Headmen in Chirundu take action against indiscriminate tree cutting

 

Roy Habasimbe - a headmans of Sikoongo area

Chirundu district is renowned for its high temperatures and low rainfall. But this scenario has been exacerbated by climate change and is bordering on becoming unbearable for both human and livestock if no interventions are made.

The District experienced only one month of rainfall during the 2022/2023 rain season and boreholes around the district are already drying up.

Livestock can be seem roaming in search of food and water; and farmers in the district have every right to be disturbed by what they are observing.

Roy Habasimbe is a farmer and village headman in an area called Sikoongo. He explained that in the last 7 years, he has observed a significant reduction in rainfall in the area.

“In 2019, our cattle were even dying of dehydration,” he lamented.

The start of the rainy seasons in Zambia is still 3 – 4 months away but it is already apparent that there may be a repeat of the 2019 calamity is feasible. At midday when the Chirundu temperatures are close to their peak, cattle can be seen licking remaining drops of water from the taps at the drying boreholes in an attempt to quench their thirst. It takes a significant amount of continuous pumping to fill a full bucket of water for home use and thus livestock are sometimes left neglected and waiting around for anyone that will pass by to draw water for household use.

Cattle licking at the tap of a borehole that is

gradually drying up

This situation has made cattle keeping – a tradition of the people of Chirundu – a difficult task to manage while an environment that is hostile to the growing their staple food of sorghum is also being created.

“There were just some few crops like maize and maybe groundnuts that could not grow well in Chirundu but for sorghum we were ok…now 7 years down to this year, the rain pattern is not consistent. This year the rains started late and ended early so in the whole of Sikoongo no one will have sorghum this year,” Roy said.

He further added that the effects of climate change have been enhanced by indiscriminate cutting of tree for charcoal. And the growing patches of bare land are evident to see.

Livestock such as goats and cattle are left to roam over long distances in search of grazing land and water; forcing farmers to come to terms with the action they need to take in order to mitigate against the damage done to their environment.

Traditional headmen met to recently in Chirundu to identify ways in which existing by-laws surrounding rangeland management could be strengthened. One of the punitive measures they agreed on for culprits of tree cutting would be a fine of K500 ( approx. USD $26) as well as planting 5 trees for every tree they cut.

“Water here is a challenge so that person who cuts trees will be responsible for planting new trees and making sure to water them,” Roy.

Enforcing these laws is where their efficiency lies and it is hoped that the rural communities of Chirundu can be supporting by law enforcement authorities to mitigate the effects of climate change that have been aggravated by the thoughtless cutting of trees.