ZIMOZA TFCA

Change activity: enhancing community livelihood and biodiversity through

community-ecosystem based adaptation, mitigation, and land use planning to
enhance game corridors
Progress:
The ZIMOZA TFCA was represented in the training by Mr Edson Malizani and Mr
Alferes Feriado (Mozambique), Mr Felix Mvula (Zambia) and Mr Netsai Chigwenjere
(Zimbabwe). The level of reporting from ZIMOZA was initially fair, although mostly
coming from Zimbabwe. These counterparts only met for the first time at the training
workshop, with Feriado only joining the team at the Process moderators meeting
where he met with Mr Felix Mvula from Zambia. These meetings have catalysed
communications to solve other cross-border issues.
During the process moderators course, the ZIMOZA team members from
Mozambique (Feriado Alferese) and Zambia met for the first time. Mr Felix Mvula
from Zambia who had attended the first course was again nominated as process
moderator. When they met, they noted that apart from community feedback
meetings, no activities had yet been implemented on the ground - they then decided
to respond to the problem of declining rainfall and deforestation through alternative
livelihood options which include bee-keeping to save trees. There has been some
progress on this since they decided to hold meetings when they got back to their
communities where they shared what they have learnt at the course and also
introduce bee keeping as a CCAM strategy in their communities Some community
members have since taken up the initiative in bee-keeping however there is still long
way to go since the concept of CCAM in the communities is fairly new.
In the Mozambican component, the process moderator met his provincial director on
14 June 2014 to give feedback, and proceeded to the TFCA area, to share
information on the climate change adaptation project. By mid-September 2014 the
project leader had facilitated six community meetings with local leaders and their
groups to discuss climate change adaptation within conservation and livelihood
activities and mitigation of conflict. The communities in Chiwalo, Chisavo and
Ndangula villages are designing fire prevention and bee-keeping projects, with
implementation not having started yet.
Cross-border communication has only happened via telephone, with Zambia and
Zimbabwe but has not involved climate change adaptation issues yet.
Communication with Netsai Chigwenjere so far has been only apprehending a
poacher. Communication with Zambia has been on elephant movement causing
problems on peoples crop fields near, as the two counterpart areas are nearer,
separated by Zambezi and Luangwa rivers, and they are now mitigating elephant
problems together.
As community income generating activities, climate change adaptation discussions
are being integrated into planning of hunting safaris because the latter are
contributing to the local economy and social development through building schools

(4), building small clinics, and sinking boreholes (3), opening communication roads
between villages.
There is an opportunity to integrate CCA in the Tchuma Tchato Programs on the
Mozambican side and in the Park Management plans in all three countries.
Participation by Park Managers and Park staff in Mozambique and Zambia provides
an opportunity for the project to take off.
In the Zimbabwe component the project leader (a park manager) engaged with his
supervisor on the issues of climate change and the need for adaption and mitigation
mainly focusing on the ZIMOZA TFCA change Project and was given a green light.
This was followed by feedback to the community through individual meetings. A
TFCA feedback meeting was held with staff members to consult on the change
project and report on other but mainly focusing on climate change adaption and
mitigation issues. Despite attempts to obtain processes after these feedbacks, efforts
by mentors have not been able to obtain progress feedback especially on the
outcome of planned consultation and feedback meetings on climate change and
change project with the main stake holder Mbire Rural District Council and Lower
Guruve Development Association (LGDA) a local non- Governmental organisation,
community leaders and the general community; except that responses have been
positive regarding willingness to support or engage in climate change adaptation
actions.
Chigwenjere noted that in his discussions with stakeholders,
not much is known about climate change in ZMOZA TFCA but there is persecution that the climate
change adaption and mitigation will have positive response from our stake holders I am one of
those who believed in African culture and spirit mediums that all droughts high temperature short rain
seasons are caused by angry spirits of our ancestors. We are to appease the spirits of all blood
spilled during the war in the country and everything will come to normal. I was one of the person who
could follow politician campaigns pointing fingers to other countries accusing them to be the causes of
all droughts and effects affecting our country. It was until I came to WESSA that I found that we had
serious issue at hand. It was until I met SADC REEP and the facilitators who left no stone unturned
who made me believe the danger we are facing with climate change. This course of climate change
adaption and mitigation has opened my mind and a change is needed. I am now wearing climate
change lenses (Chigwenjere, 2014).

On the Zimbabwe side there is also need to identify a community champion and a
junior park management actor, perhaps an ecologist. This also applies to the other
parks. Plans to carry out awareness campaigns aimed at educating communities on
Climate change adaptation on the Zimbabwe component have yet to be reported.
These campaigns probably need to be preceded by community engagement
meetings to carry out climate change risk and vulnerability assessments. The project
leader also noted that there are no management plans in all three countries that form
the ZIMOZA TFCA and that no climate change issues were incorporated in park
management planning in these countries.
In general the TFCA-level implementation progress reporting from ZIMOZA has been
rather slow due to lack of TFCA team coordination and poor communication.
However it is to be noted that Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe counterparts
who met (for the first time) in the first trainings have had meetings together and also
included a range of stakeholders from each country. Meetings have opened a

platform for discussions of Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the TFCA;
however no tangible ground activities have been done due to logistical challenges
they are faced with. There is a need for on-the ground support for this TFCA to kickoff cross-border CCA and especially to ride onto promising existing activities such as
the two NGO-supported Programs in Mozambique. I addition, the lack of a park
management participants from Zambia and Mozambique would need to be
addressed to increase project accountability within government structures.