry and regeneration of woodlands……..The country is about to embark on a horticulture recovery and growth plan were high valued seedlings will be raised for distribution targeting 1.8 million rural households for the next 5 years,” he said.

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