Watershed versus farming

The Luangwa Valley watershed can be thought of as two distinct regions: upriver plateau area and downriver valley floor. As commercial outgrower schemes have increased the hectarage of certain crops over the past 10-15 years across much of the plateau area, so too has been the loss of forests and the basis for preventing excessive runoff of rainwater. One result of this trend is the increased risk of downriver floods and the increased siltation and widening of the Luangwa River. Unfortunately, most people in the valley areas live along tributaries that feed into the Luangwa River where people farm on adjacent alluvial soils. Today, such farming expose families to significant crop loss from floods, leaving many threatened with months of hunger, thus increasing the likelihood that families will turn to snaring as a way of compensating their crop loss.

The Luangwa River supports Africas largest hippopotamus population and there is increasing concern how the physical changes of the Luangwa River, resulting from years of severe flooding may be altering hippo habitat if water depth is declining as the river widens. Anecdotal data suggest dry season pools that hippos rely on during the dry season are silting up and those that remain deep enough are decreasing in number. This in turn may be contributing unnaturally high hippo concentrations in the dry season with unknown effects on stress-related disease or lowered reproductive success.

These environmental consequences are relatively new phenomena, affecting both humans and wildlife, and more studies are clearly needed. In 2006 WCS undertook a time change analysis of canopy cover for a significant section of the Luangwa Valley watershed and found that tree canopy loss has accelerated over the past decade, resulting in total tree canopy loss of over 15% in plateau areas from 1994 to 2002. During this period cotton was introduced as a major crop supported under various out-grower schemes and has since spread throughout much of the plateau area.

Poor farming practices also contribute to deforestation if they lead to exhausted soils, thus requiring farmers to clear more land for better yields. It is unfortunate many farmers lack the knowledge on how to maintain good farming soils and there are a number of possible reasons why farmers have not developed better farming practices. This is especially true in Luangwa Valley where farmers experience a relatively high risk of crop damange from wild animals. In many areas, however, limited markets for providing an incentive to farm successfully have discouraged an interest in developing better farming skills. Limited access to farmer training programs and lack of inputs to diversify crops or increase yields have also had the same effect.

For many farmers, relying on snares makes more sense than relying exclusively on ones plot of maize for family food needs. Not surprising, farming practices throughout much of Luangwa Valley are generally poor, which have contributed to chronic levels of food shortages, poorly managed soils and seed varieties, and continued pressure on surrounding forests and wildlife habitat. Back to top