By Edgar Gweshe
The City of Harare is located on top of the watershed in the headwaters of its river systems and this implies that the city’s wetlands serve as water sources.
The continued destruction of these wetlands continues to worsen the erratic water situation in the capital. Statistics show that Harare has lost over 50 percent of its wetlands in the past two decades.
Wetlands are critical for water provisioning and purification as well as climate change mitigation.
Erratic water supplies have negatively impacted on citizens’ right to water as enshrined under Section 77 of the Zimbabwean constitution.
Section 77 of the constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees the right to safe, clean and potable water and obligates the state to take measures to ensure the realisation of this right.
However, for Senzeni Dube, a resident from Harare’s high density suburb of Budiriro, access to water has turned out to be more of a privilege than a constitutional right.
Water shortages in her neighbourhood continue to be the order of the day amid growing cases of water borne diseases.
Budiriro is one of Harare’s hotspots for cholera and typhoid.
The dire situation in this suburb, as is the case in most areas in Harare, is compounded by the fact that even when council water is available, it is not safe for drinking.
Other rights violations associated with water scarcity in Harare include sexual abuse of women and girls at water points or on their way to and from fetching the precious liquid.
“In as much as we have the inalienable right to water, we have learnt to live without the precious liquid. Unprotected sources have become our major sources of water and this means we continue to be exposed to waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera. We feel lucky whenever water comes out from our tapes and as such we can no longer regard access to water as a right but rather a privilege.
“As a community activist, I have been actively involved in the protection of wetlands as I am fully aware of their important function in terms of water provision but our efforts have not yielded much fruit and we continue to call upon duty bearers to complement our efforts in protecting these water sources. But of course, we can never ignore the need for new water sources for Harare,” said Dube.
Harare’s main water supply, Lake Chivero, which was initially designed for a population of around 300 000 people now caters for over 5 Million people from Norton, Epworth, Ruwa and Chitungwiza.
Calls continue to grow for the establishment of new water sources with residents adopting public interest litigation as a tool to push the government and local authorities to uphold their constitutional right to water.
In terms of wetlands protection, stakeholders are agreed that a human rights based approach is critical in preserving and protecting Harare’s water sources.This, they say, entails protecting the right to clean, safe and potable water.
The destruction of wetlands in Harare continues to affect water quality amid reports that Harare requires USD2 Million monthly for water purification.
Environmentalists and community based organisations in Harare say that an all-stakeholders approach towards wetlands protection is critical in protecting residents’ constitutional right to clean, safe and potable water hence the need to employ a human rights based approach.
Human rights and Environmental Lawyer, Fiona Iliff said wetlands degradation in Harare continues to impact negatively on human rights hence the need for concerted efforts to protect the water sources.
“Wetlands protection is a human rights issue because wetlands provide critical services to citizens such as water storage, water purification, flood mitigation and climate change mitigation among many other services. There are many constitutional rights that are affected when wetlands are illegally developed.
“The constitution of Zimbabwe protects environmental and water rights. Section 73 protects the right to an environment that is not harmful to people’s health and well being and says the environment must be protected for the benefit of present and future generations and this requires the authorities to take measures to prevent pollution and ecological degradation and promote conservation and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources. Section 77 protects the right to safe, clean and potable water and also calls upon the state to take measures to achieve the realisation of the right,” said Iliff.
The Director of Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), Reuben Akili said the protection of wetlands is critical for the realisation of the right to water, a safe environment as well as economic rights.
” Wetlands purify water for free and also store water which contributes towards the realization of the right to water. Wetlands contribute to the right to a clean environment as they absorb carbon hence they contribute to the cleaning of air from pollutants.They also store different species including fish which also contribute to the right to food.Through protecting wetlands, we can be able to realise economic rights through creation of green jobs,” said Akili.
Harare has 47 gazetted wetlands and three internationally recognised wetlands under the Ramsar Convention namely, Lake Chivero, Monavale Vlei and Cleveland Dam.
