Govt reaffirms commitment to climate resilience at World Environment Day

Speaking during the 2026 World Environment Day commemoration held on June 5, 2026 at Lusaka National Park in Kafue District, Chibamba said the choice of the park was deliberate to highlight the role of protected areas. He said that Lusaka National Park symbolized the critical role protected areas play in preserving biodiversity, restoring ecosystems and mitigating climate change impacts while supporting tourism and environmental education. “This year’s commemoration comes at a time when Zambia continues to experience effects of environmental challenges through prolonged droughts, floods, reduced water availability and declining forest cover,” Chibamba said.

He listed key milestones achieved, including implementation of the National Green Growth Strategy and the National Adaptation Plan to strengthen resilience across key economic sectors. “Here in Zambia, we continue to experience the effects of these challenges through prolonged droughts, floods, reduced water availability, declining forest cover and pressure on our natural resources,” Chibamba said. The Permanent Secretary said government had also developed and launched the National Forestry Policy, National Meteorology Policy and National Policy on Environment to strengthen ecosystem resilience and improve climate information services.

He noted that while these achievements demonstrated progress, much more still needed to be done to safeguard livelihoods, protect biodiversity and ensure sustainable development. “While these achievements represent important progress and demonstrate Government’s commitment to safeguarding livelihoods, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring sustainable development, we recognise that much more still needs to be done,” Chibamba said. He added that the success of environmental and climate action efforts will depend on collective participation of all stakeholders, including citizens, private sector and youth.

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Chibamba concluded that Zambia could build a cleaner, greener, more resilient and prosperous future for present and future generations through renewed collective commitment to safeguarding the environment. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.

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