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By Daniel Itai.

Zambia. (News of The South) – Zambia’s government has cancelled a plan to allow the construction of a major copper mine in a national park by the Zambezi river.

The news comes only a week after the country’s High Court authorized Australia listed Mwembeshi Resources to build a massive copper mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park, a haven for endangered wildlife.

The plan to create a mine in the park, 174km southeast of the capital, Lusaka, has faced relentless opposition.

Environmental activists and the tourism minister, the Economic Association of Zambia and others warned mine pollution will harm the park and Zimbabwe’s nearby Mana Pools National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Country Director of World Wildlife Fund Zambia, Nachilala Nkombo , pointed out that the Lower Zambezi National Park was one of four national parks that generated up to 96 percent of Zambia’s non-consumptive wildlife tourism revenues.

“Although the mine is expected to cover about 980 square kilometres which is about 25 percent of the park, it is estimated that more than 50 percent of the national park will be lost, the entire northern part of the park,” said Nkombo.

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