The Cabora Bassa Oil and Gas Project: An Assessment of the Project’s Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts on Local Communities in Muzarabani and Mbire Districts

The report examines the early exploration phase of the Cabora Bassa Project (Special Grant Permit 4571) in Zimbabwe, highlighting significant gaps in transparency and community engagement. While the project has identified substantial potential liquid natural gas reserves, the authors find a lack of meaningful consultation with local populations in the Muzarabani and Mbire districts, creating an information asymmetry between investors and residents. The document warns of potential risks including securitization, human rights abuses, and environmental degradation in a region already highly vulnerable to climate-induced flooding and drought. It recommends making production and exploration agreements public, conducting an independent review of the Environmental Impact Assessment, and implementing an equity-based benefit-sharing model for local communities.

• There is a significant lack of transparency regarding the project's legal and financial frameworks, as both the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) and the Petroleum Exploration Development and Production Agreement (PEPDA) have not been made public.
• Community engagement has been largely superficial and ceremonial, failing to provide ordinary residents with substantive information or a role in decision-making, which contradicts the claims of an inclusive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
• The project area in the Muzarabani and Mbire districts is highly vulnerable to climate change, specifically increasing risks of flooding and drought, which may be exacerbated by project-related deforestation.
• The project risks repeating Zimbabwe's history of the 'resource curse,' where extractive industries benefit political elites while causing human rights abuses and the securitization of local areas.
• To mitigate social conflict and ensure sustainable development, the report argues for a shift from top-down Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to a model where local communities hold actual equity in the investment.

APA

Good Governance Africa (2023). The Cabora Bassa Oil and Gas Project: An Assessment of the Project’s Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts on Local Communities in Muzarabani and Mbire Districts. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2023/03/Cabora-Bassa-report.pdf

Chicago

Good Governance Africa. The Cabora Bassa Oil and Gas Project: An Assessment of the Project’s Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts on Local Communities in Muzarabani and Mbire Districts. 2023. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2023/03/Cabora-Bassa-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Good Governance Africa |title=The Cabora Bassa Oil and Gas Project: An Assessment of the Project’s Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts on Local Communities in Muzarabani and Mbire Districts |date=February 2023 |url=https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2023/03/Cabora-Bassa-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{goodgovernanceafrica2023cabora, author = {{Good Governance Africa}}, title = {{The Cabora Bassa Oil and Gas Project: An Assessment of the Project’s Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts on Local Communities in Muzarabani and Mbire Districts}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2023/03/Cabora-Bassa-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }