Policy centre calls for environmental safeguards in Grow Zambia plan

Zambia’s Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has called for binding environmental safeguards under the government’s Grow Zambia Agenda, saying mining-led growth could create long-term public liabilities if environmental risks were not properly managed.

CTPD Lead Researcher for Land, Environment and Climate Change, Solomon Mwampikita, said the polluter-pays principle should also be made financially credible to protect communities and public resources.

In a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday, Mwampikita said major mining, energy and agro-industrial expansions should only proceed under strict environmental conditions.

He said Environmental Protection Fund contributions, rehabilitation bonds and other financial assurances should be independently reviewed against realistic clean-up and closure costs, protected from diversion and made accessible when an operator defaults.

“Financial assurances must reflect the true cost of clean-up and closure. A transparent process is also needed to assess claims and deliver timely compensation to affected households,” Mwampikita said.

He said major mining, energy and agro-industrial expansions should not receive state support without meeting environmental requirements.

“No major mining, energy or agro-industrial expansion should receive a licence, public guarantee or other state support without a valid environmental decision, approved mitigation measures and a costed closure or restoration plan,” Mwampikita said.

He also called for stronger coordination among environmental and natural-resource regulators.

“ZEMA, WARMA and the Minerals Regulation Commission should conduct coordinated inspections of high-risk facilities and publish permits, compliance orders, water-quality results and remediation milestones in formats that affected communities can access and understand,” he said.

Mwampikita called on the government to protect river basins before approving cumulative expansion, and urged joint, risk-based enforcement involving key regulators.

He said the government should use basin-level and cumulative-impact assessments to identify ecological thresholds, high-risk zones and areas where development should be restricted, rather than assessing each project in isolation.

Mwampikita said the success of the Grow Zambia Agenda should be measured beyond production figures, arguing that environmental safeguards were necessary to prevent short-term production gains from becoming long-term public liabilities.

“The Grow Zambia Agenda should be judged not only by tonnes, megawatts and hectares, but also by the quality of water, restored land, protected livelihoods and public confidence it leaves behind,” he said.

He also called on the government and parliament to embed the obligations in implementation plans, budgets and public reporting from the outset.

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