Tonga chiefs stand up against mining in Lower Zambezi NP

Lower Zambezi canoe safari - Image credit: 'No Mining in Lower Zambezi National Park' (Facebook page).

The Tonga Traditional Association has asked the Zambian Government to revoke the mining licence awarded to Mwembeshi Resources, a subsidiary of Zambezi Resources (Australia), to start a large-scale open cast mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park. The association president, Dickson Namanza, say it will interfere with the environment, culture, tradition and heritage for the people of Southern Province

Namanza said that the decision by the Minister of Lands and Environmental Protection, Harry Kalaba to allow mining was irrational and it lacked consultation with various stakeholders who among them included the traditional leadership in the area. Namanza said that his association was worried and concerned at the speed government was running to deplete the world’s heritage.

“We are concerned as people from Southern Province about the manoeuvre by the Minister of Lands Harry Kalaba to issue a mining licence in a National Park. We are wondering in whose interest they are issuing the licence? We ask this government to revoke the licence because it is not in the best interest of the people of Southern Province and Zambia in general,” Namanza said. He said that it was shocking that government was insisting on starting a mine in the national park at the expense of a thriving wildlife.

“The Lower Zambezi National Park is our pride as Zambians, it is our pride as the people of Southern Province and we see no reason why government should allow people to mine in this area. There should be no displacement of animals in that national park. Why can’t government ask the same investors to go to Munali Nickel mine in Mazabuka and continue with the mining project there rather than to start a new mine in the national park? We don’t want any further displacement of human beings and animals,” said Namanza.

“This is another fallen project by the [Government]; we shall not support it as it will destroy our tradition. That national park has a true meaning for the people of Southern Province and Western Zambia. We cannot compromise with our tradition. Let them go elsewhere with their money. We don’t need it,” said Namanza.

More on this issue from the Zambezi Traveller
Minister gives green light for Kangaluwi Copper Project in Lower Zambezi National Park (Jan 2014)
A conflict of interests? (June 2013)
Mining in National Park thrown out (Dec 2012)

Source:
Tonga chiefs condemn mining in the lower Zambezi (The Lusaka Times, 18 Feb 2014)

Related Stories:
Minister for Tourism opposes Government’s decision to allow mining in Lower Zambezi National Park (The Lusaka Times, 18 Feb 2014)

Join the 'No Mining in Lower Zambezi National Park' group on Facebook here.

Minister gives green light for Kangaluwi Copper Project in Lower Zambezi National Park

Minister gives green light for Kangaluwi Copper Project in Lower Zambezi National Park

Zambezi Resources Ltd announced recently that Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Larry Kalaba has overturned the Zambia Environmental Management Agency’s rejection of its Environmental Impact Study and given the green light for Zambezi Resources Ltd to proceed with the Kangaluwi Copper Project in the Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia. The Park was being considered as a potential World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

In a letter dated January 17, 2014, addressed to Mwembeshi Resources Managing Director, Kalaba stated that he had carefully considered the submitted grounds of appeal against ZEMA's rejection.

"I have also carefully considered each and every ground of rejection given by the ZEMA board. In exercise of powers conferred on me by section 115 subsections 1, 2 and 3 of the environmental management Act, I have decided to approve the project on the following grounds," Kalaba stated. "Firstly, the project should go ahead because it will eventually create employment for ordinary people in the area. Secondly, there are currently available cost-effective technologies and methods to adequately address all the identified negative impacts that may arise from this project and lastly, wildlife management in the area will be enhanced and conserved by the proposed managed scheme contained in your submissions. By copy of this letter...liaise with ZEMA for them to issue a decision letter with all the appropriate conditions under which the project will operate."

Zambezi Resources Chairman, Mr David Vilensky welcomed the Zambian Government’s decision, complimenting the Zambian Government in allowing the Kangaluwi Copper Project to proceed within the National Park as part of its revised Mineral Resources Development Policy which seeks to strike a fair balance between the benefits of mining and the protection of the environment and wildlife conservation, provided its policies and laws are respected and adhered to and such investments will create employment opportunities for ordinary Zambians.

However in 2008, Chieftainess Chiawa (Chiawa/Kafue) Chiefs Chipepo, Simamba, Sinadambwe (of Siavonga district), and Chiefs Mupuka and Mburuma (Luangwa) had met and issued an historic statement against mining covering 18 chiefdoms.

