ZIMBABWEAN traditional leader Chief Chipadze cuts the figure of an unassuming old man who could be dismissed as a figurehead lacking knowledge of his surroundings.
But engaging the old man exposes profound knowledge of the potential threat facing natural resources including forests, minerals and land in his area of jurisdiction.
Chief Chipadze’s area boasts several gold-rich mines, vast tracts of fertile land and other resources.
The traditional leader recently bemoaned the threats posed by efforts to extract resources on the environment and associated risks including land degradation and deforestation.
“While we appreciate the need to exploit these resources for the economic development of our areas and the country at large, these activities have scarred our land,” he said in an interview after the launch of Kuvimba Mining House sustainability campaign in line with the company’s commitment to preserving the environment and protecting local communities.
The sustainability campaign, under the theme Restoring Nature, Securing Tomorrow, focuses on restoring and rebuilding sustainable communities through developing and preserving green spaces.
The initiative prioritises the use of native plants, dust suppression initiatives, local infrastructural rehabilitation as well as the establishment of tailing storage facilities at its various mines across Zimbabwe.
Chief Chipadze’s sentiments are not isolated as government has also raised concern over the effects of activities such as tobacco curing and mining, which have had devastating effects on forests.
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Woodland resources are potential carbon sinks for climate change mitigation and support biodiversity while ensuring livelihoods for local communities.
According to Global Forest Watch, in 2020 Zimbabwe had 5,73Mha of natural forest, extending over 15% of its land area but lost 10,5kha of natural forest, equivalent to 6,71Mt of CO₂ emissions in 2023.
Research has indicated that mining, agriculture and other activities such as logging for fuel wood and land clearance are also threatening Zimbabwe’s forest cover.
And in 2020, Mashonaland Central, the area in which Chief Chipadze has a stake, had 544kha of natural forest, extending over 19% of its land area lost 1,12kha of natural forest, equivalent to 666kt of CO₂ emissions in 2023, Global Forest Watch said.
“From 2002 to 2023, Mashonaland Central lost < 1ha of humid primary forest, making up < 0,1% of its total tree cover loss in the same period. The total area of humid primary forest in Mashonaland Central decreased by 100% in this period.
“From 2001 to 2023, Mashonaland Central lost 13,4kha of tree cover, equivalent to a 10% decrease in tree cover since 2000 and 4,23Mt of CO₂e emissions.
“In Mashonaland Central, two top regions were responsible for 53% of all tree cover loss between 2001 and 2023. Mazowe had the most tree cover loss at 3,89kha compared to an average of 1,91kha followed by Guruve with Bindura on third.”
Speaking during the launch of the initiative at Freda Rebecca Mine in Bindura recently, Kuvimba Mining House chief executive Trevor Barnard expressed the group’s commitment to preserving the environment and protecting communities in their operational areas.
He also applauded Freda Rebecca for initiating the construction and expansion of its tailings storage facility extension.
“It is an important part of the process and I don't want to be too technical but all of the water and the slime that come out of the process gets deposited in this tailings storage facility.
“So, by doing this we ensure that there is no pollution into the environment and making sure that we contain the water and the slime and then also reuse the water in our processes,” he said.
Barnard also said the restoration of forests in their operational areas was an important initiative that was in sync with Kuvimba’s vision to secure a sustainable future for Zimbabweans and future generations.
“So what we are doing here today is living out our vision and for us, it is important that we practically also do this by planting trees and by planting specifically indigenous trees, not trees from all over the world but trees from Zimbabwe here at Freda Rebecca and we are going to roll that out across all of our mines and all of our operations across Zimbabwe,” he said.
Chief Chipadze applauded Kuvimba’s commitment to protecting the environment.
“I am also pleased and confident that these trees will grow, as we did not import trees from China or Britain, but instead selected our indigenous trees that are well-suited to our local environment,” he said.
Kuvimba Mining House’s initiative is aimed at promoting environmental stewardship and building environmental resilience in the company's operational areas.
The campaign focuses on restoring and rebuilding sustainable communities through the development and preservation of green spaces using native plants, dust suppression initiatives and local infrastructural rehabilitation.
At Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, the mining house has planted more than 10 000 trees since January this year around the mine tailing storage facility, a mining structure used to store waste materials from mineral extraction.
The waste can cause significant damage to local communities if not managed properly.
The event coincided with the International Women's Week honouring the role played by women in environmental stewardship.
As part of this campaign, Kuvimba’s operational mines have been actively involved in various community initiatives to promote environmental preservation.
At Mberengwa’s Sandawana Mines, the company's lithium mine in the energy cluster, Kuvimba has built over 20 kilometres of road works and implemented dust suppression initiatives in the district.
Kuvimba has also rolled out health promotion initiatives for Mberengwa while at Zimbabwe Alloys in Gweru, it operates a back filing programme for disused pits to protect local communities.
Kuvimba Mining House is a mining conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of mines in gold, platinum group metals, energy and bulk commodities clusters.
