Zambezi River Basin

Pollution

Air, land and water pollution have been major effects of urbanization in the basin, with emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane on the rise even though they remain proportionately small on the world scale. Thermal power stations at Chichiri and Lilongwe in Malawi, the Copperbelt gas turbines in Zambia, and coal power stations in Hwange, Munyati and Harare, Zimbabwe are the basin’s major emitters of greenhouse gases (SARDC and HBS 2010; SADC and SARDC 2008). Greenhouse gas emissions, much of which come from outside the Zambezi basin, are blamed for the rise in temperatures, altered weather patterns such as shifting seasons, and increased incidence of droughts

and floods. Floods and temperature increases are also associated with the rising incidence of pests and diseases such as malaria (SARDC and HBS 2010). Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide, suspended particulate matter, carbon monoxide and lead, are the most common and harmful air pollutants in the Zambezi basin. The use of leaded fuel in most vehicles throughout the basin, coupled with the ageing fleet, is worsening the levels of pollution (Chenje, 2000; UN-Habitat 2007). There has been slow progress in phasing out leaded petrol in the basin. Only Botswana, Namibia and Zambia have stopped using leaded petrol.

© Mukundi Mutasa

Greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere by some of the industries in the basin.

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