More on this issue from the Zambezi Traveller
A conflict of interests? (June 2013)
Mining in National Park thrown out (Dec 2012)

Sources:
The Lusaka Times - Lands minister overturns Zambia Enviroment Management agency ruling and allows mining in Lower Zambezi National Park (22 Jan 2014).
The Lusaka Times - Lower Zambezi National park was due to be declared World Heritage site (23 Jan 2014).
The Zambian Post - Kalaba approves mining project in Lower Zambezi Park (23 Jan 2014).

Recent Updates:
The Zambian Post - Govt approval of Lower Zambezi mining project treacherous (26 Jan 2014)
The Zambian Post - Ngoma backs Lower Zambezi mining (28 Jan 2014)
The Lusaka Times - Injunction against Mining in Lower Zambezi successfully lodged at the High Court (03 Feb 2014)
The Lusaka Times - Zambezi Resources promises to build the cleanest, greenest and safest copper mine ever built in the Lower Zambezi (03 Feb 2014)

Batoka Gorge Dam: to be or not to be?

At the end of 2012 the Zambezi River Authority invited expressions of interest from companies interested in tendering for the development of the Batoka Gorge Hydro Electric Scheme, a joint initiative by the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe and supported with funding from the World Bank. Sources expect the project to commence this year and reach completion by 2019.

Details of the proposed dam design were summarised in the invitation document as being a 181m high gravity arch dam with two underground power stations carrying four 200 MW turbines and giving a total capacity of 1,600 MW.

The reservoir formed by the dam will be contained within the Batoka Gorge and is predicted to have a relatively small surface area of 26km2 and a water level of 762m above sea level. The location for the dam on the Zambezi River 54km downstream of the Victoria Falls is given as 18º 1’ S 26º 34’ E.

Zambezi River Authority chief executive officer, Engineer Munyaradzi Munodawafa, was reported by media sources as saying that the Batoka project was expected to have a positive socio-economic impact on people from the two countries. “We are looking at the economic benefit locals are going to derive from the project,” he was quoted as saying.

A few months prior to the announcement of the tender process an American hydrologist criticised the proposed plans for the Batoka Gorge Dam and Mphanda Nkuwa Dam (also on the Zambezi in Mozambique) for being based on archived hydrological data which had not been re-evaluated for potential climate change risks, including regional drought, reduced flows and increased risk of extreme flooding events. The original technical, legal and environmental feasibility studies were carried out in the early 1990s.

Zambia’s power utility managing director, Cyprian Chitun, said fresh technical and environmental studies will be conducted before the actual construction begins. “An expression of interest was tendered in the press to look for consultants to review the study that was conducted in 1992. We need to ensure that the feasibility study is brought up to speed,” local sources reported. ZRA public relations and communications manager, Elizabeth Karonga, confirmed the authority was waiting for a new updated Environmental Impact Assessment report before commencing construction of the dam.

In January 2013, ministers from Zambia and Zimbabwe met in Victoria Falls to discuss the development of the project.

FACTFILE: History of the Batoka Gorge Dam project

The first geological studies of the Batoka Gorge were undertaken in 1904 with the construction of the Victoria Falls Bridge and planning for the Victoria Falls Hydro Electric Scheme. The bridge was opened in 1905 but the power scheme was not realised until 1938.

The Batoka scheme was conceived in 1972 out of a study instituted by the Central African Power Corporation (predecessor of Zambezi River Authority). The 1972 report by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners identified several sites on the Zambezi which would be potentially suitable for development as hydro electric schemes. These included Batoka Gorge, Devil’s Gorge, both upstream of Lake Kariba, and Mupata Gorge, downstream of Kariba.  The 1981 Gibb report relocated the proposed dam site some 12km upstream, due to a mapping error. The current technical, legal and environmental feasibility studies were carried out in 1993.

Early in 2012 the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe agreed the settlement of outstanding debts relating to the Kariba project, clearing one of the last major obstacles to the Batoka project.

Read about the Batoka Gorge Dam in the March 2012 issue of the Zambezi Traveller:
Batoka Gorge Power Scheme Revisited

Read more on the Batoka Gorge Dam in the July 2012 issue of the Zambezi Traveller:
Batoka gorge dam one step closer