Young lawyers in Mutare have hailed the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) following a capacity-building workshop held for them in the mountainous city recently.
The aim of the workshop was to widen the capacity of young lawyers to deal with the legal complexities of natural resource governance in order to advance social justice and environmental protection in Zimbabwe by pursuing public interest litigation cases.
Speaking to CNRG Weekly after the workshop, the trained lawyers said the event was a success and would help them strengthen their work on natural resource governance going forward.
Tafadzwa Sigauke, a distinguished barrister in Mutare said the training imparted policy-changing knowledge on him and his compatriots in a great way.
“The training was quite engaging and was able to draw interest in us to natural resources governance in our country.
“We were capacitated with necessary information and skills that will enable us to influence decisions in natural resource governance and ensure that such decisions are sustainable and most importantly grounded in long-term community benefit,” he said.
Another industrious lawyer, Tafadzwa Jaricha, also commended the workshop.
“The workshop was very informative. It helped and assisted with knowledge on how to litigate in matters involving natural resources and the environment, of significance litigation on Mining,” he said.
Jaricha reiterated that after the workshop, they will be in a more solid case to litigate effectively matters on natural resource governance.
“The mining law session was very interesting in that we have been seeing the injustices going on towards the community and the landowners however, little knowledge was known as to how to litigate the same.
“I am confident enough that when faced with a case that calls for Natural Resource Management, l am able to assist my client,” he said.
Speaking to the WEEKLY, CNRG head of programs George Nyamaropa said objectives of the workshop had been met.
“The objectives of the workshop were met, this is evidenced by the evaluation notes from the participants, who showed appreciation of how complex they thought the natural resources and how it was simplified in the training. Several of the lawyers trained admitted to a new interest in the natural resources and will contribute to CNRG in the form of policy and position papers,” he said.
“In future, we expect an increase in the number of public interest litigation cases taken up by lawyers to court, we also expect position papers on the law on natural resources and how it can be improved for the benefit of host communities,” added Nyamaropa.
“As a way forward, a working group for lawyers that is committed to identifying cases of environmental injustices for possible public litigation cases has been initiated. There is also going to be an intensive discourse on law and natural governance through the lenses of social justice,” said Nyamaropa.
Lawyers, as essential legal stakeholders, are responsible for ensuring adequate adherence to laws and regulations governing natural resource management. The complexities of natural resource governance, on the other hand, require specialized knowledge and abilities that may not be effectively covered in typical legal education.
The workshop thus addressed the gap by providing legal professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to traverse the legal and regulatory frameworks around natural resources, allowing them to successfully address the environmental, social, and economic challenges that communities in extractive areas face.