By Nyasha Mutimusakwa
The acting Town Planner for Harare, Samuel Nyabezi is on record saying the shortage of land for development in the capital has moved the City of Harare to consider utilizing wetland areas.
According to Nyabezi, the City of Harare is now pursuing a densification policy that will see the council utilizing some areas considered wetlands.
In his assertion, he notes that there is need to consider projects with minimum impact on the wetlands.
Wetlands preservation and protection has become a topical issue in Harare amid calls for efforts to balance between development and the need to preserve Harare’s wetlands.
It is also in this regard that developers, guided by environmental impact assesments, continue to implement environmental protection procedures that lead to the protection of wetlands.
This creates a blance between development and wetlands protection.
A case in point is the Tlloclem Beauty Homes project by Borrowdale Investments Private Limited in Borrowdale which seeks to restore a wetland area which is part of its allocated land and restore it to its natural state.
The development on the area takes into serious consideration the need to restore and preserve the wetland area which has been under constant threat over the past-years.
Nature reserves and ecotourism are key tools that have been embraced by developers as part of efforts to preserve wetlands in Harare.
This comes on the backdrop of calls from stakeholders for Harare to ensure that development takes into consideration the need to preserve wetlands.
The Tlloclem Beauty Homes project, located next to Pokugara estates, establishes a nature reserve for the sake of conserving a wetland area within its vicinity as part of efforts to bring balance to the ecosystem.
“It creates an opportunity to mitigate the degradation of the wetland back into its natural state through recreation, restoration and enhancement. A range of entertainment activities will be incorporated to enhance activity within the nature reserve with careful attention to selection of materials that have zero to minimum impact to the wetland.
Locally sourced natural materials that promote sustainability and have minimum harmful effects to the environment all be used such as timber, clay, bamboo and stone,” reads an announcement from TIloclem Beauty Homes.
The nature park will also incorporate two Olymplc sized swimming pools with pavilions in between them; made ftrom timber to accommodate spectators viewing on both ends.
The Tiloclem project will also create 20 pergolas and a man made dam (to incorporate 2 water points) from natural stone material which allows water to sip through its banks into the wetland area.
“The 20 pergolas allow users to relax and appreciate the nature surrounded by indigenous trees and the stream. They are made from locally sourced timber with no damage to the nature reserve,” reads the project proposal.
Th project was issued with an Environmental Impact Assessment by the Environmental management Agency (EMA) in May last year while the Upper Manyame Sub-catchment council approved the project in July last year as well.
Nature reserves are a critical model to protect wetlands and allow for conservation of biodiversity, ecosystems and natural habitats.
They also form part of strategies on sustainable management of the environment while allowing for community engagement on environmental management.
A number of suburbs in Harare are taking up the concept of establishing nature reserves as a model to protect the environment.
Harare’s Acting Town Planner, Samuel Nyabezi is on record saying that going forward, council, in consultation with various stakeholders will consider approval of projects with minimal impact on wetlands in the capital. According to Nyabezi, developers should ensure that their projects incorporate the aspect of wetlands protection.
He said allegations of corrupt allocation of land on wetlands are baseless saying council operates in cooperation with stakeholders such as the Environmental Management Agency to ensure land allocations are above board.
