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Cleveland
Catchment needs proper management
Environment
Africa
November 2003
The Cleveland
Catchment Area, source of the Mukuvisi River, urgently needs special
care if it is to be protected as a vital water source and flourishing
public amenity.
Environment
Africa together with the City of Harare are entering arrangements
for the effective management of the whole catchment area. That is
going to be an enormous task requiring all the help and advice we
can get.
The small game
park inside Cleveland itself requires specialist management so that
a large number of different animals can live comfortably together
in a confined space with the right quantities and mix of natural
and supplementary food, with the right combinations of spaces for
breeding and birthing, for grazing and resting, for gregarious and
solitary behaviour, for the maintenance of plant and animal life
diversity, and the conservation of soil, water and other assets.
Currently, this
small game park is getting no management, no supplementary feeding,
no parasites control, no relocation of excess animals. Visitors
are protesting that animals are visibly distressed, the tick population
is unbelievably high, tree cutting is rampant and alien plants are
invading a mismanaged environment. The SPCA are threatening present
owners with prosecution. Animals are dying in distressing circumstances.
The Cleveland Catchment Area is in urgent need of proper management.
Cleaning
up the Mukuvisi River
On the 19th
September 2003, Zimbabweans from all walks of life joined millions
of people in over 125 countries to mark the annual Clean Up The
World campaign to celebrate the International Year for Freshwater.
This year's focus was mainly on river pollution.
Rivers passing
through the country 's urban centres continue to be sinks of pollution
from various sources. Within the Cleveland catchment area, the suburbs
of Mabvuku and Tafara have been badly affected by the irregular
and inadequate waste collection services being offered by the Harare
City Council.
As a result
residents in the two suburbs have resorted to dumping solid waste
on available open spaces. This is a breeding ground for diseases
such as cholera especially in light of the looming rains.
Concerned residents
from the two suburbs joined Environment Africa, Circle Cement and
Encore Waste in clearing some of the illegal rubbish dumps developing
in the area.
The local clean-up
was held over three days during which Circle Cement provided four
tipper trucks and a frontend loader for the exercise while Encore
Waste assisted with a compactor truck.
The removed
waste was mixed with soil and utilised to fill pits left by illegal
sand miners. At Cleveland Dam, Zimphos workers removed about two
tonnes of debris from the banks of the Mukuvisi River, Harare's
main water source flowing from east to west into Lake Chivero. The
Mukuvisi Sunrise Arts Group was also present to assist in removing
weeds.
The
siege continues
Ten years ago
as one travelled towards the Mabvuku turnoff along the Mutare road,
Chikurubi buildings approximately 3km away due North were not visible
due to the verdant tree cover.
Cleveland has
lost most of its tree cover mainly due to the current economic hardships
and the scarcity of paraffin. Many Epworth residents found indiscriminately
cutting down trees for sale have been arrested and made to pay fines.
The loss of
vegetation cover has left the Cleveland area vulnerable to erosion
and siltation of the dammed water body. Illegal sand abstraction
for the construction industry is worsening the problem.
Though illegal
sand diggers have also been arrested and made to pay fines, the
problems have not been brought under control.
Legal co-operative
members who are cultivating a section of Cleveland are concerned
about the illegal activities because the environment is being destroyed.
This issue was raised during a meeting organised by EAfrica in August
2003.
Concerns were
raised that the police were not handling this issue with the degree
of seriousness it deserves.
The response
from the police suggests that the fines for such crimes have not
been revised for them to be effective. In the meantime, security
systems have been put in place to curb the nefarious practices.
EAfrica carried
out an exercise to identify cultivators in the Cleveland dam area
who are to be trained in the concepts of sustainable urban agriculture.
Workshops to make cultivators aware of environmental malpractices
and how to tackle them have taken place.
On a positive
note, an ongoing exercise is under way to eradicate Lantana Camara,
cactus and other foreign trees in Cleveland.
For more information:
Shelter Hamandishe
Communications Officer
Environment Africa
Tel: 302276
Visit the Environment
Africa fact sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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