Zimbabwe

and a network of dams serve the interior. Despite this, only about 27% of the population has safely managed drinking water (WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2022), and recurrent droughts, including the severe 2024 El Nino drought that was declared a national disaster, expose the drier south. Urban supply is fragile, with Harare's overstretched treatment works and periodic cholera and typhoid outbreaks a recurring problem.

Food imports run at roughly 19% of merchandise imports (World Bank, 2024), reflecting a country that is normally close to self-sufficient in its staple maize. That balance is fragile, however, as drought years such as 2024 force large grain imports and leave millions needing food assistance.

ndnut relish (dovi), beans, pumpkins and sweet potatoes. Whole-food plant eating is the rural norm rather than a lifestyle choice, and meat is often an occasional addition. Indigenous foods such as baobab fruit and wild greens broaden an already plant-rich base.

Much smallholder farming is low-input by necessity rather than by certification, and bodies such as the Zimbabwe Organic Producers and Promoters Association work to build the sector, but formal certified organic area remains tiny.

onarezhou and Matobo. The country anchors part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, the largest such initiative in the world, and runs community conservancies alongside the state parks. Enforcement is stretched by underfunding and poaching, but the flagship reserves are genuinely managed rather than paper parks.

ngered African wild dogs. Private conservancies such as Save Valley and Bubye Valley have become important refuges for black and white rhino and centres of active wildlife restoration. The Eastern Highlands add near-endemic birds such as Swynnerton's robin and Roberts's warbler along with their own endemic flora.

The Tonga and Binga communities of the Zambezi valley are known for tightly coiled baskets made from ilala palm and natural dyes, a living craft sold across the region, alongside sisal cordage, reed mats and traditional weaving.

d urban litter and illegal dumping are common. Ambient air is moderately polluted, with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) averaging around 22 micrograms per cubic metre, above the WHO guideline, driven by vehicle emissions, waste burning, and mining and industry.

ed, most of it through informal waste-picking that has grown into a livelihood for many families. Kerbside collection and separation at source remain limited.

nd imports much of the rest. Coal dominates installed capacity at roughly 57 per cent, and the country is expanding the Hwange coal units, which weighs against its clean profile. Even so, emissions per person are very low at around 0.6 tonnes of CO2 a year. Zimbabwe's revised NDC targets a conditional 40 per cent cut in per capita emissions across the economy by 2030 against a 2017 baseline, supported by the National Climate Policy. It is a low emitter with a majority renewable grid, though coal dependence and conditional delivery temper the picture.

The country pioneered CAMPFIRE, the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources, a model that lets rural communities manage wildlife on their own land and receive tourism and related revenue. High-end safari tourism is often operator-led and the benefits have been uneven, but the community-conservation link is genuine and internationally cited.

In the Bira ceremony, elders and spirit mediums play mbira and drums to invite the vadzimu, the ancestral spirits, into the community and to seek their guidance. The Jerusarema, or Mbende, dance of the Zezuru Shona was inscribed by UNESCO in 2005 as intangible heritage of humanity and is still danced at weddings, funerals and celebrations. Chimurenga and sungura music, along with Ndebele dances such as isitshikitsha and amabhiza, keep the tradition broad and current. This is deep, widely alive heritage rooted in ancestral practice.