Multilateral Environmental Agreements(MEAS) programme

Project Scope: The primary objective of the project is to promote environmental sustainability by strengthening environmental governance and the implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). The target MEAs are the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS) and indirectly the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).The agricultural sector depends heavily on biodiversity and its components for its functioning; at the same time, agriculture is a significant contributor to biodiversity loss. Many of the drivers of biodiversity loss include overexploitation, overharvesting, pollution, overuse of external inputs and changes in land and water management and inappropriate agricultural practices. This project aims to design, build on and enhance natural biodiversity while at the same time sustaining production, food security and profitability. It will mainstream biodiversity into sectoral and cross- sectoral relevant policies, plans and programmes to halt the loss of biodiversity and creating resilient societies, food security and nutrition production systems. The project will be delivered through: creating a more enabling policy environment, strengthening policy implementation and facilitating changes in agricultural practices. The expected project outputs include, enhanced integration of measures for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the sound management of chemicals in agricultural policies, enhanced field implementation of these measures in Zimbabwe, enhanced regional collaboration and dissemination of best policies and practices across Africa and other relevant global countries and strengthen the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and synergies with the other target conventions through better governance and knowledge on biodiversity mainstreaming at national to global levels.

ZOPPA’s Contribution to the MEAs Programme

The Zimbabwe Organic Producers and Promoters Association (ZOPPA) contributed to the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Programme by bringing an organic agriculture perspective to programme discussions, knowledge development and field-level implementation. Drawing on its experience in organic agriculture, agroecology and sustainable farming systems, ZOPPA contributed knowledge and insights on how agricultural practices can support biodiversity conservation, the sustainable use of natural resources and the sound management of chemicals. The organisation also supported farmers in promoting and applying practices that enhance soil health, protect biodiversity and sustain agricultural productivity. Through this contribution, ZOPPA helped strengthen the integration of organic principles and farmer-centred approaches into broader efforts to improve environmental governance, mainstream biodiversity and promote more sustainable and resilient food systems in Zimbabwe.