Urban Development, Land Use Changes and Environmental Impacts in Zambia's Major Cities: A Case Study of Ndola

Abstract As population grows, industries blossom and demand for space increases, cities become the centre point for myriads of challenges for urban administrators. This chapter investigated challenges of urban development, land use changes and environmental impacts resulting from pressure on urban land. The study was primarily qualitative in nature and adopted a case study approach. The city of Ndola was selected for this purpose. Four institutions, namely, Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), Water Resources Management Agency (WARMA), Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company (KWSC) and Ndola City Council (NCC), were used for data collection. At each institution, one official was purposively selected by management based on their knowledge and experience on the subject. The primary data were collected mainly through semi-structured questionnaires in face-to-face interviews. The chapter concludes that pressure for development land has resulted in increased demand for change of use, allocation and construction in environmentally vulnerable areas such as the Kafubu and Itawa River basins and their tributaries. This has further resulted in serious threats to the environment due to pollution of water sources from domestic and industrial waste. The chapter though argues that tools for overcoming these challenges are already provided for in the legislation, it is the implementation and effective coordination among agencies charged with planning, land allocation, water distribution and protection of the environment, such as ZEMA, WARMA, KWSC and NCC, which is lacking. Considering the foregoing, it is recommended that land and water administrative systems should be improved through among other things, effective consultation between various agencies involved in environmental management, zero tolerance to illegal land allocation and effective implementation of statutes.