Staff Reporter
HARARE—Harare West residents have come out guns blazing over the illegal clearing of land within the internationally recognised Monavale Wetland, a Ramsar site, by private developers. .
The outcry comes amid reports that vast portions of state land within the wetland were irregularly acquired by companies linked to private interests, despite the absence of mandatory environmental or municipal approvals.
In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the Conservation Society of Monavale (COSMO), Sherwood Golf Club and Community Hub as well as concerned residents from Meyrick Park and Monavale condemned the developments as “wanton and reckless destruction”.
The dispute has erupted after Zimbabwe hosted the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in Victoria Falls from 23 to 31 July 2025.
The Monavale site, the biggest in the country, is protected by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands to which Zimbabwe is a signatory.
At the global event, the government pledged to strengthen protection of wetlands and now holds the Ramsar Convention presidency for the next three years. a symbolic role that residents say rings hollow in light of the current crisis.
Last week, residents were shocked to find heavy machinery grading portions of the Monavale Wetland, including parts of the Sherwood Golf Course and adjacent areas along Quendon Road.
The works were reportedly carried out without a City of Harare permit or Environmental Management Agency (EMA) approval.
EMA later fined one of the developers, identified as Tiripano of TripTrans, for violating section 97(2) of the Environmental Management Act, but the activity continued until police briefly detained two workers on 4 October.
Residents indicate that approximately 11 hectares of the wetland were allocated to Cablemail (Pvt) Ltd in October 2021 through a deed of grant issued by the ministry of Local Government, a transaction they claim was executed under unclear and potentially illegal circumstances.
In late December 2021, though, the Supreme Court had to intervene to stop the construction of cluster houses on the wetland.
Stakeholders are demanding an urgent inquiry to determine whether government officials sanctioned the disposal of land within one of Zimbabwe’s seven designated wetlands of international importance.
“Seeing the grader scraping away a portion of the Monavale Wetland this week was utterly devastating,” said Dorothy Wakeling, a Monavale resident and long-time member of COSMO.
“We know what we are losing. This wetland is vital to Harare’s water supply. The policy of city densification must be balanced with water security. When the wetlands are gone, where will the extra water come from?” added Wakeling.
Sherwood Golf Club’s chairperson, Briggs Bomba, described the situation as a “blatant land grab”, accusing land barons of exploiting weak governance to seize community commons.
“We call on the whole community to join the fight for the preservation of the Monavale wetland ecosystem, which forms part of our shared ecological heritage of Harare,” he said.
Environmental experts warn that Harare’s wetlands, which serve as natural sponges that store, filter, and release water into Lake Chivero and other reservoirs, are being destroyed by unregulated urban expansion and illegal land allocations.
They caution that the destruction of these ecosystems will worsen Harare’s urban water crisis, with many residents already relying on boreholes that are significantly depleting groundwater.
The joint statement highlights several pressing concerns, including the destruction of wetlands and loss of biodiversity, lack of transparency in the land allocation process, violations of Zimbabwe’s international obligations under the Ramsar Convention and increasing water stress.
The residents and conservation groups are calling on Harare mayor, Jacob Mafume, environment minister, Evelyn Ndlovu, and Local Government minister, Daniel Garwe, to immediately halt all land clearing, investigate the alleged illegal allocations and strengthen the enforcement of wetland protection laws.
“This is not just a local issue; it’s a national crisis that strikes at the heart of our water security. We urge all Zimbabweans to join hands in defending our wetlands for the sake of current and future generations,” the joint statement read.
The Monavale Wetland, part of the Upper Manyame catchment, remains one of Harare’s last remaining natural floodplains.