United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator HE Edward Kallon has called for the need for urgent action towards land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.
Speaking at the World Environment Day commemorations held at the Geo Pomona Waste Management Site in Harare, Kallon highlighted the alarming statistics surrounding land degradation and the increasing frequency of droughts.
“With up to 40% of the planet’s land degraded and the number and duration of droughts increasing by 29% since 2000, urgent action is needed,” said Kallon pointing out that Zimbabwe has been particularly affected by severe droughts, floods, and other climate-related disasters, causing significant economic losses and human suffering.
Kallon urged Zimbabwe to strengthen its policy and legal frameworks in agriculture and land management, promote sustainable farming practices, enhance research and development in agronomy, and invest in climate-smart technologies.
“To build a sustainable and resilient economy, Zimbabwe must strengthen policy/legal frameworks in agriculture and land management, including sustainable land use planning and incentives for sustainable farming and agro-forestry. Scale up resilience and community asset-building initiatives, focusing on young people and climate-resilient farming practices such as water harvesting and management technologies,” he said
Meanwhile, Dilesh Nguwaya, CEO of Geo Pomona Waste Management, highlighted the company’s significant strides in environmental management since taking over the waste management site.
“The outbreak of uncontrolled fires on the site is now a thing of the past,” he declared. Nguwaya outlined the company’s use of encapsulation to cover waste, effectively minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
Geo Pomona Waste Management’s commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was highlighted by Nguwaya.
He outlined the company’s efforts in waste management solutions to reduce emissions and its upcoming Waste-to-Energy Plant project, aligning with SDG 13 and SDG 7.
The plant, expected to incinerate 1,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, will generate between 16MW and 22MW of electricity while integrating an emission filter system to further mitigate climate change impacts.
The event was attended by high ranking officials including First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa who was guest of honour.
