Peter Moyo
Zimbabwe’s 2026 National Budget places climate resilience and environmental protection among its stated national priorities, signalling a push toward stronger adaptation systems at a time of intensifying drought risk, degraded ecosystems and persistent climate shocks.
Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced that the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife will receive ZiG 510.2 million for climate-change management and environmental programmes.
Treasury frames climate change as a structural economic threat requiring targeted investment, with the 2026 Budget Strategy Paper warning that climate change “presents a significant risk to the country’s economic outlook, particularly through its impact on the agriculture sector, which is highly sensitive to weather patterns.”
Within the broader economic framework, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development receives ZiG 26.8 billion, covering irrigation development, dam construction, livestock support and strengthening the Strategic Grain Reserve. Treasury positions these investments as climate-resilience anchors designed to buffer farmers from weather extremes and protect national food supply.
The Strategy Paper outlines government intentions to strengthen climate governance, pointing to the need for a coordinated national response built on evidence-based planning. It emphasizes “sustainable adaptation measures, land management, active community participation and targeted policy interventions” as the backbone of Zimbabwe’s climate strategy.
Another major commitment is Treasury’s pledge to introduce climate-budgeting tools across government to improve transparency and accountability. These tools are expected to enable ministries to identify, cost and prioritise climate-related interventions and to allow “systematic tracking, monitoring and reporting of public expenditure on climate activities.” If fully implemented, this could mark a significant shift in how Zimbabwe handles environmental spending.
Despite these ambitions, doubts remain over whether the ZiG 510.2 million allocated to the Environment Ministry is sufficient given the scale of the climate crisis. Historically, large portions of the ministry’s budget have gone toward administrative costs, limiting investment in on-the-ground projects such as catchment restoration, reforestation or climate-early warning systems. Analysts often argue that Zimbabwe’s adaptation needs — particularly in water, agriculture and community-level resilience — require far larger, ring-fenced budgets.
The 2026 budget marks an important step in aligning public spending with climate risk. The direction is clear and the commitments are more deliberate than in recent years. What remains uncertain is whether the allocations will translate into real, measurable improvements for farmers, rural communities and ecosystems already under severe climate pressure. Implementation capacity, political will and rigorous accountability will determine whether the promises made on paper evolve into resilience on the ground.
