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Letter to the Editor of The Herald - Rainy (sic) Forest Restaurant spruces up Victoria Falls
Environment Africa
November 02, 2010

In response to the article published on 29th October 2010 re 'Rainy (sic) Forest Restaurant spruces up Victoria Falls'. This has to be one of the most 'uneducated' pieces of editorial I have read and it is a great pity that the journalist who wrote this article did not take the time to investigate the background history to the Victoria Falls Rainforest and in so doing, would have become acquainted with the laws, both national and international, that govern the management and maintenance of a World Heritage and National Monument site. These laws are promulgated on the basis of scientific and environmental input from relevant experts to protect and conserve these rare and unique heritages.

While your writer was so struck by the restaurant and expounds on the niceties of the food on offer, he has completely missed the point, because if he did have any knowledge of the laws, he would be aware that one of the prime objectives in managing a site of this nature is to avoid the congestion or overstay of visitors, to preserve the site and its surrounds. It is a very basic principle of moving people in and out of the area in the shortest possible time. Although a restaurant would be a 'nice to have' for the tourists benefit, let us not lose sight of why they have come in the first instance, to view one of the seven wonders of the world. Whilst one cannot fault the aesthetics of the development and the services it provides to the tourists it does not adhere to the governance of a National Monument and World Heritage Site.

In 2007 UNESCO threatened to delist the Victoria Falls Rainforest as a World Heritage Site due to 'mismanagement' and 'overdevelopment' in contravention of their governing laws. To remedy this, a Joint Management Plan was agreed to by the Zimbabwean and Zambian Governments with strict guidelines for the management and protection of the Victoria Falls Rainforest including a prohibition on any further developments in the area. When the original project was submitted for approval it was presented as an 'upgrade' of the 'existing' facilities, which within the existing laws would have been acceptable. However, the final development was on a much larger scale with the building of new infrastructure and in so doing, governing legislation has been breached and the stark reality is, we could once again, be faced with the threat of being delisted as a World Heritage Site.

With reference to the 'rabid attack on Government' by an 'obscure' NGO is irresponsible, to say the least. Environment Africa has been in existence for the past 20 years and today, is as committed as ever to conserving, protecting and uplifting our environment and its surrounding communities throughout Zimbabwe through responsible utilisation of our natural resources and sustainable development. Environment Africa has been working with the National Parks Authority in the Victoria Falls Rainforest for the past six years, removing invasive alien plants such as lantana camara in a unique and successful partnership. The work we do is not for monetary gain, but out of passion and love for our beautiful country, its people and our environment. We are proud to be environmental 'watchdogs', we are a voice for the environment and the people.

When members of the local community in Victoria Falls started approaching Environment Africa with various concerns about the development in the Rainforest, we would have been remiss in our duty if we did not investigate further. This investigation revealed a number of irregularities, including a flawed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) which has been brought to the attention of the relevant authorities. We believe that if the developer had carried out an independent EIA and a wide stakeholder consultation process as requested by Environment Africa, this issue would not be where it is now. it is not a case of 'attacking the Government' but rather an appeal from ordinary citizens of Zimbabwe to the Government to uphold our own laws. Environment Africa has a good working relationship with our government on environmental issues and we continue to work with them for the betterment of our country and our environment. We are not concerned with the quality of the spicy chicken wraps and crocodile bites, but we are concerned as environmentalists with the long term preservation and protection of our World Heritage Site.

We would like to urge the key stakeholders to come together to find resolution and map a way forward on this critical issue.

Let us work together for our environment and our country and leave behind a heritage that we as a nation can all be proud of.

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