By Balewa Zyuulu
Conservation Advocates Zambia says the new dawn government has missed an opportunity to correct the wrongs of the past by failing to cancel the controversial mining license for Mwembeshi Resources in the lower Zambezi.
Addressing a joint media briefing with all the save the Zambezi partners in Lusaka today, Organization Director Mehluli Malisa Batakathi says the lower Zambezi is intricately linked to three other countries, and mining in such a protected and delicate area with a shared ecosystem will create complex and controversial issues with far-reaching consequences.
Mr Batakathi warns that the anticipated biodiversity loss and the resultant mining footprint is expected to have far-reaching impacts and consequences for all three countries that share the lower Zambezi ecosystem which include Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
He argues that the real economic benefits of mining in lower Zambezi are also questioned against the well-known after-effects of mining, especially that wherever mining has occurred, biodiversity loss has been heavy, including animal and tree species among
others.
Mwembeshi Resources Limited the company which was given a license to do copper mining in the lower Zambezi National Park is expected to commence production before the end of this year, which has raised concerns with environmental experts calling on government to halt the planned mining.
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