Bio-diversity

PROJECT SUMMARY Nyahokwe Sarutani community is situated on the leeward side of the Nyangani Range inhabiting an estimatedtotal area of 1000 hectares and having their main water source from Nyarerwe River. The communities are facing the problem of land degradation and bio diversity loss. Most of the households are peasant farmers and make their livelihood from land, but due to the climate change the farmers face a high risk on their livelihoods as they depend on rain-fed agriculture which has become unpredictable and unreliable. The effects of climate change like rain floods experienced in the last harvesting season have caused massive land degradation leading to the formation of extensive gullies, river siltation and destruction to vast biodiversity in the destructed water sources. The households in these communities though protective of their environment are forced by livelihood challenges to deplete and degrade their environment to make a living as they depend only on that land for their livelihood. Factors like food insecurity and poverty which are common among the local peasant farmers have negative implications for the environment of the peasant farmers. Lack of fuel wood exerts pressure on the community who now face a threat of reduced energy due to wood shortages. Lack of alternative sustainable and efficient energy mechanisms has not contributed any good to this land degradation fueling climate change. Communities in this area have resorted to cutting down trees for firewood as woody biomass is the only source of energy. The communities are forced to clear vegetation cover which lies along river banks for farming horticultural products as the rivers are only source of accessible water, cutting down trees for fencing gardens and other household uses as a means of survival. The communities have resorted to use of chemicals and pesticides to increase yields in their small gardens and fields due to reduced availability of water, but this unsystematic and un conservative use has put the environment at risk leading to severe degradation like the formation of gullies, increase in the soil erosion and siltation of rivers, drying up of wetlands, thus biodiversity being put at very high risk. The current socio-economic conditions have also contributed greatly on severe environmental degradation as the community strive to make a livelihood from the land which is the major and only source of income .The local peasant farmers rely on subsistence farming for a livelihood and the only available mechanisms used for productivity have not only lead to reduced yields over the years but have caused severe environmental degradation and contributed extensively to the climate change which has resulted in severe effects on local people. Above everything the community in turn has been left without any coping mechanisms to effects of climate change as well as leaving them in a very vulnerable state in terms of food security, and enhancing positive livelihoods. Nyahokwe-Sarutani CHIDA Village Committee would therefore want to respond relevantly to climate change by the management of environmental degradation and biodiversity conservation for a sustainable environment through demonstration projects and capacity building on best mechanisms to adapt to impacts of climate change. With this great opportunity offered by the Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Programme (GEF/SGP) Country Programme the community of Nyahokwe-Sarutani CHIDA Project Committee would liketo transfer mitigation measures to the members through a strategy of managing land degradation and reducing the risk towards biodiversity. The community would like to Promote use of efficient stoves and biogas to reduce forest loss, promote protection of wetlands and woodlots for intergraded watershed management, promote soil conservation through afforestation, gulley reclamation and best farming mechanism, raise awareness and prevention of veldtfires,promotion of organic farming and facilitate formation of policies to address land degradation, protection of biodiversity and mitigate climate change. The community will also engage in capacity building on policy formation, energy saving technology, indigenous tree growing, beekeeping activities as source of livelihoods and best organic and conservation farming mechanism. The community will also work towards the distribution of household chores to reduce the burden on women and with the use of the energy saving stove the burden on women will also be addressed addresses. The members rely on subsistence farming, and the crops grown are for household consumption. The project members are engaged in land management and rain water harvesting around their homesteads and this has produced gains in agricultural production, enhancing vegetative cover and water availability. The group received funding from GEF/SGP to protect a wetland and orchard for Agro-forestry and the group has achieved well in this project. The group is currently involved in land reclamation through closing gullies, forest management, and woodlot and wetland protection. The members have been able to establish one wetland, woodlot and orchard in their village. The members have been able to produce products like apples, tomatoes, vegetables and honey which they have added value and are selling from their viable enterprise which is the gardens and orchards. 1.2 ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND AND CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT Chitsanza Development Associ

Zimbabwe