National Policy on Wetlands.

This National Policy on Wetlands is a nationwide cross-sectoral document aiming at addressing the wetlands situation by promoting a coordinated approach to management and conservation of their ecosystems since they are important sources of food, materials, and fresh water, along with the fact they provide economic and ecological services. The Vision behind this Policy is the following "A functional, productive and resilient wetland system that will contribute to addressing climate change maintenance of biodiversity, provision of ecosystem goods and services and sustainable livelihoods". In order to achieve the Vision, the overall objective of this paper is to preserve and conserve wetland resources and protect the wetland environment in order to ensure sustainable utilization of Zambia’s wetlands. In pursuit of this overall objective, the document identifies six specific objectives, related to the two thematic areas of focus that are (1) wetland conservation and (2) protection and sustainable socio-economic utilization. The six specific objectives are (i) conserve wetland ecosystems so as to ensure their integrity, productivity and sustainability; (ii) protect the wetlands and their catchment areas and improve the resilience of wetland systems to natural and anthropogenic shocks; (iii) promote research, inventorying and monitoring of wetland resources to inform effective management; (iv) promote and support sustainable livelihood options in order to ensure productivity while protecting wetland resources; (v) promote stakeholder participation in effective management of wetlands and ensure equitable sharing of benefits; and (vi) regulate investments and promote sustainable management of wetlands so that they are maintained for the foreseeable future.
The cross-sectoral factor of this Policy consists in the fact that its implementation will also have effects in the following (i) enhanced biodiversity conservation i.e. both flora and fauna; (ii) promotion of tourism; (iii) enhanced potential for fisheries and pastoralism; (iv) provision of water to support agricultural activities; (v) provision of clean water free of pollutants and harmful chemicals to communities; (vi) provision of abundant freshwater (surface water) for domestic use; (vii) flood storage and protection; and (viii) provide carbon sequestration.
To make agriculture and forestry more productive and sustainable, the Policy envisages to (i) ensure sustainable agricultural activities in wetlands through the Ministry responsible for Agriculture; (ii) coordinate with the Ministry responsible for Fisheries the conservation of wetlands in fisheries management areas; (iii) promote forest conservation in open forests; (iv) conserve the forests in protected areas; and (v) promote water resources management and infrastructure development in wetlands.
In order to enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, main intervention regard (i) build political participation of civil society in support of sustainable development; (ii) empower women and promote youth leadership; (iii) promote equity in benefit sharing; and (iv) equitable participation of stakeholders in management and utilization of wetland resources.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the document suggests to (i) provide meteorological data for effective, climate-change orientated conservation and adaptation strategies in wetlands management and conservation; and (ii) anticipate the impact of climate change through a climate-adapted environmental management.