A local civic group has raised concerns over the destruction of a gazetted wetland in Tafara’s Gosden area, near Mabvuku Cemetery, where construction of residential housing is reportedly underway despite environmental protections.
The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) said in a statement on Thursday that the City of Harare had approved the housing project, and called on the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) to urgently halt the developments.
The group said the wetland was gazetted in 2023 as an ecologically sensitive area under Section 113(1) of the Environmental Management Act and serves as a key water source for the surrounding communities.
“The disturbed wetland is not only a water source for the area but also rich in biodiversity, and allocating stands and allowing housing construction on this wetland will inherently collapse the various ecological services provided to residents for free,” CHRA said.
The development comes just as Zimbabwe concludes hosting the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Ramsar Convention in Victoria Falls, a global summit on wetland conservation, and CHRA says the timing of the destruction raises questions about local commitment to conservation.
“Regrettably such ill-informed development exposes the insincerity and lack of commitment by the planning authority (City of Harare) to protect wetlands especially when the Ramsar COP 15 Conference is underway and being hosted by Zimbabwe with City Officials both elected and non-elected being high level delegates,” CHRA added.
CHRA also accused the City of Harare of ignoring the official wetland map issued by EMA and said previous warnings issued in October 2024 were not acted upon. As of July 31, construction equipment had been deployed and building was ongoing.
