Zambia’s Ongoing Drought: The Role of Climate Change in Food Security
Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The breathtaking cascades of Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, are arguably Zambia’s largest tourist attraction. The Kalolo-Lozi people call this natural border between Zambia and Zimbabwe “Mosi-oa-Tunya,” or “The Smoke that Thunders.” More recently, however, a devastating drought has slowed the flow of water to a trickle.
In 2019, the flow of water over the falls has decreased by almost 50%, according to Elisha Moyo, Principal Climate Change Researcher at Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Tourism. He has speculated that this decrease will continue. A smaller volume of flowing water has a multitude of consequences; not only is Victoria Falls an important source of tourism revenue for the country, but over 81% of Zambia’s electricity is from hydropower generated at locations such as Kariba Dam.
The drought is having a serious effect on Zambia’s agriculture, specifically the maize crop. The government ordered an export ban on grain due to the shortage. Citizens in rural areas are suffering through food insecurity. Other nations affected by the drought, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Malawi, have declared a food emergency.
Nalucha Nganga Ziba, country director of ActionAid Zambia, released a statement saying “Over 1.7 million people in 58 districts are in need of life-saving assistance, with the number expected to rise to 2.3 million if nothing is done. According to the UN, $89.5 million is needed to fund the humanitarian response.” In a call to action, he urged the international community to “act now to save lives.”
Zambian President Edgar Lungu did not hesitate to declare the probable cause of the drought that is devastating the country at the moment: Climate Change. Lungu stated, “Climate change is the biggest problem that we’re encountering now. In terms of economic growth and whatever we want to do, we encounter the effects of climate change. So I think we need to take a serious look at it and see what solutions we can find amongst ourselves.”
Zambia, in an active effort to minimize the impact of climate change, hopes to increase its reliance on renewable energy. However, the lack of flowing water is harming hydroelectric outputs. At the UN General Assembly in September, Lungu called on other nations to shift to renewable energy sources and reduce emissions.
The effects of the drought are seeping into all facets of Zambian life. While citizens are suffering from food shortages firsthand, President Lungu slashed the forecast for economic growth from 4% to 2% in a parliamentary address in September, 2019. A January report from ReliefWeb indicates that the situation is still dire, predicting that “the longer-term outlook is for overall drier than average conditions to continue across the drought-affected central and south and forecasts show the increased chance of below-normal rainfall from February to March.”
The drought has had a direct effect on our Nutrition Program at AEP. Lulu Chongo, Programs Director, noted, “For the local community most people are finding it hard to feed, from the home visits we do every year, we have noticed an increased number of families failing to feed children. A good number of children have opened up to say the meal they have at the centre is usually the only meal they have in a day.”
The drought has had a direct effect on our Nutrition Program at AEP. Lulu Chongo, Programs Director, noted, “For the local community most people are finding it hard to feed, from the home visits we do every year, we have noticed an increased number of families failing to feed children. A good number of children have opened up to say the meal they have at the centre is usually the only meal they have in a day.” With AEP’s commitment to providing its most vulnerable students with daily meals, this drought has caused difficulty. Joy Mweemba, Youth Centre Executive Director, reflected, “The national situation affects the community by the ever rising prices of commodities which the local community cannot afford and thereby making our feeding numbers go up. This affects AEP resources by spending more than the usual budgeted figure on feeding.”
If President Lungu is correct, and the drought can be attributed to the growing effects of climate change, Zambia and its neighboring nations are suffering at the hand of global negligence regarding proper environmental regulation. Zambia, and the world at large, is standing at a critical point. Four districts, Sioma, Lunga, Shang’ombo, and Gwembe, are facing a food emergency. The United Nations World Food Programme released a statement explaining, “In some countries, we are seeing conflict and instability combine with climate extremes to force people from their homes, farms and places of work. In others, climate shocks are occurring alongside economic collapse and leaving millions on the brink of destitution and hunger.”
AEP, along with the rest of the nation, turns to the global community for support, outreach, and policy dealing with climate change to help fight this ongoing crisis before the thundering Victoria Falls dry up, the agricultural industry can no longer persevere, and citizens all over the nation find themselves in situations of dire food insecurity.
