{"id":18,"date":"2016-04-29T08:14:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T08:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/2016\/04\/29\/zambia-communique-issued-following\/"},"modified":"2016-05-16T09:03:04","modified_gmt":"2016-05-16T09:03:04","slug":"zambia-communique-issued-following","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/2016\/04\/29\/zambia-communique-issued-following\/","title":{"rendered":"ZAMBIA: Communiqu\u00e9 issued following the Conference on ‘Laudato Si’ organised by ZEC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nTHE LAUDATO SI CONFERENCE<\/b><\/div>\n
\nCOMMUNIQU\u00c9 ISSUED FOLLOWING THE CONFERENCE
\nON LAUDATO SI ORGANISED BY ZEC THROUGH CARITAS ZAMBIA & JCTR, HELD IN
\nLUSAKA ZAMBIA FROM 25TH APRIL 2016 TO 26TH APRIL 2016<\/u><\/b><\/u><\/b><\/div>\n
\n
<\/u><\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/i><\/div>\n

\u201cIt is imperative to promote an economy which favours productive
\ndiversity and business creativity. Small 
\nscale food production systems which feed the greater part of the worlds
\npeoples, using a modest amount of land and producing less waste-should be promoted\u201d
\n (Pope Francis, Laudato
\nsi, 129)<\/i><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n1.     
\n<\/b>Preamble<\/b><\/div>\n
\nThe Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), through Caritas Zambia and the
\nJesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) hosted a National Conference on
\nthe theme \u2018Care for Our Common Home in the Context of Large Scale
\nInvestments \u2013 Mining and Agriculture.\u2019 <\/b>The Conference was inspired by the
\nEncyclical, Laudato si\u2019 <\/i>given
\nin Rome by Pope Francis on 24th May 2015 on the Solemnity of the
\nPentecost and the third anniversary of his Papacy.  <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nTo all people of Zambia, <\/div>\n
\nWe, the Catholic Bishops, together with the
\nparticipants from AMECEA Justice and Peace Department, the Episcopal Conference
\nof Malawi, Mining companies representatives, Government Officials, Zambian Civil
\nSociety Organisation (CSOs), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP),
\nCatholic Commission for Development (CCD) in Zambia, the clergy, the Religious,
\nBusiness Executives, academicians, and the lay faithful from Catholic dioceses
\nin Zambia,<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAPPRECIATING<\/b> the spiritual and social message contained in
\nLaudato si<\/i> in which the Holy Father,
\nPope Francis challenged all stakeholders to acknowledge the damage we have
\ninflicted to our environment and the urgent need to dialogue and find lasting
\nsolutions to challenges being posed on the earth, whose resources are meant to
\nbenefit all humankind;<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nENCOURAGED<\/b> by the presence of His Eminence, Cardinal
\nPeter Turkson, the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace,
\nwho is representing the Holy See; the presence of Apostolic Nuncio to Malawi
\nand Zambia, His Excellency Julio Murati, whose presence signified our communion
\nand solidarity with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for which we are grateful;
\nthe presence of His Royal Highness, Chief Mumena, Chief Mpande and the Deputy
\nMinister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and the open
\nand sincere discourse that took place among the presenters and participants in
\nthe conference;<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nCONCERNED<\/b> about the environmental impact of large scale
\nmining and agriculture. <\/b>While appreciating
\nthat the two sectors are cardinal in creating jobs and meeting our daily needs,
\nthere is need for prudent and sustainable management of the earth\u2019s resources
\nto reduce poverty among the people for the benefit of all and future
\ngenerations;<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nINSPIRED <\/b>by the deep insights from His Eminence, Cardinal
\nPeter Turkson shared through the key note address in which he gave an overview
\nof the encyclical Laudato Si\u2019 and urged the conference to translate the ideas
\nof the message into action; and by our
\nown desire to change our attitudes towards all creation so as to Care for
\nour Common Home, <\/i>in the context of
\nour quest for socio-economic and political development, we the participants to
\nthe conference make the following resolutions: <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n2.  Solidarity with the poor and
\nafflicted <\/b><\/div>\n
\nAware <\/b>of the difficulties and challenges that most of the
\npoor face as a result of social economic development driven by large scale
\ninvestments, we stand in solidarity with these poor communities by sharing
\ninformation and education in order to empower them; <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n3.   Mining  <\/b><\/div>\n
\nAppreciating <\/b> that mining
\nhas contributed to the development of societies and industries and recognising
\nthat mining contributes to job and wealth creation of the country,  we however challenge the mining sector to
\nbegin to practice responsible mining that take into account the needs of the
\nenvironment and the affected communities. At the same time mining companies
\nshould put in place actions that go a long way in reclaiming land that has been
\nused for extracting minerals so that it can be re-used for other purposes.<\/b><\/div>\n
\nIn terms of mining concessions and agreements, we
\ndemand that there be transparency and accountability starting from the affected
\ncommunities to the policy makers. Government, Traditional leaders and mining
\ncompanies should lead the way in promoting transparency.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWe appeal to relevant institutions such as ZEMA to
\nexercise their mandate and provide information to those affected, especially
\ndisplaced communities as a result of mining. We urge the government to dialogue
\nwith various players where mining projects are happening;<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n4. Agriculture<\/b><\/div>\n
\nCommitting <\/b>ourselves to the promotion of conservation, regenerative and
\norganic farming which allow the earth to regenerate as this is the best way of
\ncaring for our common home, therefore we will lobby government to adopt these as the main<\/b>
\nmethods of farming in Zambia<\/b>.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAlthough large scale
\nagriculture is necessary for increased production of food to achieve food and
\nnutrition security, this must be responsive to the needs of the environment and
\ncare must be taken to promote biodiversity in their practices and
\nmethodologies.  Large scare agriculture
\nthat displace the local community must make sure that the local community and
\ntheir economy benefit from the investment, not only as workers but also as key
\nproducers at the household level;<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n5. Other policy issues that cut across mining and agriculture<\/b><\/div>\n
\nWe <\/b>urge<\/b>
\ngovernment to implement policies that protect the environment and refrain from
\ndeveloping cold feet every time there are vested interests in mining and
\nagriculture investments. The government should also strive to harmonise all
\npolicies that govern mining, game management, agriculture, water and land; <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n5. Conclusion<\/b><\/div>\n
\nIn view of the above, we the conference
\nparticipants will promote the recent encyclical of Pope Francis on the care of
\ncreation called \u201cLaudato Si\u2019 <\/em>to
\nall stake holders, especially policy makers because it provides a good resource
\nfor all on the care of our environment; further we will lobby for the
\nintroduction of the concept \u2018our common home\u2019 in school curriculum.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWe resolve to continue promoting honest
\nand open dialogue with mining companies and investors in agriculture together
\nwith the policy makers to raise awareness on the need to take care of our
\ncommon home. Further we commit ourselves to empower citizens to meaningfully
\nengage in environmental impact assessment community hearings. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nIn view of the challenges of drought,
\nwe urge the government to improve Zambia\u2019s early warning alerts for farmers
\nbefore the onset of the rainy season to guarantee food and nutrition security
\nand also promote water harvesting, tree regeneration and establish innovative,
\ncheaper and alternative sources of energy.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nSOURCE: ZEC Communication Office<\/i><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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