BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– Eswatini Environment Affairs (EEA) has revealed that this Easter weekend was cleaner than last year.
It was further mentioned that on the cleanliness part there was a slight improvement compared to the last Easter weekend, where there was less cleanliness.
This information was revealed by EEA’s Manager Gcina Dladla who said, they were happy and thankful for a clean weekend.
“We witnessed a fairly clean weekend where emaSwati managed to throw out their trash properly and there was less littering,” he said.
Meanwhile a Climate Specialist Zinhle ‘Zee’ Dlamini said it was important to keep the environment clean because, the environment and its natural resources are a source of livelihood and good health for billions of people across the world.
She further said unsustainable natural resource extraction, litter, dirt and deforestation, soil erosion, land degradation, and impacts of climate change are adversely affecting the environment.
“For example, the 2020 Eswatini State of the Environment Report states that indigenous forests and woodlands have declined by almost 11 per cent between 1990 and 2018. During the same period, human settlements and subsistence cropland increased by an estimated five per cent and 8.5 per cent respectively,” she said.
In addition to that, she said, the continuation of littering and improper disposal of litter is diminishing the state of the environment and has forced some companies, non-governmental organisations, schools and communities to roll up their sleeves and work to save the environment.
These entities were recognised at the Temvelo Awards in July 2022 for their efforts in environmental conservation and restoration in their respective areas.
Under the leadership of the Eswatini National Trust Commission (ENTC), the awards recognised efforts: Best Community Wetland, Green High School, Waste Management, Enviro Entrepreneur, Climate Change Champion, and Green Business, to mention a few. UNDP has supported these awards under its environment portfolio since its inception in 2011.
