Wetlands and Urban Growth in Bindura, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Widespread destruction of the country's wetlands, especially in urban centres, has continued unchecked despite a raft of legal instruments that criminalizes such activities. Mineral panning, housing developments, agricultural and industrial activities are among the leading causes of wetland degradation. This research found out that the demand for housing in Bindura has seen the town authorities parcelling out land in areas that had been preserved as wetlands, most of the areas are not fit for construction. The research sought to find out what the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) had done to raise awareness in the town. Data was collected through the use a self-administered questionnaire with EMA officials being the survey respondents. Four wetlands site were visited where there is ongoing construction of houses. The major findings where that housing construction depletes the water table and give rise to pollution of underground water. Other findings include habitat loss, water diversion structures, impairment of wetlands among others. It is therefore recommended that wetlands could be utilized in a way that it would not affect the ecological functions, such as creation of parks and golf courses. EMA should be given more authority to stop local authorities from allocating stands on wetlands and there should be local environmental activities to raise awareness.