"Fish
and Wildlife" resources include fish, wild birds, amphibians, reptiles,
and wild mammals over which the Fish and Wildlife have jurisdictions enforced
by different statutory instruments of the laws of Zambia. Fish and Wildlife are renewable
resources which have unique economic properties that support a massive economic
growth, based on the consumptive and non-consumptive use of the resource. The wildlife industry promotes the
conservation of biological diversity, which is essential for continued human
adaptation in a world of increasing resource scarcity and changing economic
forces. In addition, wildlife management is often more profitable than
alternative uses of the land, given appropriate institutions that permit it to
realize its inherent economic advantage whereas the
fisheries sector contribute to poverty reduction and economic growth through
sustainable utilization of fisheries resources and development of aquaculture.
According
to Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) policies, it is acknowledged that tourism
is largely based on wildlife and protected areas the government of Zambia
recognizes the high economic, socio-cultural and biological values of national
parks and the wildlife resource, a major resource base in the development of
tourism which is aneconomic sector. It is determined to exploit their
marketability for the benefit of the resource and the people of Zambia,
especially those people who share the land with the wildlife resource.Accepting
that the natural flora and fauna of Africa requires special management
techniques, government endeavor plan to adoptmanagement agendas that are
ecologically and economically sound for the resource, and that are equitable under
the socio-economic conditions prevailing in Zambia.
The
fish and wildlife resource in Zambia also contribute towards fiscal revenue,
income, and poverty reduction. The Sectors related to natural resources in use
provide jobs and are often the basis of livelihoods in poorer communities.
Owing to this fundamental importance of fish and wildlife, they must be managed
sustainably as such Government plays the essential role in putting into place
policies that ensure that resources contribute to the long-term economic
development of nations, and not only to short-term revenue generation because
of the fact that Natural resources play an important role in the development of
a country or nation. The way they affect the economy is either by helping in
the development or bringing it into a down fall.
The
significance of fish and wildlife mitigation policies through the application
of consistent goals and standards to mitigate impacts to fish and wildlife
habitat caused by land and water development actions basically aims to provides
goals and standards for general application to individual development actions,
and for the development of more detailed policies for specific classes of
development actions or habitat types. As such mitigation policies take into
account one or more of the following
actions listed in order of priority, which include ; avoiding the impact
altogether by not taking a certain development action or parts of that action;
minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the development
action and its implementation; rectifying the impact by repairing,
rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment; reducing or eliminating
the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life
of the development action and by monitoring and taking appropriate corrective
measures;compensating for the impact by replacing or providing comparable
substitute resources or environments.
The
Goal is basically to achieve no loss of habitat functions and values of fish
and wildlife habitat in the state.It is the fish and wildlife habitat
mitigation policies which are responsible for such resources to require or
recommend, depending upon the habitat protection and mitigation opportunities provided
by specific statutes, mitigation for losses of fish and wildlife habitat
resulting from development actions. Priority for mitigation actions shall be
given to habitat for native fish and wildlife species. Mitigation actions for
nonnative fish and wildlife species may not adversely affect habitat for native
fish and wildlife.
To
end on a more serious note, the Government, in recognizing the integral part of
the said natural resources plays a very important role in the sustainable
development of the country, accepts responsibility for conserving all natural
resources, including those species that may sometimes be in conflict with human
interests, and to ensure that these assets are never squandered for any short
term human gain or any purpose that does not conform with the principle of
environmentally sustainable development.
It
has become widely recognized that Zambia's wealth of natural and cultural
resources are in danger of further widespread depletion and degradation,
sometimes irreversibly as in the case of misuse of some soils. Concern for this
worsening environmental situation prompted the need to create a National Policy
on Environment .It must be understood thereof that national policies are
interdependent on one another. In relation to the economic sectors, among other
sectors, the fisheries and wildlife sectors also provided the baseline for
formulation of the National Policy on Environment because of the hereunder
factors which include, Over fishing in nearly all wild fisheries due to
population increase and use of unsustainable fishing methods; Reduced
production of fish due to sedimentation in rivers and streams caused by
seasonality of flow on account of land cover change through deforestation for
farming and uncontrolled fuel wood harvesting; Reduction in fish stocks due to
harvesting, ecological and other Factors; Fisheries policy implementation not being
carried out effectively to manage and monitor the resource adequately; The
demand for fish protein cannot be met due to management and policy failures
leading to local depletion of fish stocks; Proliferation of unregulated
commercial fish ponds and inadequately controlled and managed re-stocking.
The
wildlife resource is generally under severe and increasing pressure due to increasing
pressure due to increase in human population and loss of habitat as a
consequence of expanding human settlements and conversion of habitat to
available land; Depletion in most places of wildlife due to illegal harvesting
a consequence of high poverty levels; Deforestation and uncontrolled hunting is
leading to a widespread depletion of all of wildlife; Loss of biodiversity
through weak management of protected areas; Community-based management still
weak and not yet widely Practiced; potential for tourism development
jeopardised through reduction in large mammal populations and degradation of
habitats in some places and River flow changes through hydro-power dam
regulation causing reduced production of floodplain wildlife (NPE ,2005). To this effect it is
imperative that every Zambian participate in the protection of fish and
wildlife resources.
Share with us your
experiences, comments and recommendations. Send emails to wildlifemgtsociety@gmail.com
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