Zimbabwe: SAFIRE Unveils Five-Year Plan to Restore 50,000 Hectares, Empower 90,000 Zimbabweans

What the report says

The Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE) has launched a five-year strategy in Harare focused on restoring degraded land, expanding tree planting and improving rural livelihoods through community-led environmental work. According to the AllAfrica-distributed report from 263Chat, the plan covers 2026-2030 and centers on ecosystem restoration, sustainable income generation and local control over natural resources.

The strategy sets a range of targets, including restoring 50,000 hectares of degraded land, planting one million trees, protecting wetlands and expanding afforestation, conservation agriculture, regenerative agriculture and agroforestry. SAFIRE also aims to support community participation, strengthen farmers and entrepreneurs, and build market links for products such as honey, baobab and mopane worm. The organization said the approach is based on the idea that communities are more likely to protect natural resources when they benefit directly from them.

At the launch, Zimbabwe’s Environment, Climate and Wildlife Ministry said the plan fits national development and climate goals and urged SAFIRE to produce measurable results on the ground. SAFIRE board chair Farai Chitsa said the group wants to deepen local ownership and scale up its community-based conservation work, which began in 1994. The article says the plan will require about US$5 million over five years, with part of that funding already secured and the rest still to be mobilized.

The proposal matters because it links environmental restoration with jobs, enterprise development and resilience in a country facing drought, land degradation and pressure on forests and wetlands. If implemented, the plan could affect thousands of households and communities across multiple districts.