Zimbabwe’s contribution to climate change resilience

By Cliven Njekete/Zimbabwe

​Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa characterised by tropical climate, good landscape and wildlife mainly found in protected areas. The National Report by ZimStat on the Census of 2012 reported Zimbabwe’s population at slightly above 13 million people. However, at present, various sources estimate Zimbabwe’s population to be over 15 million as of 2016.

The Ministry of Environment Water and Climate, Meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Climate Change Department and Environmental Management Agency are mainly the public organisations involved in climate and environmental issues in the country with the input of various Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
The report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that Africa will suffer the most from the impacts of climate change, with Zimbabwe being no exception. It is envisaged that climate change will induce average temperatures to rise by 3°C in Zimbabwe before the end of 21st century, whilst annual rainfall is likely to decline by between 5% and 18% especially in the south. Rainfall will become more poorly distributed, droughts, floods and storms frequency will increase and this certainly has dire consequences on the country’s food security, energy, health and economy.
In Zimbabwe, long term changes in the average atmospheric conditions are already happening. Based on the records from 1990 the average annual surface temperatures has increased by 0.4°C, not to mention the decrease in about 5% of the total amount of rainfall and occurrence of more hot days and less cold days than in the past.
Rainfall is seen to be declining, with frequent cases of delayed rain season. There have been more dry days during the rainy season with droughts and floods having increased in frequency since 1990, often occurring back to back with a flood year immediately following a drought year. The country has experienced one of the worst droughts during the previous agricultural season of 2015/2016 mainly attributed to the El Nino effect. This saw even crops like cotton which require little water being affected.
It is anticipated that by 2050 until 2100 Zimbabwe will likely experience;

• Significant decrease in total amount of rainfall
• Shift in seasons with higher frequency and longer mid-season dry spells
• Reduction in groundwater recharge
• Uneven distribution of rainfall all over the country with more droughts and floods, which may be experienced year after year
• Increase in temperature by between 1°C and 3 °C

The aftermath of these changes includes:

• Less water supply for household use and agriculture from both surface and groundwater sources
• Growth of Natural Region V (which is less favourable for cropping due to less annual rainfall received) and on the other hand shrinking of Natural Region 1 (which is highly favourable for intensive crop and forestry production as it receives a good amount of annual rainfall)
• Changes in natural resources such as vegetation, water, soils and also wildlife
• Increased vulnerability to food shortages with possible increase in undernutrition especially in children.
• More disease frequency-diarrhea, cholera and malaria
• The most vulnerable population will be children, women, the elderly and disabled

Amid all the delays and lack of immense commitment, and having observed that the impacts of climate change are felt at the local level with the poor communities being the hardest hit due to their low adaptive capacity, the Government of Zimbabwe developed a National Climate Change Response Strategy as a guide to national responsive solutions with regard to addressing the impacts of climate change. Its main aim is to contribute to a climate-resilient Zimbabwe. 

References:
Brazie. A., (2015) Climate Change in Zimbabwe: Facts for Planners and Decision Makers. Konrad Adenauer-Stiftung Publishers
GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, WATER AND CLIMATE: Zimbabwe’s National Climate Change Response Strategy
Shanahan. M., Shubert. W., Scherer. C., and Corcoran. T., (2013) Climate Change in Africa: A Guidebook for Journalists. Published in 2013 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

THE AUTHOR

Cliven is currently the Project’s Social Media Coordinator for the ClimatEducate Project in Africa. He is currently based in  France.