OVERVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF MINING ON THE ... - IIED pubs

into a bias in national legislation in favour of mining that is still current today. Mines and minerals legislation tends
to override all other legislation, including parts of the recent Water Act 1 .
The mining industry is a major water user: both in terms of consumption, and in terms of disposal of wastewater.
The management of water quality in mining operations relates mainly to two areas: disposal of wastewater, and
contamination of water from mining operations (Love & Hallbauer, 1999). Mines are also required to comply
with a variety of environmental impact assessment protocols and guidelines.
There are a number of other Acts with the power to regulate mining activities in Zimbabwe. Although
Zimbabwean water and environmental legislation has been revised in the last few years, the legislation remains
somewhat fragmented. Indeed, the existing legal basis for environmental protection is inadequate to address
conventional air and water pollution issues, let alone more recent environmental concerns such as hazardous
waste, emission of "greenhouse" gases, leaking underground storage tanks, or environmental emergency
"preparedness" plans. One reason for this inadequacy is the fact that amendments to the original statutes,
adopted from British laws in the 1960s and 1970s, have not kept pace with scientific advances or regulatory
improvements.
In recent years an increasing number of developers, trans-national firms and international donors have undertaken
environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for large and environmentally significant projects in Zimbabwe as global
awareness of the importance of environmental protection has accelerated. Furthermore, following recent revisions
of the Mines and Minerals Act, new mining operations involving investments in excess of US$ 100 Million, are now
required to submit an environmental report with their application for a special mining lease. In this regard, the
mining industry has made significant advances in environmental management of mining operations, and the
industry has implemented a number of initiatives to increase awareness of environmental matters.
In recognition of the shortcomings and gaps in its environmental laws and regulations, in 1992, the Ministry of
Environment and Tourism, through the Department of Natural Resources, initiated a programme to upgrade the
existing legislation. The programme intends to develop new laws, where needed, and integrate the nation's
overall approach to environmental protection. A key component of this effort is to develop regulations and
procedures to guide the preparation of EIAs for all environmentally significant projects undertaken in Zimbabwe.
In 1995 the Ministry published an "Interim EIA Policy" and guidelines for the preparation of EIAs.
The following discussion revolves around the legislation and how it regulates mining with respect to the
environment. It is not meant to be an exhaustive description of each Act. Tables 2.5 and 2.6 list the current
legislation, together with its controlling Ministry, which has a bearing on the issue of mining impacts of water
resources in Zimbabwe, and the series of activities that are subject to such legislation.
Table 2.5: Summary of relevant legislation in Zimbabwe.
Legislation Type CAP. Date Ministry
Environmental Impact
Assessment Policy
1 Section 5 of Act 31 of 1998
Policy 1997 Environment
Tourism
and
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