In our last Monday Opinion, we discussed the opportunities and challenges of Zambia’s critical minerals boom. The global demand for cobalt, nickel, and manganese presents an opportunity for economic diversification, but this rapid expansion is already creating challenges in rural mining communities. As a 2025 study by the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) revealed, communities in the Southern and Central Provinces are facing a surge in land disputes and environmental damage. The key question is whether Zambia’s mineral boom can be managed to generate long-term prosperity, or it falls victim to the ‘resource curse’ of dependency, conflict, and environmental harm. This week’s opinion explores how Zambia can strike a balance between growth and sustainability.

Strengthening Governance and Accountability

Strong laws and institutions are crucial for managing the surge in mining activity. Zambia has a relatively robust legal framework, strengthened by the recently enacted Minerals Regulation Commission Act, 2024 (MRCA), which embeds Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations into licensing, including mandatory environmental budget monitoring and joint audits with the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA).

The MRCA embeds strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) safeguards into Zambia’s mining regime. Sections 59–66 require the Commission, when granting or renewing licences, to protect air, water, flora, fauna, and heritage sites, and to prevent social harm. Each licence must include obligations for rehabilitation, reforestation, and human-health protection, backed by deposits or guarantees. The Act bans wasteful mining and imposes strict liability for ecological or social damage, effectively creating an ESG framework—though it never uses the term.

Yet enforcement remains its weakest link. While the law empowers the Commission to suspend mines and impose heavy fines, it is riddled with discretion: regulators “may” act but are not compelled to. Limited inspections and centralised oversight mean compliance often depends on institutional will, not legal obligation. The result mirrors the Environmental Management Act of 2011—strong on paper, weak in practice—showing that without consistent enforcement, even the toughest laws fail to protect communities and the environment.

Additionally, regulatory oversight remains weakest in rural areas, where mining projects often operate with little or no consistent monitoring. This gap has been evidenced by frequent violations of environmental laws, including unlicensed waste disposal and water contamination in mining districts. For instance, the lead poisoning crisis in Kabwe and the acid spills from tailings dams on the Copperbelt are plain reminders of the human and ecological costs of weak enforcement. Such violations persist largely because ZEMA lacks the resources and decentralised presence needed to conduct regular inspections.

To prevent history from repeating itself, regulatory institutions must be adequately resourced and decentralised. But governance cannot be a top-down affair. Civil society and local communities must be empowered to act as co-enforcers, using citizen-based reporting and community audits to increase transparency and hold companies accountable. A multi-stakeholder monitoring platform which combines state oversight with community and civil society input would make enforcement both credible and effective.

Equally important is improving coordination among ministries. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) notes that ministries often work in silos, creating conflicting mandates—such as promoting agriculture while approving mining on the same land. This policy disconnect fuels land conflicts and displacement; nearly half of respondents in the CTPD (2025) study reported disputes and reduced access to grazing areas. Zambia needs an integrated governance framework that aligns mining with other national priorities, ensuring resource development supports rather than undermines livelihoods.

Putting Communities at the Centre of Development

For mining to deliver inclusive development, communities must not only see tangible benefits but also be protected from harm and empowered as active participants. The CTPD (2025) study shows that 89.6 per cent of respondents lacked awareness of their rights, the obligations of mining companies, or the policies governing resource extraction. This stark information gap reflects weak policy dissemination and limited participation of communities in mining-related decision-making, leaving households vulnerable to displacement, environmental risks, and exploitation.

A key mechanism to address this is making Community Development Agreements (CDAs) mandatory for both large-scale and small-scale mining projects. These agreements would provide a structured and legally binding framework for dialogue, benefit-sharing, and accountability. CDAs would ensure that companies invest in the specific needs of host communities, from skills training to local infrastructure, and are held accountable for their environmental obligations throughout a project’s lifecycle. This is not merely a matter of corporate social responsibility; it is an essential component of the new social contract needed to balance Zambia’s economic drive with the well-being of its people and the health of its environment.

Conclusion

The global demand for critical minerals offers Zambia a rare chance to reposition itself in the international economy. But without stronger institutions, coordinated policies, and community-centred governance, the risks of displacement, ecological degradation, and food insecurity could overshadow the potential benefits, resulting in the dreaded ‘resource curse’. The path forward must therefore be one of balance, built on a development model in which mining and agriculture coexist, citizens are empowered to demand accountability, and sustainability underpins every stage of the mining value chain. Only through such a deliberate, inclusive approach can Zambia transform its mineral endowment into a catalyst for just and lasting development.