The Ministry of National Development Planning says ascertaining and quantifying Zambia’s natural capital wealth in tourism, land, forest, water and other sectors is important in planning for the country’s economic growth.
Ministry Permanent Secretary in charge of Development Planning and Administration, Chola Chabala said the country heavily relies on natural and human capital for income generation, hence it is important to recognize the value of natural capital and appropriately manage it.
Officiating at the on-going workshop on development of natural capital accounts for Zambia Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) Accounts on tourism, forest, water and land, Mr. Chabala stated that it is envisaged that data to be generated from natural capital accounting will enhance policy decision-making on allocation and use of natural resources.
He disclosed that the Ministry has been coordinating implementation of the WAVES programme with the assistance from the World Bank and in collaboration with relevant ministries and stakeholders, adding that the information from the accounts will greatly contribute to measuring how far Zambia has gone in attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The program’s objective is to promote sustainable development by mainstreaming natural capital in development planning and national economic accounting systems.”
“The ecosystem accounts concept will help Zambia, a biodiversity-rich country, to design a management strategy that balances trade-offs among what is obtained from the environment and what remains on the environment to ensure sustainability,” Mr. Chabala said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chabala observed that the global economy has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak which has had negative impact on the tourism sector.
He however expressed hope that the final report of the Tourism Account will improve the management of tourism resources in the country to achieve the aspirations of the Vision 2030 and attainment of SDGs.

“This starts by taking stock of what the country has from wildlife, fauna to heritage sites and how these interact with other sectors in the economy and the natural environment,” he stated.
And World Wide Fund (WWF) Zambia Country Director Nachilala Nkombo says Natural Capital Accounting will reveal the full economic value of natural resources in Zambia, enhance economy-wide and landscape level decisions making by providing rich information on natural capital stocks and ecosystem.
Ms. Nkombo assured of the fund’s continued collaboration with Government in the protection of the environment, tourism and other sectors for the benefit of the people.
“We appeal to Government to fully utilize the natural capital accounting outputs to guide policy and investments decision to attain our SDGs ambitions while conserving our natural resources that our people and the economy depend on,” Ms. Nkombo stated.