Zambezi River Basin

in the two provinces of the Copperbelt and Lusaka. Copper is the country’s major export mineral. About 46 per cent of Zimbabwe’s population lived in urban areas as at 2010 (UNE-HABITAT 2010), and this ratio is projected to increase to about 65 per cent by 2050. The country’s largest city, Harare, is located in the basin, while the second city, Bulawayo, is on the basin’s margins. There are plans to draw water for the city of Bulawayo from the Zambezi River Urbanization comes with a variety of environmental challenges including air, land and water pollution; changes to the microclimate resulting from activities such as quarrying, illegal developments such as slums; and environmental degradation, including soil erosion, deforestation and over-extraction of groundwater (SADC and SARDC 2008; UN-HABITAT 2007).

that crosses the Zambezi River. The city has grown rapidly in recent times, with the population growing from about 56 000 in 1986 to almost 156 000 in 2008.

high demand for firewood and land for farming by the growing population. Lilongwe was founded as an agricultural market centre for the fertile Central Region Plateau of Malawi. The city replaced Zomba as the national capital in 1975.

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