The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE will tomorrow (Friday) commemorate Desertification and Drought Day, a day set aside to promote public awareness on international and local efforts to combat desertification, land degradation and drought.
This is in line with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to which Zimbabwe is a party.
In a statement Environment Management Authority (EMA) Environmental Education and Publicity Manager Mrs Amukela Sidange said the theme for this year is “Rising Up from Drought Together”.
“This is a clarion call for all of us to play a part in the fight against drought. Drought is one of the most destructive natural disasters in terms of loss of life arising from impacts, such as wide scale crop failure, veld fires, loss of livestock due to poverty, death; and water stress and shocks. This is exacerbated by land degradation and climate change,” she said.
Mrs Sidange said droughts have been part of human and natural systems, but what is currently being experienced is much worse, largely due to human activity.
She said the UNCCD, calls on countries to increase commitment to pursue effective policies on drought, develop and implement national drought plans and build strong partnerships on drought management with the active participation of relevant sectors and stakeholders, local communities, women, youth, civil society and the private sector.
“Zimbabwe is working towards achieving this through climate-proof agricultural programs premised on public awareness and capacity building, among other several initiatives. This year the thrust hinges on land restoration projects and programmes being implemented by various communities, businesses, institutions, civil society, academia and governments in sustainable land management, and this also is in conformity to the decade of ecosystem restoration of 2020 to 2030 as well as the aspirations of the national blueprint NDS1,” said Mrs Sidange.
This year’s commemoration events will be held in all the 10 provinces countrywide, where information and demonstrations on combating desertification and drought will be shared with the public. The National Commemoration will be held tomorrow at Makaha Secondary School in Mudzi District, Mashonaland East Province. -@NyembeziMu
