Rooibos provide at least 4, 500 jobs and a stable income to some of SA’s poorest communities. But now, what is now one of the world;s post popular teas, is under threat. Image courtesy of klipopmekaar.co.za
Zimbabwe launches new policy to combat climate change
Dodging bombs while you save the environment. Zimbabwe can do it all, it seems…
Rooibos provide at least 4, 500 jobs and a stable income to some of SA’s poorest communities. But now, what is now one of the world;s post popular teas, is under threat. Image courtesy of klipopmekaar.co.za
While the new Zimbabwe regime has been dodging assassination attempts against President Emmerson Mnangagwa, they have also been working on some new policy for climate change.
Zimbabwe and the Child-Friendly Climate Policy
With extreme weather having a strong negative effect on Zimbabwean farming, government has released three new climate change policies to help. The goal? Making the country more resistant to climate pressures as well as meeting carbon-cutting pledges.
The first of the three, The Child-Friendly Climate Policy will work to educate school children about the issue of climate change. Climate-friendly practices will also be promoted, these will include protecting forests and wetlands.
Read: Trump’s threat on climate change pledges will hit Africa hard
The importance of low-emissions technology will also be stressed.
The second addition, the Climate Smart Agriculture Policy, will focus on making sure farmers and people in the agricultural industry, make use of and follow correct “clean” farming practices.
Lastly, Zimbabwe’s National Climate Policy aims to help the country begin to get the correct legal framework in place. This framework will guide businesses on how to become greener and follow the international Paris Agreement.
Under the agreement, countries across the globe have made a promise to meet specific emission-cutting targets.
Washington Zhakata, climate change management director in the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Water, says that the National Climate Policy is the “first step” to meeting all of these promises.
According to Zimbabwean climate scientists, the policy will also work to find ways to keep the agricultural sector strong, even without much water.
The policy has a thrust towards promoting adaptation because, as a developing country, our scope for mitigation or reducing emissions is limited because we are not all that industrialised compared to the developed world.”
“Roughly 80% of Zimbabwe’s rural people depend on rainfed agriculture for a living. This makes them highly vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change.”
Currently, the majority of Zimbabwe’s emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels, agricultural production and waste handling.
