Large Coalition Calls on ZEMA to Urgently Halt Mine in the Heart of Lower Zambezi National Park

Lusaka, 21st March 2022: A large coalition of 53 CSOs, traditional leaders, artists, safari operators and other stakeholders has raised serious questions about the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study that has allowed the controversial Kangaluwi open-pit copper mine planned in the heart of the area to go ahead.

In an advert published in key media across the country, the Save Zambezi, Safe Zambezi coalition has asked the following questions of the mine owner, Mwembeshi Resources Limited, and the Zambian Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA):

  • Why was the addendum to the previously expired EIS approved within JUST SEVEN WORKING DAYS of submission without having followed due process of consultation?
  • Why is this mine being claimed as a Zambian owned project when the major shareholder—Mwembeshi Resources (Bermuda) Ltd—is Chinese owned?
  • Has the Government re-drawn the National Park boundary to allow for this project to proceed outside of the National Park, without having followed due process?
  • Why are documents which form the EIS Addendum submission as well as ZEMA’s Decision Letter not being made public?
  • Why is Mwembeshi Resources claiming that it will create more jobs than tourism in the area? Figures from their own EIS submission clearly indicate that they will have a work force of around 300 jobs in total, of which only a nominal amount of unskilled labour will be employed directly from the area. This is in comparison to more than 1,000 people employed by Tourism and subsidiary industries.
  • Have subsequent EIA’s been conducted for the ZESCO power lines as well as the development of the access road which would have to accommodate the anticipated 50 x 30-ton trucks moving through the escarpment to the Copper Belt via Lusaka every day? This poses a major safety and health risk to the public both in the community, Lusaka City and surrounds as well as an additional threat to the environment.
  • Why are the people of Zambia being kept in the dark and being misinformed?

The Coalition says it is deeply concerned about the process involved in the approval of the EIA, and believes that many Zambians and other concerned people have the same misgivings.

“We, the Save Zambezi, Safe Zambezi coalition of stakeholders – representing the interests of concerned citizens and the people of Zambia – call upon Mbwembeshi Resources Limited and ZEMA to avail the public with answers to our questions and to make public all documentation pertaining to the ZEMA approval from May 2021.

“Until such time, we insist that all development relating to the Kangaluwi Open Cast Copper Mine in the heart of the Lower Zambezi National Park be stopped immediately. The mine will have a potentially devastating impact on people, water, the land and the environment in the entire Southern African region.

“The Coalition renews its call on all Zambians, and everyone who cares about the future of this region, to sign a petition to halt the Kangaluwi mine. You will find the petition on the website change.org, and you will find the petition under the name SaveZambeziSafeZambezi.”

 

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Update on the Proposed Mine in Lower Zambezi 2021

SAVE ZAMBEZI, SAFE ZAMBEZI

Earlier this year, the injunction to stop the proposed Kangaluwi open-cast copper mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park, this year the injunction against the mine was dismissed and the Environmental Impact Assessment, which was rejected in 2021, was once again approved. CLZ along with WWF, WCP and other cooperating partners have been working with Giraffe Creatives and Corporate Image on a media campaign aimed at raising public awareness about the mine. The campaign is running over several months and is being promoted across all media channels.

Kangaluwi-Copper-Project-Timeline

The petition to stop the mine currently has over 20,000 signatures however, we are working to try and increase this number significantly. 

Please sign and share the campaign petition and follow the campaign’s Facebook page for news and further information. 

MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE THREAT OF HARMFUL DEVELOPMENT ON THE ZAMBEZI RIVER BASIN

It is with great concern that it has come to our attention that on the 7th May 2021 Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) issued a letter approving the very controversial environmental impact statement (EIS) for a Large scale open pit mine located inside the Lower Zambezi National Park.

The Zambezi basin, whose main flow is the Zambezi river, is one of Africa’s most important basins. It’s a natural asset shared between Angola, Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique directly supporting the livelihoods of over 47 million people. It is the main supplier of fresh water for household, agriculture, health and industrial use, and supplier of electricity and fish to the populations of these countries. This basin is a network of important ecosystems that is home to Africa’s most important wildlife and water tourism destinations.

Simply put the Zambezi basin is the most significant shared resource that contributes to economic, environmental and social development of Southern Africa. Sustainable management of this resource is crucial in securing the futures of over 250 million people in the region that depend on it.

To meet the needs of the growing populations the basin attracts a range of investments. The way these investments are identified, designed, sequenced and financed will deliver opportunities for the basin or destroy the futures of the majority populations on the basin if the water is either interrupted or polluted.

Despite the Zambezi River being central to enhancing economic opportunities and securing sustainable livelihoods in Southern Africa, it is undergoing serious threats, one of which is the proposed Kangaluwi copper mining project in Lower Zambezi by Mwembeshi Resources Limited.

The proposed site for the mine lies in Lower Zambezi National Park (LZNP), an International Conservation Union (IUCN) category II protected area in South-Eastern Zambia, on the Zambezi River, which lies within close proximity of the Kafue and Luangwa Rivers. The Lower Zambezi National Park (LZNP) provides refuge to globally threatened wildlife species such as Elephants and Wild Dogs and is home to unique vegetation types that include Zambezi endemics and the only protected and intact lowland deciduous thickets in the Southern African region.

If the mine goes ahead it poses a severe threat to the communities within the region as well as downstream where the risk of contaminating water is extremely high. This would impact the communities in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and the whole Zambezi delta, potentially destroying farming and fishing livelihoods and one of the largest tourism destinations for Zambia and Zimbabwe. While Zambia must benefit from the use of the mineral resources it is endowed with, it cannot do so at the expense of its people and other communities in those countries who have no connection to the mine.

