Proposed Kangaluwi Mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park The proposal sets a precedent for international large scale mining inside national parks in Zambia. Communities, stakeholders and independent experts have expressed concerns that bring into question the legitimacy of the Project proposal, and whether it is in the best interests of Zambia for the Project to proceed. Open-pit mining is incompatible with biodiversity conservation; the only question is one of spatial and temporal scale. Natural values are inarguably impacted by mining activities at the mine site, but the full scale of mining impacts are likely to be specific to each project and require individual evaluation. While both the Mines and Minerals Development Act (2008) and the Zambia Wildlife Act (1998) allow for mining inside national parks, there is no policy or legislative framework to guide implementation, monitoring and mitigation of impacts, or to ensure full site rehabilitation as is outlined by the Mineral Resources Development Policy (2013) and the Mines and Minerals Development Act. There are also no criteria set by which to evaluate whether each mine proposed within a protected area should be permitted.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 21:05:57 +0000
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