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DDT
Attempts to
reintroduce the use of this pesticide for controlling the tsetse-fly (which
is common in Zambezi valley lowland areas) have met strong resistance in Zimbabwe.
At a recent workshop hosted by the European Union in Harare, The Zambezi Society,
together with a majority of other stakeholders voted against the use of DDT
in tsetse control operations, favouring other, less environmentally-damaging
controls such as target barriers.
TOURISM
IMPACTS
The effects of rapid development and growing tourism pressure at Victoria
Falls, the Zambezi River's most famous tourist destination, are in danger
of reducing the place to an environmental slum. Lack of sensible planning
and a tendency to ignore aesthetic, wilderness and environmental factors in
the rush for short-term profit, are reducing the quality of the visitor experience.
The inability of the local authority to provide basic sewerage, waste and
water facilities to match the rapid growth of the tourist town in the 1990s
has resulted in a potential environmental disaster - a fact not advertised
in the tourist brochures for this famous World Heritage Site. The Zambezi
Society has lobbied for many years for development in Victoria Falls town
to be halted until a Canadian-funded Master Plan is in place. Work has now
begun on the plan, but a great deal remains to be done to rectify the damage
caused by greed, incompetence and lack of transparency on the part of the
town council and insensitive tourism investors.
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Victoria
Falls
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Vic
Falls rubbish tip
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DAMS
Developing Africa's ever-growing need for electricity has already resulted
in the construction of two major hydro-electric dams on the Zambezi River
- at Kariba and Cahora Bassa. Plans to construct more dams have been on the
drawing board for some time, but have met with strong opposition from environmental
lobby groups, including the Zambezi Society. The Zambezi Society is lobbying
for proper evaluation of other options (e.g. better demand-side management
(energy-conservation), investment in alternative energy generation and regional
power-sharing), and for the development of a soundly-based energy policy for
the region.
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Kariba
dam
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IMPACTS
ON THE ZAMBEZI DELTA
The need for careful basin-wide planning for the Zambezi Basin is most clearly
demonstrated in the little-known, but species-rich Zambezi Delta (where the
Zambezi river meets the Indian Ocean). Without careful planning, ecosystem
disturbance upstream can have disastrous effects on the river delta. The most
visible example of this is the impact of Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams. The
dams, which normally only release limited amounts of water from their hydro-electric
turbines, have resulted in major interference to the natural annual flooding
regime of the river.
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Zambezi
Delta
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Zambezi
Society research shows that as a result, the wetland eco-systems of the
delta have dried out considerably during the last few decades with major
consequences on wetland species such as the Wattled Crane, and the coastal
mangrove. |
