On Wednesday 16th March, The High Court in Malawi granted an injunction to three Non Governmental Organizations; Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy, National Youth Network on Climate Change and Movement for Environmental Action, to stop all work on Nkhudzi Hill, Lake Malawi National Park, World Heritage Site. The matter is now in court.
An UNESCO emergency rapid response team has been to investigate.
AEJ (Association of Environmental Journalists in Malawi ) reported on 1st April;
We are facing an "ethical dilemma" : Usi speaks on the controversial Mangochi Water Project.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Centre mission currently in the country says building in a world heritage site is a dangerous precedent Malawi should always try to avoid.
The mission has also indicated that UNESCO was not informed about the Mangochi Water project well in advance as is required by the international agreements governing such sites.
Leader of the delegation Dr Peter Howard made the remarks at a press briefing in Lilongwe marking the end of their 5 day mission in the country. Howard says his mission's report will be presented to the full committe of the centre between June and July for consideration before it is made available to the government of Malawi. He also observed that the centre is coming in late and it will be very hard to undo most of the things but noted that the project will cause minimal damage to the site which can be managed if the mitigation measures that have been developed after red flags were raised are followed.
Speaking at the same meeting Minister of Tourism Michael Usi admitted his ministry faces a serious ethical dilemma but remains optimistic parties involved will find an amicable solution to make sure the people have water and at the same time the site is protected. He acknowledged that the government erred in commencing the project in a world heritage site without informing UNESCO. The minister also noted that it is important for all parties involved to be sober about this issue and avoid fronting politics and emotions which will simply complicate the whole matter because he has seen politicians on TV making remarks which they shouldn't have been said in the first place. Usi said "I know politics is a game that can surprise you but much as we would want to push for political mileage, we also need to be sober about it."
"We made a mistake but let's take lessons from this. Let's also not get excited with the minimal damage but also try to avoid setting a bad precedence. At the same time we have to make sure our people are catered for because water is life." he explained further.
The minister also emphasised that in an ideal set up, the people must be defenders of these places but this can only happen if information is shared and mass sensitisation is done among communities.
In his concluding remarks the minister pleaded with the mission to draw favourable recommendations so that the project should continue.
There are only 254 world heritage sites in the whole world and lake Malawi National Park - LMNP is among them. A place is identified a world heritage site because of it's Universal Outstanding Value after following stringent processes. LMNP has over 1000 documented species of fish most of which can't be found elsewhere.
Some CSOs in the country obtained a court injunction to stop the 21 billion kwacha project on suspicion that mitigation conditions given to Southern Region Water Board and contractor were not being followed. Two weeks ago, High Court judge Mandala Mambulasa ordered Southern Region Water Board - SRWB to provide documents requested by the CSOs within 15 days which expired yesterday. Lawyer for the CSOs Paul Mzembe confirmed to have received 'some' documents on Thursday.
Malawi also applied to UNESCO, to have Mulanje Forest Reserve designated as a World Heritage Site but a decision has not been made.
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All these organizations and NGO’s, concerned citizens, national and international hereby emphasize that they are not against the project to providing water to people in Mangochi; they are simply proposing a different site which does not impact Malawi’s ancestral and cultural heritage.
Many people all over Malawi rely on the Lake for their drinking water, food, electricity, livelihoods and it is for this reason that so many environmental organizations and citizens in Malawi, and abroad, have been so concerned about how this project was allowed to even start in this location, as it could threaten all those services for all Malawians in the future, and negatively affect other development projects. Particularly when there are alternative sites.
Everyone is hopeful that now the water project can continue and deliver water for all as promised, on one of the alternative sites, for the mutual benefit of all, this is sustainable development.
Please see the below links for media articles;
https://www.nyasatimes.com/court-stops-water-project-in-lake-malawi/
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We will keep you updated on developments.