As climate change is making rainfall patterns increasingly erratic around the world, it is ever more important for communities to protect their sources of freshwater. Wetlands—areas where water is at or near the soil surface for at least part of the year—are a natural source of water for humans and wildlife alike. They trap and filter flood waters and contain topsoil eroded from adjacent areas.
They have also been long used and degraded by humans globally. Zimbabwe is no exception. Of that country’s 1.2 million hectares of wetlands, only 21 percent (252,000 ha) are considered ecologically stable. The other 79 percent (948,000 ha) are either moderately or severely degraded. Pollution, unsustainable grazing and agricultural practices, mining, construction in and around wetlands, and invasive species have led to a substantial decrease in water levels and continue to negatively affect these ecosystems.
USAID Resilient Waters is a five-year, $32 million project building more resilient and water-secure Southern African communities and ecosystems. The project is supporting the Dambari Wildlife Trust to work with communities around the ecologically important Matobo Hills in southwest Zimbabwe to conserve and rehabilitate the environment, particularly related to wetland and grazing land management and community-based natural resource management.
Overgrazing, unsustainable agricultural practices, and invasive weed species in and around the Matobo Hills ecosystem had made the area unproductive and water scarce. Resilient Waters conducted an extensive and inclusive series of discussions and meetings with communities to identify problems and develop solutions. From these consultations, the communities proposed four activities to support rehabilitation of both the wetlands and rangelands: grazing management, weeding alien invasive species, wetland fencing, and community natural resource management plans. Strengthening community engagement in this way builds resilience, helping communities see they can act on issues that affect them.
Grazing management has had one of the biggest impacts on land restoration in the Matobo Hills by improving soil fertility in the rangelands. Resilient Waters supported workshops on holistic livestock and land management that raised community awareness of alternative, but culturally relevant approaches to grazing. Eight villages are now following community grazing plans that are allowing natural wetland restoration processes to take place.
Fencing also protects wetlands, replenishing soils and water reserves. Resilient Waters worked with community leaders to identify appropriate areas to fence off from livestock and human use. The project trained community members as environmental officers and monitors to collect and assess data monthly, and these monitors are now seeing free flowing water in the protected areas.
Removing invasive species is another vital restoration technique. Lantana camara is an invasive flowering shrub originally from South America. Its berries are poisonous to livestock and humans, and its fallen leaves prevent other plants from growing. Resilient Waters helped communities develop work plans to eradicate Lantana camara. The communities have started weaving the stems of these weeds into fencing enclosures that can be used for mobile kraals, replacing the plastic enclosures previously used and improving their livelihoods through the sale of these enclosures.
Through these sorts of inclusive engagements, communities are building their resilience to the effects of climate change and are leading improved management of wetlands and rangelands in the Matobo Hills.
Christine Chumbler
Christine Chumbler is a communications professional with more than 20 years experience in writing, editing, and publications design. She has expertise in every stage of publication production, from concept and writing to editing, design, and printing. In the mid-1990s, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi. This experience led to a career using her writing and editorial skills with international development and foreign policy organizations, many of which worked to directly support USAID’s efforts. She has worked in a freelance capacity full-time since May 2016. Chumbler has a Master’s in journalism from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
