As Zimbabwe is preparing to join the rest of the world in commemorating the World Wetlands Day, a Government official has urged the citizens to conserve wetlands explaining that they provide livelihoods for more than one billion people and help feed the world. Briefing the stakeholders in Harare on the 29th of January 2020 the…
By Joyce Mukucha In the quest to meet the global set goals in the Paris Agreement (2015) of accelerating measures by developing low carbon development pathways in industries, waste and agriculture among other sectors, the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry in partnership with ACT Alliance is taking strides to reduce vulnerability to…
Sarah Ferguson Brand Contributor, UNICEF USA For children caught in humanitarian emergencies, a UNICEF tent can be a beacon of hope, a pop-up school and a safe place to play. It’s where kids can get back to learning and regain a sense of normalcy when their lives have been turned upside-down by conflict or natural disasters….
For the first time, the world’s elites meeting this year at Davos have listed environmental issues as their top concerns about the next decade. The WEF’s annual Global Risks Report raises the alarm on increased extreme weather events, manmade environmental damage – including oil spills and contamination, major biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and failure of…
By Ross Geller A roofing system is the most exposed part of a home’s exterior.UV radiation, rain, snow, hail all put a toll on the roofing system’s performance. Early identification and subsequent repair of a roof is an ultimate solution to a long-lasting roof. Often, while preparing for winters, people forget the most critical part…
Climate Correspondent Hwange received 139mm of rain in 3 hours. Usually the town receives 50 mm or less per year. This resulted in the drainage system being overwhelmed by flash floods resulting in damaged homes and properties including a stockpile of coal at Hwange Power Station, the country’s largest thermal power facility. At least 70…
Tatenda Mqetu Zimbabwe Youth Biodiversity Network (ZYBN) is encouraging youths to appraise the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework which aims to safeguard all life on earth which was developed from Youth Consultation meetings across the universe. ZYBN National Chapter Coordinator Prisca Daka stimulated members which include outreach officers, forum hosts, speakers, journalists, videographers, photographers, ambassadors…
A record 45 million people – mostly women and children – in the 16-nation Southern African Development Community are gravely food insecure following repeated drought, widespread flooding and economic disarray. As the crisis deepens, the world must step up now to save lives and enable communities to adapt to climate change, the United Nations World…
The European Union has mobilised an additional 16.8 million EUR (approx. 18.7 million USD) to help address emergency food needs and support vulnerable people in Zimbabwe. The funding comes as large parts of the country and the wider region of Southern Africa are in the grip of the harshest drought in decades, which is compounded…
By Joyce Mukucha and Anyway Yotamu The newly appointed United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator to Zimbabwe Ms Mario Rebeiro has paid a courtesy call to the Vice President Kembo Mohadi at his Munhumutapa Offices in Harare to discuss issues concerning food security in Zimbabwe. Speaking to the press on the 10th of January 2020,VP Mohadi…
By Joyce Mukucha and Anyway Yotamu Oil Castor Zimbabwe has promised to eliminate the fuel crisis currently prevailing in the nation through producing and supplying bio motor oil extracted from castor bean plant. The company, through its chemistry and engineering department revealed plans to set up a fully-fledged market in Zimbabwe by releasing 20W40 Bio-motor oil and…
By Joyce Mukucha As climate change adverse effects persist around the globe, most women and young girls residing in urban-distant communities are becoming more affected as they bear the brunt of the negative impacts. Due to negative impacts posed by climate change, marginalised women and girls encounter violence, financial instability and child marriage among other…
Escalating hunger needs in sub-Saharan Africa dominate a World Food Programme (WFP) analysis of global hunger hotspots in the first half of 2020 with millions of people requiring life-saving food assistance in Zimbabwe, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central Sahel region in the coming months. The sheer scale and complexity of…
… as we commemorate the International Year of Plant Health 2020 By Mathew Abang In Africa, transboundary plant pests and diseases are costly to combat because control efforts are usually undertaken after huge crop losses have already occurred. Improving national capacities to sustainably monitor, prevent and reduce crop losses will have multiple advantages, but…
