20/12/2025
PRESS STATEMENT
Save Monavale Vlei Campaign
For immediate release
Save Monavale Vlei: Appeal Filed to Defend a National and Global Treasure
The Save Monavale Vlei Campaign welcomes the formal appeal lodged against EMA’s decision to approve a commercial development on Monavale Wetland—one of Zimbabwe’s only seven Ramsar-protected wetlands and a lifeline for Harare’s water security.
This approval threatens to carve up a restored wetland that has been protected by the community for decades. It is based on an EIA report riddled with errors, omissions and outright falsehoods—claiming there is “no significant fauna” on a site known internationally for its extraordinary biodiversity, including endangered species. There was no proper hydrology study, no serious assessment of flooding or downstream impacts, and no consideration of cumulative wetland loss across Harare.
Even worse, communities were sidelined. Local residents, downstream neighbourhoods, schools, conservation groups, faith communities and children—who use Monavale for education, recreation, prayer and wellbeing—were simply ignored. Warnings from ZINWA and from the City of Harare were brushed aside. This was not consultation; it was exclusion.
Monavale Vlei is not “empty land”. It is a living wetland that provides essential ecological services for our city, including:
* It slowly releases clean water into Lake Chivero (the City's main water source) all year around via the Marimba River,
* It cleans and filters water,
* It prevents flooding in downstream communities (such as Warren Park, Kambuzuma, Mufakose, Kuwadzana, Budiriro),
* It supports the life of hundreds of different species.
The wetland provides a beautiful green space for the residents of the city to enjoy. It is sacred to many, vital to children’s education, and essential to Harare’s future water security. Developing commercial projects on a Ramsar site flies in the face of Zimbabwe’s own laws, its National Wetlands Policy, National Development Strategy 2, and its leadership role in the Ramsar Convention.
And it gets worse: this particular development stands in the way of our big vision, together with our allies from the Marimba River Alliance, to create a massive urban park from the Monavale Wetland Ramsar Site all the way along the banks of the Marimba River to Lake Chivero: a fully-restored and stunningly beautiful greenbelt that connects our communities and protects our water.
We call on the Minister of Environment to do the right thing: overturn this unlawful approval, protect Monavale Wetland, and choose conservation over short-term private interests. The future of our wetlands—and our city—depends on it.
