Whats your professional take on this issue , and what are your recommendations? Legislators have queried the role the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) is playing in mitigating environmental degradation caused by mining. Parliamentarians bemoaned lack of proper structures within EMA to deal with issues of land reclamation after the end of mining operations. This emerged as EMA representatives were giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy on the effects of gold mining to the environment. EMA Director General, Mutsa Chitsa responding to questions from legislators said there is a need to come up with a national action plan that focuses on issues to do with land degradation and pollution caused by mercury, amongst other chemicals that are used in gold mining. “Currently, we oversee the importation of hazardous chemicals and it would be prudent for us to look at the Mina-Mata Agreement which is looking at the imminent ban of mercury,” said Chitsa. The legislators highlighted that the uncontrolled panning activities of small scale miners is also causing massive land degradation in the fields and information is not available as how EMA plans to address the environmental problems resulting from these operations in an economically sustainable manner. EMA has also reported that most companies working in the country are not complying with the requirements of the environmental impact assessments as prescribed by the environment laws, thereby causing land degradation.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:22:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015