Legal Responses to Climate Disasters in Southern Africa: Practical Legal Developments in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Climate change-related hazards turn into frequent disasters in vulnerable
communities, regions, and States. The hazards have grave impacts on the
adequate protection of human and environmental rights. Zimbabwe and
Mozambique are key examples of the African States that continue to grapple with
humanitarian crises and infrastructure damage emanating from cyclones, tropical
storms, drought, flooding, and heatwaves. The chapter makes a critical assessment
of the legal responses to these rising disasters by the central and local
governments of the two Southern African States. The chapter also assesses the
adequacy of existing climate, environmental and humanitarian laws.
The chapter utilises a critical legal theoretical framework and interdisciplinary
approaches to assess and analyse the legal instruments, human and environmental
rights implications, duties and global commitments and expectations on of the two
States to, among others, the Loss and Damage Mechanisms, adaptation
mechanisms, the UNFCCC and CoP debates, associated protocols, and climate
justice debates. Zimbabwe and Mozambique must place more efforts on civil
protection, international climate law, and policy reform, adequate disaster laws,
and climate legislation.