Centre 4 Zero Waste & Development in Africa

15/04/2026

Proud to be in Nairobi, Kenya at the University of Nairobi, joining fellow African Civil Society Organizations (CSO) supported by the Resilience Fund for the Africa Regional Resilience Dialogue and Learning Exchange on Nature Crimes.

This platform brings together civil society and academia, recognizing the critical role institutions of learning and CSO's play in advancing research, innovation, and solutions to combat nature crimes across the continent.

Together, we are strengthening collaboration, sharing experiences, and driving forward African-led solutions for environmental justice and sustainable resilience.

27/02/2026

What an honour it was for our organization to participate in the Constituency Delimitation Sitting alongside our dedicated women participants and gatekeepers from the Women’s Political Participation (WPP) Project. The sitting was held at Malcolm Moffat College of Education in Serenje District.

30/01/2026

The circular economy is already a reality in many corners of the world. But how does it work?

By centering the reuse, repair, and rerouting of goods to prevent waste from piling up in landfills and oceans, and to slow or stop the production of stuff we don't actually need.

The vision board would say: quality, intention, community. 🔮👀🫂

Sounds much better than the that makes, uses, and discards goods at the expense of vulnerable ecosystems and communities, no?

Where do you see in use? Where would you like to see them? Let us know in the comments.

🎨 A Drop in the Ocean

22/01/2026

21/01/2026

17/12/2025

Excited to kick off community engagement meetings focused on formulating local by-laws to address nature crimes at Chiefdom level.

This initiative follows recommendations from the Traditional Leaders and Stakeholders Meeting we hosted in Serenje District in August 2025, which brought together all eight (8) Chiefs from Serenje and Chitambo Districts.

Our engagement was held in Chief Kabamba Chiefdom, with strong participation to lead the process from key local partners from the district including the Forest Department (FD), Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), and the Serenje Town Council Legal Department. Community representation included Community Forest Management Groups (CFMGs), Community Crime Prevention Units (CCPU), Headmen and Headwomen, local teachers, Honorary Forest Officers, Agriculture Extension Officers, and Ward Development Committee (WDC) members.

The process aligns with national laws such as the Forests Act and Wildlife Act and many others, while also drawing on long-standing indigenous laws that have guided communities to protect local natural resources for centuries but remain undocumented. The goal is to re-inforce the protection of both community and national forests and address prevailing nature crimes including poaching, illegal mining, water pollution, and related environmental threats.

Once finalized, the by-law will be translated into the local Lala language and widely distributed within the Chiefdom ensuring ownership, understanding, and lasting impact at community level.

14/12/2025

Way to Go and we hope more resources will be allocated at district level to deal with most of these Nature Crimes.

NPA Forms Wildlife and Environmental Crimes Unit

By Arnold Tutu

The National Prosecution Authority –NPA- has established a specialised Environmental and Wildlife Crimes Department as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s response to offences threatening Zambia’s natural resources.

NPA Public Relations Officer CHALI MBEWE-HAMBAYI says the new unit is expected to enhance the prosecution of complex cases such as illegal wildlife trafficking, organised poaching networks and industrial pollution.

Mrs. MBEWE-HAMBAYI says the department will operate under a prosecutor-led investigative model, enabling stronger case development and improved evidentiary standards from the earliest stages of investigations.

She told ZNBC News in a statement that the approach aims to ensure more effective handling of sophisticated environmental offences that require close coordination across multiple agencies.

And Ms. HAMBAYI has announced the appointment of MARTHA WEZA-TEMBO as Deputy Chief State Advocate for Environmental and Wildlife Crimes, who will head the new department.

Mrs. WEZA-TEMBO has thirteen years of prosecutorial experience and previously served as Deputy Chief State Advocate for Western Province.

Her background includes advanced international training in transnational environmental crime at the International Law Enforcement Academy in New Mexico and the African Transformative Initiative in Tanzania.

According to Ms. MBEWE-HAMBAYI, the department will serve as the NPA’s central coordination point for inter-agency operations and will strengthen partnerships with both national and international conservation organisations.

She added that the development forms part of the Authority’s wider effort to improve operational efficiency and reinforce its mandate in areas viewed as critical to national interest, including safeguarding biodiversity and promoting environmental integrity.

(Below is Mrs. MARTHA WEZA-TEMBO)

10/12/2025

We are delighted to share that the Centre for Zero Waste and Development in Africa (CZWDA) was selected as the district partner for Serenje under the National Democratic Institute (NDI) initiative aimed at promoting an enabling environment for women’s political participation. The project is being implemented from September 2025 to August 2026 and is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) under the Enhancing Women’s Political Leadership and Creating an Enabling Environment for Representative Political Participation in Zambia program.
NDI is scaling up its initial pilot to 24 districts across Zambia with the goal of increasing the pool of women candidates for local council and parliamentary positions.
The project’s core approaches include:
i) Behavior and social norm change interventions targeting male gatekeepers such as traditional leaders, religious leaders, and local political party leadership to foster stronger support for women pursuing political leadership roles; and
ii) Skills-building and networking opportunities for aspiring women candidates.
We are proud to be supporting the implementation of these activities in Serenje District on behalf of NDI.

08/12/2025

Excited to have had a truly fruitful engagement meeting on Nature Crime, focusing on illegal logging and forest encroachments, with the communities of Mulembo under Chief Chitambo Chiefdom.
We also explored Eco-Tourism opportunities as alternative livelihood options, leveraging the presence of Kasanka National Park home to the spectacular world’s largest mammal bat migration.
The meeting brought together members from the Mutembo Community Forest Management Groups (CFMGs), Kasanka Trust, and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), all working collaboratively under the Ukuchingilila Impanga Nature Crime Project to combat environmental crimes across Chitambo and Serenje Districts.

11/10/2025

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