Pollution of Monavale Vlei remains a threat to the integrity of the wetland which is an internationally recognised site under the Ramsar International Convention on the protection of wetlands which Zimbabwe signed in 2012.
Moved by this threat, residents of Monavale have embarked on clean up campaigns which are part of community initiatives to protect the wetland as well as to maintain a clean and safe environment.
On Friday, the residents embarked on a clean up campaign on the edges of Monavale East which is part of the Ramsar site.
The residents have also engaged the Mabelreign District Office which has assured them of support in the form of transport to ferry the collected garbage as well as constant monitoring of Monavale Vlei.
A Monavale resident, Emeka Mhishi said pollution of Monavale Vlei was a cause for huge concern and appealed to authorities to compliment residents' efforts of maintaining clean and safe environment in the area.
"Monavale is a wetland of international importance and pollution damages the integrity of the wetland and poses a huge threat to our environment. We are appealing to council and the Environmental Management Agency to assist with solutions to stop this problem in our community. There is need for deterrent fines to stop this mess," she said.
The pollution at Monavale Vlei is largely in the form of beer bottles and garbage.
Conservation Society of Monavale (COSMO) representative, Dorothy Wakeling said dumping at Monavale Vlei is largely caused by passers-by.
"There is also an issue with the dumping of bottles and we suspect that there are commercial pubs in the area that come and dump here. There has got to be an engagement between the City of Harare and these entities to stop that from happening. We also need regular collection of rubbish in the area," she said.
Another resident, Ginny Iliff said, "People are driving through Monavale and throwing bottles through the window as they go so they are using Monavale as their litter bin. The east part of Monavale has become so bad and as residents we are reporting to the police if we identify the people behind the dumping."
The Conservation Officer for Monavale Vlei, Jimmy Muropa said they will be engaging the City of Harare "so that we have permanent solutions to the issue of pollution at Monavale" which include constant collection of garbage.
Commenting on the issue, the Spokesperson for the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Amkela Sidange implored residents to desist from pollution of water sources and the environment in general.
Harare's headwater wetlands serve as water sources and pollution as well as degradation of these areas negatively impact on water supply and quality.
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"We strongly discourage dumping of materials in such sensitive ecosystems because this will result in water contamination taking into account that wetlands are water sources and habitats of flora and fauna. When we pollute them, it means we are putting the integrity of the area and the health of residents at risk," said Sidange.
She reiterated EMA's commitment to a clean environment and zero tolerance to pollution.
The Councilor for the area Abdurrahman Sapa was not available to comment on the issue despite numerous attempts to reach out to him.
