BULAWAYO, Jun. 9 (NewsDay Live) - The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has welcomed the Government’s declaration of a State of Disaster to rehabilitate degraded river ecosystems, but warned that the exercise could be exploited by mining interests operating under the cover of environmental restoration.
The declaration, contained in the Civil Protection (Declaration of State of Disaster: Emergency Riverine Ecosystems Rehabilitation) Notice, 2026, published in an Extraordinary Government Gazette on June 2, covers 17 rivers damaged by legal and illegal alluvial mining.
The affected rivers include Mazowe, Murowodzi, Save, Angwa, Sanyati, Munyati, Mupfure, Umzingwane, Insiza, Manzimudaka, Mutebekwi, Mtshingwe, Mutare, Haroni and Nyamukwarara.
The Government said the declaration was necessitated by “the need to properly rehabilitate riverine ecosystems throughout Zimbabwe that have been adversely affected by legal and illegal alluvial mining activities.”
While backing efforts to address siltation, biodiversity loss, pollution and disrupted water flows, CNRG warned that inadequate safeguards could turn the rehabilitation programme into a conduit for commercial mineral extraction.
“There is a real risk that mining activities could be conducted under the guise of river rehabilitation, further worsening environmental destruction while benefiting private interests,” the organisation said.
CNRG said Zimbabwe had previously seen rehabilitation permits and restoration projects allegedly used to facilitate mining in ecologically sensitive areas.
“River restoration is a highly technical exercise that must be carried out by entities with the requisite skills,” it said, stressing the need for scientific assessments, environmental monitoring and community participation.
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The watchdog urged authorities to bar companies with interests in alluvial mining or histories of riverbed extraction from abusing the programme.
“The rehabilitation programme must not become a vehicle for resource extraction disguised as environmental restoration,” CNRG said.
It called for transparent contracting, independent environmental impact assessments, public disclosure of activities and budgets, community involvement, and multi-stakeholder oversight involving environmental experts, academics and civil society.
CNRG said Zimbabwe’s river degradation was the result of years of weak regulation, poor enforcement and unsustainable mining practices.
“Zimbabwe’s rivers are a national heritage and a critical source of water, livelihoods and biodiversity,” the organisation said. “The State of Disaster declaration must be used to heal these ecosystems, not to create new avenues for their exploitation.”