In Zimbabwe wetlands are protected under the Environmental Management Act (EMA) Chapter [CAP] 20:27 No. 13/2002, alongside Statutory Instrument (SI) 7 of 2007. These pieces of legislation outline regulations for Environmental Impact Assessments and Ecosystems Protection.
The Director of Community Water Alliance, Hardlife Mudzingwa said the human right to water in Harare is directly linked to the protection of wetlands.
“Wetlands preservation and access to water are two inseparable twins, especially for Harare a city that is sited on its catchment. The human right to water is therefore directly linked to wetlands preservation. Human rights are inseparable and indivisible. The enjoyment of a right is tied to the other and violation of one human rights issue leads to violation of the other,” said Mudzingwa.
He implored authorities to ensure that development takes into consideration the need to protect wetlands which are vital for water supply in Harare.
“Development in Harare should focus on a gender inclusive human rights based approach. If this approach is taken on board it should accept that Section 73 of the Constitution recognises environmental rights; wetlands preservation included,” said Mudzingwa.
Calls continue to be made by concerned stakeholders for the City of Harare’s new Master Plan to make reference to wetlands and their invaluable services for the city. Stakeholders say there is an imperative need to ensure that land use planning in Harare incorporates the need to protect wetlands, without which the sustainable development of the city remains a pipe dream.
According to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) wetlands degradation has led to the water levels in Harare drastically falling down.
Water production in Harare is currently at 200 megalitres against a daily requirement of 800 megalitres.
Harare Wetlands Trust (HWT) Programmes Manager, Selection Chari expressed concern that wetlands degradation in Harare continues to threaten the well-being of residents. He said improved management and protection of wetlands is critical in ensuring clean water supply for residents of Harare.
“The ongoing degradation of wetlands has severe implications for the City of Harare’s future development, particularly in the quest for climate smart cities. The loss of wetlands threatens to worsen the already critical water shortages driven by rapid population growth and urban development, which in turn places immense pressure on existing water resources. Wetlands play a critical role in water purification, flood control, and sustaining biodiversity, all of which are essential for the well-being of urban populations,” said Chari.
In July 2025, Zimbabwe will be hosting the Ramsar Convention’s 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) in Victoria Falls and Chari said this high-profile event offers a pivotal opportunity to advance both national and regional commitments to wetlands and biodiversity conservation.
Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on the Protection of Wetlands having signed the treaty in 2012.
Community stewardship has also been identified as a key tool to protect Harare’s wetlands.
A Conservation Officer with Monavale Vlei, an internationally recognised wetland under the Ramsar Convention, Jimmy Muropa said communities play a major role in protecting their right to water.
“Community stewardship in wetlands protection is very important in that it provides the ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ on the ground for immediate action to be taken if any immediate threats or challenges are faced. This has been a success in Monavale as a committee that specifically deals with the wetland has readily engaged with relevant authorities in dealing with issues that might arise.
Firstly community involvement in Monavale vlei has been hugely a success,thanks to residents’ deep understanding of wetland functions,roles and importance,” said Muropa.
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) Provincial Manager for Harare, León Mutungamiri said the agency continues to be guided by legislation on wetlands protection and has developed a policy to protect the water sources in Harare.
“We have legislation in place governing utilisation of wetlands. There are wetland guidelines for all the stakeholders and a wetland policy in place and we have gazetted wetlands in Harare which are not supposed to be tampered with. We have also designed wetland protection projects,” said Mutungamiri.
According to EMA, community stewardship is critical in protecting wetlands and guaranteeing the right to water.
The Harare City Council says it is scaling efforts to protect wetlands through engagement with various stakeholders.
“We will be doing consultations with residents in all wards and we will be asking for the views of residents on wetlands protection. So we are taking the issue of wetlands abuse seriously,” said Harare City Council Spokesperson Stanley Gama.
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