By Byron Mutingwende The Ruwa Local Board has set a target of planting over 1 million trees in five years, Benam Nyawo, the local authority’s environmental health officer has said. Nyawo revealed the plan at the belated commemoration of the National Tree Planting Day at the Chiremba Recreational Grounds in Ruwa. “Our…
The Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association (ZPHCA) is building grass-root women and the community’s resilience to climate change, it has been established. With support from Huairou Commission, ZPHCA is undertaking efforts to reduce potential impacts of this natural catastrophe by embarking on awareness campaigns, workshops as well as providing peer education and information reading…
By Joyce Mukucha The Financial Securities Exchange (FINSEC), an Alternative Trading Platform has launched the Pfuma MSME Exchange Listing and Funding Platform which aims at revolutionising the capital markets and the access to finance and listing for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). It has been learnt that MSMEs have several challenges which continue to…
Dealing with transboundary pests is tricky at the best of times. Standards, practices, capacity levels and engagement vary across countries and regions, and responses are often ad hoc and ineffective. However, matters become even more complex when the pest in question flies over borders, threatens the food security and livelihoods of millions, and causes severe…
The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has joined forces with 11 other international organisations to assist developing countries to build resilience against the impact of natural disasters caused by extreme weather. Following a series of deadly weather events that have caused widespread destruction, especially in Africa, the institutions came together at the COP 25 climate change…
At the occasion of COP25 held in Madrid, Spain on 02 – 13 December 2019, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) joined by the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophone (APF) convened non-PAP Parliamentarians from across…
Leaders and development partners rally around climate change goals There was standing room only as ministers, diplomats, activists and journalists gathered at the IFEMA conference centre in Madrid to mark Africa Day at the COP 25 climate meeting. Speakers called for a united front to tackle the challenges of climate change in Africa. In the…
By Lenin Tinashe Chisaira in Madrid , Spain (Environmental Legal Correspondent) Ten simple things to make anyone in Africa more conversant with the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain without getting overwhelmed Madrid, Spain is the latest frontier in the desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and probably save Earth…
By Anyway Yotamu Converged state-owned mobile telecommunications giant, NetOne has partnered with City of Harare, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Environmental Management Agency, Forestry Commission, Caps United Football Club and NADIPE Trust among other stakeholders in a clean-up campaign at Sally Mugabe Hospital formerly Harare Hospital. The stakeholders also joined hands in remembering one of the days…
…As drought and economic hardship plunge millions into hunger The World Food Programme (WFP) is rapidly expanding an already sizeable emergency operation in Zimbabwe where drought, flooding and macro-economic meltdown have plunged 7.7 million people – half the population – into severe hunger. Funds are required immediately if WFP is to meet the growing needs of…
By Joyce Mukucha and Anyway Yotamu The Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) is spearheading the Wetland Assessment and Monitoring Platform for Transboundary River Basins in Southern Africa (WeMAST) project and has partnered various stakeholders in an effort to design, develop and operationalise an integrated Earth Observation(EO) based…
By Byron Mutingwende The company that has sustained agricultural and economic development in Africa, Seed Co, has bemoaned the late onset of the rains and encouraged farmers to plant seeds this December. Addressing journalists at a luncheon held at the company’s Stapleford factory, Mr. Denias Zaranyika, the Seed Co Regional Managing Director encouraged…
By Anyway Yotamu In an exciting development, the Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) has been reported to have intention to sign a Drought Response Cost Insurance Policy Agreement with Zimbabwe. This was said by Senator Monica Mutswangwa who is the government spokesperson on Tuesday the 3rd of December 2019 during a post cabinet briefing in Harare….
