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The main issues facing the Zambezi water basin are droughts, pollution, and improper management of current hydropower facilities.

Droughts are common within this boundary and are often followed by floods since the ground is dry, and not able to absorb as much moisture. These droughts have disastrous effects on vegetation, animal, and human populations, as well as energy gained through hydropower facilities.

Pollution in the water system has increased in recent years. This is due to the lack of wastewater treatment plants within cities with large populations.

A lack of resources within the Zambezi water basin has made maintenance and upkeep on hydropower facilities few and far between.

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One way to prevent future droughts from happening is to have a prevention policy in place. This policy would allow dams to release small amounts of water during times of drought to replenish the water basin. There are several dams and hydropower facilities already in place, and there are plans to add more within the following years. I think it would be beneficial to see what other preventative measures can be taken to prevent other small-degree natural disasters.

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Pollution is another serious issue facing the Zambezi water system. Steps that can be taken to mitigate this include building and operating wastewater treatment plants in local cities to help decontaminate the sewage water that is being released back into the river. This would also be an opportunity to boost the local economy by providing employment for locals.

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Area of Focus #3: Hydropower Maintenance

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Area of Focus #3: Hydropower Maintenance

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Lastly, dams that are already in place need to be properly maintained and inspected throughout the year. Improper maintenance could potentially cause damage to the infrastructure of the dam, thus impacting all surrounding vegetation and animal life. A policy should be put into place that requires all active hydropower dams to have a minimum of one annual inspection. Operations of the dam should be seized until proper maintenance can be performed.

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Money, N. Wina, A. 2016. Climate of the Zambezi River. Brittanica - Physical Features.

Zambezi River - Climate, Basin, Source | Britannica

Timberlake, J. 2000. Biodiversity of the Zambezi Basin. Biodiversity Foundation for Africa- No. 9.

Microsoft Word - Zambezi Basin biodiversity BFA.doc (the-eis.com)

Carmine, F. 2019. The Zambezi River: Threats and Opportunities for the "Great River". SouthWorld.

The Zambezi River. Threats and opportunities for the ‘Great River ‘. - News & views from emerging countries (southworld.net)

McGregor, J. 2023. Crossing the Zambezi: The Politics of Landscape on a Central African Frontier. ResearchGate.

Crossing the Zambezi: The Politics of Landscape on a Central African Frontier (researchgate.net)

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The growing population and tourism within the Zambezi River system produced a need for more energy. The need for additional energy resources, as well as drought/flood prevention, led to dams such as the Kirba being constructed. However, the construction of the dam led to the displacement of thousands of locals.

Hydropower dams are a great way to create additional needed energy, however, their implementation has the potential to impact animal life and human settlements. Because of this, the environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and economic vitality of a solution must be evaluated before being put into action.

Photo: Envato

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This diagram depicts the interrelatedness of the different components within the Zambezi watershed system.

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Current policies put in place to mitigate climate change via the change of land use emissions are anticipated to have negative consequences for local water needs. Thus, increasing the possibility of failures in the energy nexus systems of the Zambezi water basin. Numerous river basins in western and southern Africa may be affected by these risks.

It is important to relate the local dynamics of the Zambezi River basin to global environmental mitigation plans to determine what priorities future policymakers should take into account.

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In 1991, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) came to an agreement known as the Zambezi River Action Plan Project. The initiative aimed to integrate water resource development and management throughout the SADC area to promote long-term economic and social growth, regional cooperation, and poverty eradication. The national policy of Zambezi's water management was changed again in 2007 and is currently known as "the water policy".

The policy is meant to emphasize a systems-thinking approach to water resource management. The goal is to effectively optimize water use while also protecting the environment. A systems thinking approach allows SADC members and policymakers to view the Zambezi River basin holistically to solve water-related problems.

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There are estimated to be between 6,000 to 7,000 plant species within the Zambezi water basin. The floodplain and swamp vegetation cover only a small area of land within this region; but they can be utilized in many ways, which makes them an economic asset to the communities in which they grow. Certain plants hold more economic stock than others.

Wetland plants such as papyrus are much more abundant within the basin and can be constructed into paper. However, accumulations of these plants can decrease localized flow rate, which in turn can hinder the surrounding agriculture.

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The main source of energy within the Zambezi water basin is provided by hydropower dams. Two of the dams in this region account for a majority of the supplied power. These include the Kirba and Cahora Bassa dams.

