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Zimbabwe ill-prepared for rainfall extremes, farmers say
Posted by AlertNet: Madalitso Mwando on December 27th, 2012
AlertNet: Thumeliso Matshobana knows what the devastation of too much water looks like.
A smallholder farmer in Zimbabwe's Midlands, he watched helplessly last year as floods destroyed crops, livestock, homes and schools. The heavy rains, he says, came as "a total surprise.'
The floods left a trail of destruction in traditionally dry and impoverished rural areas of the Midlands and Matebeleland, and rebuilding has been a slow and painful process.
"We want rain but not the kind that kills us and destroys...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Zimbabwe ill-prepared for rainfall extremes, farmers sayZimbabwe turns to drought-resistant crops
Posted by AlertNet: Madalitso Mwando on October 29th, 2012
AlertNet: As planting season approaches amid concerns about successive poor harvests, research into drought-resistant seeds is gaining momentum in an indication that the Zimbabwean government is waking up to the reality of climate change.
Earlier this month, the country's Meteorological Services Department announced that another drought is likely during what should be the rainy season.
Zimbabwean farmers have suffered a succession of poor harvests with yields far below what the country needs, forcing...
Zimbabwe: Climate change threatens Zambezi dam projects
Posted by AlertNet: Madalitso Mwando on October 3rd, 2012
AlertNet: Ambitious multi-billion dollar dam projects along the Zambezi River, carried out by southern African countries seeking to boost hydropower generation, could turn out to be white elephants because of growing climate challenges, experts say.
Concerns that some African countries are responding inadequately to climate change forecasts are highlighted in a new report that warns that governments have failed to appreciate the effects of poor rainfall and of potentially devastating floods -- both linked...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Zimbabwe: Climate change threatens Zambezi dam projectsZimbabwe’s forests go up in smoke amid energy crisis
Posted by AlertNet: Madalitso Mwando on August 15th, 2012
AlertNet: Pensioner Thandazani Ndlovu earns his living selling firewood, making him better off than Zimbabwe's millions of jobless.
From the back of his pick-up truck, he has established a thriving business as demand for firewood continues to grow in Bulawayo, a city of 2 million people in the southwest.
Residents are turning to wood for cooking and heating as Zimbabwe's electricity outages get worse, with its energy utility battling to keep the lights on in urban areas.
As winter began, the state-owned...
Zimbabwe: As piped water dries up, city dwellers turn to carrying water
Posted by AlertNet: Madalitso Mwando on July 5th, 2012
AlertNet: Samukeliso Tshuma, a 33-year old mother of four, lives in one of Bulaway's teeming high density urban townships, but these days gets her water the same way rural dwellers do -- from a borehole well.
This is "something I never imagined I would be doing,' said Tshuma, who formerly relied on city-provided piped water.
Spare rainfall has hit water levels at dams supplying Zimbabwe's second largest city with piped water, raising fears among municipal offers that supplies may soon run out, and leading...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Zimbabwe: As piped water dries up, city dwellers turn to carrying waterZimbabwe farmers turn back to tradition as rainfall changes
Posted by AlertNet: Madalitso Mwando on January 28th, 2012
AlertNet: Whether rotating her crops, sowing seed from previous harvests or gathering rainwater, Susan Gama is pulling out all the stops in an attempt to keep her livelihood going.
Subsistence farmers like Gama in this southern African nation are reverting to traditional farming knowledge and local experimentation to cope with the challenges of poor and unpredictable rainfall, which experts believe is linked to climate change.
That is producing mixed results -- and considerable frustration for government...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Zimbabwe farmers turn back to tradition as rainfall changes