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The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) is a public interest law group which seeks to promote democracy, environmental justice, the sustainable and equitable use of Zimbabwe’s’ natural resources, and good governance in the environmental sector. The group’s mission is to use the law to protect the rights of local communities and conserve the environment and Zimbabwe’s natural resources. ZELA works to accomplish their mission through legal and policy research, advocacy, impact litigation, conflict resolution, and civic education. They work to help poor and marginalized communities assert and claim their economic, social, and environmental rights while ensuring that needs of these communities are met through environmental and natural resources management policies and legal framework. ZELA firmly believes that both the government and the private sector have a duty to uphold democratic values, human rights, transparency, and accountability to all people involved and affected by their work.
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Resources
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4Community guide on development induced displacement and resettlement in Zimbabwe
Displacement induced by large scale investments and subsequent resettlement affects community access to land, land tenure patterns, and tenure security. This guide is published as part of the project ‘Strengthening Community Land Rights and Responses to Involuntary Displacements Caused by Development Projects in Zimbabwe.’ It highlights critical areas to be accounted for before introducing large scale developmental projects. These projects endanger communities’ land-related environmental, economic, social and cultural rights and benefits enshrined by the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Legal, policy and institutional frameworks for community land rights in the wake of developmental projects in Zimbabwe : challenges and way forward
This research reviews legislation and policies in Zimbabwe that have a direct or indirect bearing on the relocation of communities. The current model for large-scale investments has changed from previous models, where the majority of investment projects were undertaken by international companies with limited governmental intervention. While relocation of communities may be inevitable, it is argued that such actions should take into account constitutional provisions, regional and international best practices.
Impact of large scale investments on the livelihoods of smallholder farming communities : the cases of green fuels and Tongaat Hullett Zimbabwe
The impacts of large-scale agricultural investments on rural communities’ land ownership, food security, productivity, income, and access to education and health differ within and between communities depending on business and government influence. Recent examples of large-scale investment models are dependent on the legal landscape in the investor’s country of origin, the investor-community linkages, and the nature of partnership with governments.
Shire Valley Transformation Program (SVTP-I)
General
The overall objective of the Project is to increase agricultural productivity and commercialization for targeted households in the Shire Valley, and to improve the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources. More specifically, the Project aims at providing access to reliable gravity fed irrigation and drainage services, secure land tenure for smallholder farmers, and strengthen the management of wetlands and protected areas in Shire Valley, located in the southern part of Malawi. In addition, the Project shall help prepare for downstream investments under SVTP-II (phase two of the Project).