The Mighty Zambezi
Door: Elke Praagman
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Elke
01 Oktober 2014 | Zambia, Lusaka
After starting my first blog for the Eflows program of WWF in Dutch, I will write my blogs in English from now on. After my first (and only) blog in June, lots of things have started up! It has almost been 6 months since I arrived in Zambia, and I feel more and more at home every day. I am a bit anxious about the month of October, since it will be the hottest month and me from cold and rainy Dutchland will be suffering. I could really use a good rain shower as well!
In June my colleague Chanda Mwale has joined me in the monitoring team of the Eflows program. Then in August Raquel Filgueiras joined the Eflows team as program manager. Together with the staff from the Kafue wetlands program, we are part of the freshwater team of WWF Zambia. The two water programs will be an important pillar for the work of WWF in Southern Africa. We focus on the Zambezi River Basin, with a total area of 1.37 million km2 the largest drainage basin and most extensively shared common resource in Southern Africa. For now, the wetlands program will focus on the Kafue flats in Zambia, and Eflows on the Kafue flats and the Luangwa valley in Zambia and the Zambezi Delta in Mozambique.
The wetland functions of the Kafue flats and the Zambezi delta provide a wide variety of ecosystem goods and services, such as freshwater supply for human consumption and economic development, forage for livestock and fertile soils for agriculture. By incorporating Environmental Flow releases from dams, wetlands downstream of those dams will be inundated again during the rainy season. This annual flood pattern is needed in order to maintain the wetland functions of these unique ecosystems.
In August Chanda and I went to Mozambique on a fact finding mission to some of our key partners for monitoring of Eflows in the Zambezi River Basin. I also felt it was time to watch the mighty Zambezi up close instead of studying it from behind my computer. And mighty it was! When we drove over the bridge at Tete, the sun was just setting over the river, providing us with a fantastic view of the Zambezi. Our visits were very fruitful and our partners were excited to be part of the program.
And… for the first time in 6 months (being in a landlocked country) we got to see the ocean! Hopefully we will be visiting the Kafue flats soon, so I can add some nice pictures to my next blog!
In June my colleague Chanda Mwale has joined me in the monitoring team of the Eflows program. Then in August Raquel Filgueiras joined the Eflows team as program manager. Together with the staff from the Kafue wetlands program, we are part of the freshwater team of WWF Zambia. The two water programs will be an important pillar for the work of WWF in Southern Africa. We focus on the Zambezi River Basin, with a total area of 1.37 million km2 the largest drainage basin and most extensively shared common resource in Southern Africa. For now, the wetlands program will focus on the Kafue flats in Zambia, and Eflows on the Kafue flats and the Luangwa valley in Zambia and the Zambezi Delta in Mozambique.
The wetland functions of the Kafue flats and the Zambezi delta provide a wide variety of ecosystem goods and services, such as freshwater supply for human consumption and economic development, forage for livestock and fertile soils for agriculture. By incorporating Environmental Flow releases from dams, wetlands downstream of those dams will be inundated again during the rainy season. This annual flood pattern is needed in order to maintain the wetland functions of these unique ecosystems.
In August Chanda and I went to Mozambique on a fact finding mission to some of our key partners for monitoring of Eflows in the Zambezi River Basin. I also felt it was time to watch the mighty Zambezi up close instead of studying it from behind my computer. And mighty it was! When we drove over the bridge at Tete, the sun was just setting over the river, providing us with a fantastic view of the Zambezi. Our visits were very fruitful and our partners were excited to be part of the program.
And… for the first time in 6 months (being in a landlocked country) we got to see the ocean! Hopefully we will be visiting the Kafue flats soon, so I can add some nice pictures to my next blog!
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