It is clear that the potential long-term impacts of this mine and the environmental threat it poses to the renewable resources of the Zambezi River ecosystem far outweigh any short-term benefits. Local communities depend on the area’s renewable resources for water, fishing, agriculture, tourism and forestry. River pollution caused by the mine could threaten the mighty Zambezi river’s 2,000-ton subsistence fishery, which provides food and protein security to 20,000 people along the river’s banks.

In LZNP, eco-tourism in the area depends largely on the renewable wildlife and habitat resources and contributes significantly to the local and national economies around the LZNP.

Tourism establishments in the park and surrounding Game Management Areas (GMAs) employ more than 1,000 local people, generating a local wage bill of $4 million annually that indirectly supports thousands more people at a local community level.

The mine also threatens upcoming conservation projects such as the $12.5 million Lower Zambezi Flagship Species Restoration project, which received approval from the Ministry of Tourism and Arts in 2018. The project aims to bring back locally extinct species such as the Black Rhino and Eland, thereby restoring biodiversity and improving ecosystem processes in the area, which this mine could threaten.

In addition, the Lower Zambezi National Park (LZNP) shares boundaries with the Mana Pools World Heritage site to the south and is also being considered for designation as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Although the mine is expected to cover about 980 km2, which is about 25% of the park, it is estimated that more than 50% of the national park will be lost (the entire northern part of the park). This means that the primary reasons for which the park was initially established will be lost forever.

The threat to the Zambezi River ecosystem was highlighted by the late Dr Kenneth Kaunda, whose recent passing we deeply mourn. Dr Kaunda said the mine planned for Lower Zambezi National Park “poses the biggest threat in history to the wildlife and pristine wilderness that has survived so many centuries of challenges”. We could not have said it better. We urge our leaders to honour his legacy, by protecting this area.

We implore the Government under His Excellency, The President of the Republic of Zambia and the Father of the Nation, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, to ensure a Secure Zambezi and a Safe Zambezi by considering the following:

Take immediate measures to secure the entire Zambezi river’s waters as it is a shared resource between five countries. Developing an open pit mine on top of the Zambezi escarpment will accelerate the degradation of the Zambezi basin which is a source of many lives and livelihoods and source of life for a range of important wildlife and biodiversity.
Secure livelihoods of poor farmers and fishermen. Moving the proposed mine away from Lower Zambezi will secure livelihoods and focus on expanding economic opportunities offered by tourism, fishing and farming for local communities. Such sustainable investments will protect the interests of the poor fishing and farming communities.
Take measures of sustainable development that will ensure intergenerational rights to access and benefit from the Zambezi river are secured.
Work with conservation partners, fishing and tour operators to expand sustainable economic activities in the areas that deliver sustainable jobs and sustainable ecosystems.
Invest in the protected areas network as it will secure some of the globally important but threatened wildlife species such as Elephants and Wild dogs and deliver green jobs.
Focus on resolving the negative social and environmental impacts of mining in mining areas before it can consider opening up protected areas to similar degradation.

We join all our local and international stakeholders in appealing to the Government of the Republic of Zambia to reconsider and revoke the permission to mine the Lower Zambezi, which could jeopardise a renewable, sustainable asset of local, National and International importance. Save Zambezi for a Safe Zambezi.

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CLZ Statement on the Proposed Mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park

26th October 2019

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM CONSERVATION LOWER ZAMBEZI ON THE PROPOSED KANGALUWI OPEN-CAST COPPER MINE IN THE LOWER ZAMBEZI NATIONAL PARK

Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) is a non-profit organisation that works with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) under the Ministry of Tourism and Arts, to protect the wildlife, habitats and ecosystem of the Lower Zambezi. These assets are of local, national and international importance and need to be protected for future generations.

CLZ understands that mining has a place in Zambia’s economy, however, based on the documents which have been made publicly available, CLZ is deeply concerned about this mine’s potential impact on the nation’s conservation status and the environmental threat it poses to the renewable resources ofthe ecosystem.

The LZNP is an area of international conservation significance, supporting one of the most important populations of African elephant in the region, in addition to many other species. There is substantial connectivity between the LZNP and South Luangwa National Park, it lies opposite a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas in Zimbabwe) and is in the process of being registered as a Transfrontier Conservation Area.

Eco-tourism in the area depends largely on the renewable wildlife and habitat resources and contributes significantly to the local and national economies around the LZNP. With three other parks, tourism in LZNP generates 96% of the income the DNPW raises for wildlife management in the country. Tourism establishments in the park and surrounding Game Management Areas (GMAs) employ more than 1,000 local people, generating a local wage bill of $4 million annually that indirectly supports thousands more people at a local community level. The reputational damage that Zambia and the region would suffer by allowing mining in a national park will definitely impact on tourism in this flagship area.

Local communities depend on the area’s renewable resources in fishing, agriculture, tourism and forestry. All of these resources could be significantly impacted by a mine, particularly aquatic resources. River pollution caused by the mine could threaten the Zambezi river’s 2,000 ton subsistence fishery, which provides food and protein security to 20,000 people along the river’s banks.

The mine also threatens upcoming conservation projects such as the $12.5 million dollar Lower Zambezi Flagship Species Restoration project, which received approval from the Ministry of Tourism and Arts in 2018. The project aims to bring back locally extinct species such as the black rhino and eland, thereby restoring biodiversity and improving ecosystem processes.

We join all our local and international stakeholders in issuing a call on the Government of The Republic of Zambia to reconsider and revoke the permission to mine the Lower Zambezi, thereby jeopardising a renewable, sustainable asset of local, national and international importance.