In a bid to address the pressing challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss, the Utariri integrated programme is making significant strides in the Zambezi Valley. Led by DanChurchAid Zimbabwe in partnership with African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), The Future of Hope Foundation (TFOHF), and other stakeholders the initiative aims to foster climate adaptation and sustainable livelihoods in the region.
In an interview with The Environment, DanChurchAid Country Director, Mads Schack Lindegård highlighted the crucial role of awareness and consensus-building within communities to address climate change attributes effectively.
“The Utariri Programme has instituted a multi-pronged approach to enhance climate adaptation in the Mid-Lower Zambezi landscape. At the core of Utariri’s adaptation framing is awareness and consensus building where the programme is interacting with communities to get to a common understanding of climate change attributes over a period.
“Key results from the awareness and consensus building sessions are issues of disappearance of fauna and flora species, drying of rivers and wetlands, unpredictable farming seasons resulting in crop failure, reduction in non-timber forest products yield among other visible changes,” said Lindegård
A key aspect of the programme is the promotion of agroecology and crop diversification to enhance food and income security in the face of changing climate patterns.
“Improving access to water resources through improved distribution of water from prolific aquifers, conveying it to the worst affected areas through piped water schemes. Water supply is being prioritized as a way of adapting to climate change, mitigation of human wildlife conflicts, and promotion of livelihoods diversification. Agroecology is being expanded on as a way of ensuring biodiversity-friendly food and income production systems with a huge bearing on water, soil, and biomass conservation.
“Crop and livelihoods diversification using climate adaptable crop varieties e.g., mushrooms, sorghum, quinoa, chilies, sesame, rosella, cowpeas, and groundnut. Provision of seed and the requisite extension support has been intensified under the Utariri programme to promote food and income security in changing climate,” he said
Furthermore, Lindegård said the commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) through public-private partnerships aims to empower communities economically while promoting sustainable resource management practices.
“Commercialization of non-timber forest products through Private Public Partnership to derive maximum value from available NTFPs (Non-timber Forestry Products) has been adopted to allow communities to generate substantial incomes from available resources. While the yields of NTFPs are get lower, appropriate, and sustainable commercialization of NFTP is assisting communities to generate incomes in changing climate.