By Joyce Mukucha The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) has joined hands with United Nations, Education and Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), International Hydrological Programme, Princeton Climate Analytics and the Government of Zimbabwe in planning towards implementation of the National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS) to strengthen proactive climate risk management in Zimbabwe. Considering the current capacities…
By Ronald Rungoyi Climate change is a significant threat to Zimbabwe’s socio-economic development, and the Government regards climate change mainstreaming as a priority in its devolution agenda. The country is witnessing increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, particularly droughts, prolonged intra-seasonal dry spells, and severe storms associated with widespread hail and flash flooding,…
Tatenda Mqetu Masvingo Region National Movement of Catholic Students (NMCS) were told that tree planting day should not be an event but rather a process which encompasses follow ups on trees planted with the purpose of motivating the nation to plant, care for, and conserve trees, as a way of ensuring sustainability in the management…
By Byron Mutingwende Agricultural transformation plays an important role in eradicating poverty and hunger, fighting inequality and discrimination as well as tackling climate change to promote peaceful and inclusive societies to achieve sustainable development. The Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, Mr. Vangelis Haritatos revealed this at the National Dialogue…
By Lenin Tinashe Chisaira (Environmental Legal Correspondent) United States Secretary of State, Trump’s appointee Mike Pompeo announced on Monday 4 November 2019 that the United States had initiated a formal withdrawal process from the Paris Agreement climate treaty. The Paris Agreement’s Article 28 (2) provides for this mechanism when it states that ‘Any such withdrawal…
By Anyway Yotamu and Joyce Mukucha The African Risk Capacity (ARC) has advocated for media inclusion by stakeholders into Disaster and Risk Management issues as it highlighted that journalists play a pivotal role in disseminating natural hazards information. Media capacity building reaps benefits when building resilience and mitigating hazard impacts. Building the capacity of media…
The Government of Senegal yesterday received symbolic cheques of US$23.1 (equivalent of FCFA 13.9 Billion) from the leadership of African Risk Capacity Insurance Limited. The cheques, given in two parts of US$12.5million (FCFA7,494,937,500) and US$10.6million (FCFA6,355,707,009) to the Government and StartNetwork assist in providing early action to support the people affected by drought during the…
By Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction From micro family-run ventures to giant multinationals, companies are often hard hit by disasters that erode their bottom line or force them out of business altogether. But while companies have much to lose, they have a huge amount to offer, so it is vital…
By Joyce Mukucha The African Risk Capacity (ARC) is working towards adopting a gender mainstreaming approach to ensure that gender issues are systematically integrated in its operations, both internally as an organisation, and externally with its Member States. This will be achieved through sustained gender and disaster risk management (DRM) capacity building efforts which will…
By Joyce Mukucha The Eastern and Southern African (ESA) region remains heavily impacted by effects of climate change which continue to be dire resulting in food and water insecurity, loss of lives and livelihoods, displacement of people among other direct impacts especially on the vulnerable population groups with Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique among other region…
By Wallace Mawire Two Zimbabwean aeronautical engineers have initiated a new crop spraying drone technology to provide a more efficient, effective and sustainable crop spraying service for Zimbabwean farmers. According to Piwai Chikasha, Managing Director at Alley Capital Group, a Zimbabwean engineering company offering crop spraying services using precision spraying drones, agriculture is one of…
In the face of a global and national climate crisis, the United Nations has reiterated its full commitment to climate action as espoused under the Paris Agreement of 2015. Dr. Esther Muia, Country Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) announced the commitment on the 74th Anniversary of the UN in her statement on behalf…
Protecting forests, planting trees, reducing food waste and changing diets critical to cool, liveable planet; the US, the EU, China and Brazil among countries that can lead on efforts to slash land sector emissions A new report published in Nature Climate Change today unveils a land sector roadmap laying out critical actions on forests, farming and food systems the…
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has launched emergency assessments in the east and north-east of South Sudan where severe flooding has left thousands of people stranded in inaccessible areas, threatening to make worse an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. MSF is urging all actors to mobilize resources to mitigate the impact of rising flood levels in affected…
The United Nations Team in Zimbabwe has oiled the machinery to galvanise climate action in the country as espoused at the just ended 74th Session of the UN General Assembly that spotlighted climate action to boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. These were the remarks of the UN…
Conference of the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) Accra International Conference Centre, Ghana Accra, under the theme, “Towards the institutionalisation of Local Climate Action and Access to Finance,” begins today as part of the Climate Chance Summit, Africa 2019. The conference will be opened by the Hon. Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Local Government and…
By Africa Geographic Editorial “Elephant damage!” is now a common phrase in reaction to the sight of fallen trees, and landscapes bereft of trees. The apparent loss of large savanna trees such as marula and knobthorn in Africa’s protected areas is often blamed on elephants, and this perceived direct link between elephants and treefall drives…
By Joyce Mukucha and Anyway Yotamu Driven by the commitment to play a pivotal role in the revival of the nation in the agriculture industry, the country’s largest manufacturer and supplier of fertilisers and agricultural chemicals, Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company(ZFC) Limited has invested in a new fertiliser blending plant . The plant valued at US$500 000…
