The Zimbabwe Government has granted two Chinese companies permission to conduct surveys for mining coal at two sites inside Hwange National Park.
Mining coal would be a disaster for the many animals found in Hwange National Park and a disaster for Zimbabwe's tourism industry.
- The park is home to over 100 mammal and 400 bird species, including almost 10% of Africa's remaining wild elephants, as well as many endangered animals such as leopard, giraffe, cheetah, gemsbok, brown hyena, pangolin, black rhino and African wild dog. The pollution, noise and environmental damage caused by the mining, land clearance and road building would pose a threat to these animals, affecting their movements and breeding.
- The park is one of Zimbabwe's top tourist destinations, and tourists have come from all over the world to see and photograph the animals and birds in the pristine savanna. The tourism industry is one of the key pillars of the economy and one that could provide quick impetus once travel restrictions caused by COVID-19 are eased. If mining goes ahead it would kill this industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars and employing thousands of people.
- Many countries are moving away from coal power, because it pollutes the air, water and land. The power stations also require huge quantities of water to operate. Zimbabwe would do well to follow other countries' lead, leapfrog coal power and adopt renewable energy such as solar power which is clean and can be just as cost-effective.
H.E. President Mnangagwa, we the undersigned are signing this petition to ask you to stop coal from being mined in Hwange National Park, so that many more tourists will be able to experience the untouched wilderness of the park and see the many wonderful African mammals and birds in their natural habitat, and thus safeguard Zimbabwe's tourism industry.
Ref:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/03/chinese-mining-zimbabwe-pose-threat-endangered-species-hwange-national-park
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/09/08/world/africa/ap-af-zimbabwe-china-mine.html
