Technical and financial proposal for sustainability of the Copperbelt Environment Project in Zambia

[摘要] This is a technical and financial proposal for a large-scale and complex sustainable developmentproject in Zambia. The sustainable development project is the Copperbelt Environment Project(CEP)1.This proposal aims at developing strategies for addressing sustainability problems of CEP. Oneobjective of the proposed strategies is to raise additional funds to support its activities beyondCEP's initial project-life. The other is to enhance public participation in CEP, especially ofpolitical and traditional leaders.CEP is a project of the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) created in 2002 to mitigatehistorical environmental and social liabilities caused by mining after the privatisation of stateownedmines. Furthermore, CEP is charged with the responsibility to improve compliance of ongoingmining operations through enhanced environmental and social regulation.CEP is faced with three key sustainability problems. The first problem relates to the cessation ofCEP activities after the end of its conceptual project life span in 2008. If CEP activities ceasewithout an exit strategy to take care of on-going CEP activities, serious environmental and socioeconomicproblems are likely to arise in mining areas.The second sustainability problem relates to the financial deficit of CEP. Less than US $60million of the US $200 million required has been sourced for CEP activities implying a deficit ofabout US $150 million. Unless the financial deficit is secured, it is unlikely that most historicalenvironmental liabilities will be addressed. It is also unlikely that environmental and socialregulation targets of CEP will be attained by the end of its initial life span.The third sustainability problem relates to inadequate public participation in CEP activities.Although public participation in development programmes is a policy and legal requirement inZambia, it is however very low in CEP. Traditional and political leaders are not using theiroffices to advance CEP agenda. A hybrid of participatory research/action research, evaluation research, empowerment evaluationand literature reviews research methodologies is proposed to be used to develop the strategiesthat will address the above problems. In addition, multiple methods of data collection areproposed to be used, including structured and semi-structured individual and group interviews,questionnaires, documentary sources and analysis, plenary and focus group discussions, personalexperience, commissioned expert inputs, websites and participation records.The long-term target of the proposed project is to generate in excess of US $900 million for CEPactivities by 2025. The proposed project will also utilise the Community-Based EnvironmentalProtection (CBEP) approach and draw on the South African experience on public participation tobuild the capacity of target groups to take stewardship of environmental problems in their areas.A detailed implementation plan will be developed to serve as the framework for operationalisingthe proposed strategies. Existing CEP monitoring and evaluation mechanisms will be used totrack the implementation plan.A six-man team headed by a team leader is proposed to execute this project proposal. An activitybasedbudget including a logical framework, timescales for deliverables, coverage areas, targetgroups, action planning, project goals, stakeholder analysis, time plans for staff and activityschedules are proposed.Depending on the speed and efficiency with which the project proposal and its strategies areimplemented, a sustainable solution to poor environmental management in mining areas ofZambia is possible.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University