Policy coherence and collisions in multifunctional landscapes in Zimbabwe

This report assesses policy coherence and collisions across Zimbabwe’s national policy and legal frameworks in relation to multifunctional landscapes (MFLs). It examines how policies align or conflict in advancing five key elements: environmental sustainability, improving livelihoods, multifunctionality, stakeholder engagement and social inclusion, and the enabling environment. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines quantitative discourse analysis with qualitative policy scoring to review 26 national policies, complemented by validation through a district-level workshop in Mbire.

Findings show that Zimbabwe’s policy landscape provides a strong strategic foundation for sustainable and inclusive development, but coherence remains uneven across sectors and scales. While policies strongly emphasize environmental sustainability and livelihoods, weaker integration is evident in institutional coordination, multifunctionality, and inclusive governance. Interactions between agriculture, water, climate, and environmental policies reveal persistent tensions, particularly where production objectives conflict with ecosystem protection and long-term resilience.

The report highlights that the main challenge lies not in limited policy ambition, but in fragmented implementation and weak cross-sectoral alignment. It recommends strengthening horizontal and vertical coordination, addressing key policy contradictions, and embedding inclusive, multifunctional approaches in national and local planning to support resilient and equitable landscape governance.