Nearly two-thirds of citizens endorse tighter regulation of natural resource extraction to reduce its negative impact on the environment.
Key findings
- Six in 10 Emaswati (60%) say pollution is a "somewhat serious" or "very serious" problem in their communities. o Citizens cite trash disposal (44%), water pollution (18%), and human waste management (10%) as the most important environmental issues affecting their communities. o Almost eight in 10 citizens (79%) say plastic bags are a major source of pollution in Eswatini.
- Two-thirds (66%) of Emaswati say the primary responsibility for reducing pollution and keeping communities clean rests with ordinary citizens. Far fewer would assign that responsibility primarily to the national government (12%) or local government (8%).
- Even so, an overwhelming majority (90%) want the government to do more to limit pollution and protect the environment.
- If environmental protection policies threaten jobs and incomes, however, three-fifths (60%) of respondents want the government to focus on job creation.
- Four in 10 Emaswati (40%) say the benefits of natural resource extraction, such as jobs and revenue, outweigh negative impacts, such as pollution. But a slightly larger share (44%) disagree. o Nearly two-thirds (64%) of citizens want the government to regulate natural resource extraction more tightly to reduce its negative impact on the environment.
Eswatini is known for its scenic landscapes, lush game reserves, and rich diversity of fauna and flora underpinning a tourism industry that contributed 9.2% of the country's gross domestic product in 2023 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2023).
The country also enjoys a remarkable natural resource endowment that includes asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, gold, diamonds, quarry stone, and talc (CIA Factbook, 2024). Minerals are so prized that they are symbolised by the yellow in the national flag.
However, economic development, population growth, climate change, and urbanisation have had serious environmental consequences, including the depletion of freshwater, soil erosion and degradation, land and water pollution, and biodiversity loss (Eswatini Environment Authority, 2020).
To address these and other environmental challenges, the government established a National Environment Coordination Department under the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs. This department is responsible for policy coordination and oversight of all environmental matters, including waste management (United Nations Environment Programme, 2019).
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Eswatini is striving to achieve land-degradation neutrality, with stable or increased amounts and quality of needed land resources, by 2030 (Eswatini Environment Authority, 2020). The country is also working to reduce biodiversity loss through ecosystem restoration and land rehabilitation, aiming to enhance food security and restore ecosystem services to benefit the rural poor (Eswatini Government, 2023).
This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 questionnaire that explores citizens' experiences and perceptions of pollution, environmental governance, and natural resource extraction.
Findings show that Emaswati are concerned about pollution, rating trash disposal as the most important environmental issue in their communities and describing plastic bags as a major source of pollution.
A majority of respondents say their fellow citizens should be first in line to address pollution and keep their communities clean. However, most also say the government should be doing more on this score.
If environmental protection policies threaten jobs, a majority of individuals believe job creation should be prioritised. However, nearly two-thirds want the government to tighten resource extraction regulations to protect the environment from despoliation.
Marcelline Amouzou Marcelline Amouzou is a PhD student in political science at the University of Florida.
