Context
Owning to its wealth in natural resources, Zimbabwe’s economy is founded on sectors that are contributing to the current linear model, with key industries in the area of mining, steel, cement and agriculture. This has led the country to specialize in economic activities based on the extraction and partial processing of these resources, generating little economic benefit and significant environmental impacts, neglecting industrial activities that generate added value, and hindering industrial development based on technology and innovation. On the other hand, Zimbabwe generates up to 3 kg of waste per capita per day in urban areas which largely exceeds the global average.
Zimbabwe has implemented first public policies and private initiatives to advance towards an integrated waste management and a circular economy, characterized mainly by regulations, programs and initiatives that have established a framework for waste management, and promoted recycling to reduce the generation of waste and its recovery and reuse in order to protect the health of its citizens and the environment. However, there is the lack and asymmetry of information, as well as the coordination failures that exist in Zimbabwe with regard to the state and level of development of the circular economy, as well as the lack of knowledge of the players and the circular initiatives that are being developed in their respective territories, their potential benefits and existing barriers.
Zimbabwe requires a national strategy for a circular economy that collects and systematizes experiences, defines objectives and establishes clear goals, identifies and launches promising pilot projects, and provides information on the dimension of the existing benefits and barriers.
CTCN Support
Development of a waste stream-specific road map for the circular economy in Zimbabwe:
- Development of an implementation plan and communication documents;
- Analysis of existing circular economy initiatives and key players in Zimbabwe;
- Identification of the perceived value of the circular economy and of benefits, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges in Zimbabwe’s waste sector;
- Circularity analysis of one prioritized waste stream;
- Development of a circular economy road map and identification of a potential circularity pilot project.
Expected Impact
This technical assistance will enable the country to enhance the potential of these aspects, facilitating the creation of new national policies and initiatives, and to quantify these results to develop performance indicators that enable the country to delineate and measure progress and compliance with the draft circular economy, as well as the implementation of the NDC and SDGs signed by Zimbabwe.