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By the end of 2100, the impact of climate change on water availability within the Zambezi water basin is expected to decrease by 13%. In comparison to the southern and western regions, where decreases of up to 9% are expected, the northern basins are predicted to either see minor gains in water resources or remain unchanged at the river basin level. Because of the predicted decrease in rainfall and increase in temperature, the Zambezi, Luangwa, and Kafue basins are expected to have fewer water resources available.

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Location in Mozambique (within Zambezi boundary)

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A significant risk to the Zambezi River is water pollution from sewage, which is brought on by a lack of suitable sewage treatment plants in the area. The river water has become eutrophic in some regions as a result, which has made cholera, dysentery, and typhus easier to spread. The usage of phosphate fertilizer is mostly to blame for this eutrophication process. Phosphate fertilizer encourages the growth of water hyacinths and harm fish growth and reproduction.

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A dam located within the Zambezi River system

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Historical changes in water drainage and landscape during the previous few million years, are responsible for variations in habitat distribution. The most significant of these modifications are those linked to the Middle Zambezi River's gradual absorption of the Upper Zambezi tributaries. Modifications on aquatic and wetland species richness as well as ecological processes have seen their most significant impact caused by hydropower dams.

The ecosystem changes that the Zambezi River system has experienced are due to water drainage and landscape changes, as well as the addition of hydropower dams.

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Living Culture Foundation. 2023. Mafwe Living Museum. InfoNambia.

Mafwe Living Museum - Cultural tours in the Caprivi and Zambezi region (info-namibia.com)

Post Card Blogger. 2012. My Favorite Views.

the kariba dam - Bing images

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Considered one of the largest watersheds in Southern Africa, the Zambezi water basin spans over 1370 km² and has an average flow of 4100 m³/s at the estuary. This watershed encompasses eight countries which include, Angola, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia. Zimbabwe.

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The leverage points from my diagram are flow rate, hydropower, vegetation, precipitation, and total water quantity. When the total water quantity within the boundary is increased, the available water to be evaporated increases. This leads to an increase in precipitation. Higher precipitation levels will result in more plentiful vegetation. However, large amounts of vegetation can act as an obstacle for water, which in turn reduces the overall flow rate. If the flow rate is reduced, this impacts the energy able to be made from hydropower facilities.

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Annually, the Zambezi water basin receives approximately 22 to 30 inches of rain. The rainy season takes place from November until April. During this time, rainstorms are intense and brief, with precipitation accumulating to almost 6 inches per hour.

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Current issues about water quality are mostly impacted by coal production, and lack of resources. Because Mozambique has favorable geological characteristics, the country's coal mining industry is growing quickly. Mozambique's largest coal seams are located in the Zambezi River basin. Coal mining is such an integral part of Mozambique's economy, that output projects have been made through 2028.

However, due to limited resources, water quality standards have begun to fall between the cracks. It is necessary to create a system for monitoring water quality that takes into account the local resource constraints and improves communication with other locations that intend to conduct water quality monitoring.

Photo: Elias Munshya

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There are over 40 million people who are reliant on the Zambezi water basin. It is used for drinking water, cooking, fishing, coal mining, and hydropower dams. This river basin is an integral part of life for those who are inhabitants of the region.

The main threat to the local community's water security involves the pollution of the river basin. An increase in coal mining within recent years, coupled with the lack of water quality resources has created a cause for concern regarding water pollution.

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The Zambezi water basin consists of 4 biomes. The four biomes consist of congolian, zambezian, montane, and coastal zones. The zambezian zone makes up 95% of the water basin. These sub-tropical regions mainly consist of moist grassland and have significant dry seasons. Agriculture thrives in these moist areas, but biodiversity is limited.

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In 1955, the construction of the Kariba Dam became a main source of political conflict. The dam was proposed by the Central African Federation (CAF), which stated its intended purpose would be to provide electricity to local communities. However, the construction of the dam caused over 57,000 individuals to be misplaced. The people of the Tonga and Goba tribes, who lived on opposing sides of the Zambezi River, were forced out of their communities during the 4-year construction period. Attempts were made to re-inhabit the area after the dam was completed but were ultimately unsuccessful. Elders of the local community state that the dam has changed the landscape of the region so much, that it has caused them to disassociate from their environment.

Photo: Bing Images