Environmental Law Reform and Education Programme

The Environmental Law Reform and Education Programme is based on the premise that in order for environmental laws and policies to be responsive to the developmental needs and interests of communities, ZELA in partnership with poor urban and rural communities should make an input in the policy and legal making processes. The programme also seeks to ensure that environmental laws and policies are constantly monitored for relevance, implementation and enforcement. Where the laws are inadequate, ZELA in conjunction with the communities engages parliamentarians and policy makers to ensure they are amended or reformed in line with community expectations. Further, through this programme ZELA seeks to educate communities and other stakeholders about the existing environmental laws, regulations, by-laws and policies. To implement the programme objectives, ZELA uses a number of activities and projects including policy dialogue meetings, community workshops, publication of promotional material, web site and publication of the Environmental Justice Newsletter.

Environmental Justice Project

Under the Environmental Law Reform and Education Programme, ZELA’s flagship project is the Environmental Justice Project which commenced in 2003 with the support of the Ford Foundation Southern Africa Office and HIVOS. The general objective of the project is to promote environmental justice, equitable and sustainable management of natural resources in Zimbabwe. Through this project ZELA seeks to sensitise and raise environmental law awareness among women, men and youths, community based organizations and local authorities in selected rural and urban areas. Further, ZELA offers free legal advice and assistance to disadvantaged communities. Overally, the environmental justice project involves a synthesis of research and advocacy strategies all aimed at promoting environmental justice in Zimbabwe. Some of the project activities include training workshops on environmental law, conflict resolution and litigation, registration of community based organizations as common law trusts, research and publication of policy briefs on environmental law and policy.

Partnership for Environmental Law Education

Over the past five years the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, Environment Africa and the Environmental Management Agency, (formerly Department of Natural Resources) entered into a partnership to educate rural and urban communities about their environmental rights and duties as outlined in national environmental legislation. The target groups for the initiative are rural district councils, grassroots organizations, environmental actions groups, traditional leaders and government departments. The partnership is also driven by the need to address the main impediments to environmental justice, which are poverty and lack of knowledge. The three organisations have been pooling financial and human resources together to implement joint project activities. The partnership was a way of avoiding the duplication of work by the three organisations. In practice, ZELA provides the legal advice while Environment Africa brings its experience, technical expertise and contacts with community groups. The Environmental Management Agency as a government agency brings the government perspective and commitment to natural resources management. Through this partnership, ZELA and Environment Africa are in a better position to make contributions to legal reforms and to influence policy decisions on natural resources management and environmental protection.

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