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Diary
Of An Environmentalist
Paradise lost?
By Dr
Musonda Mumba (WWF- UK)
Plant invasive species
in Zambian wetlands are altering life, as we know it today. But
perhaps the question that comes to mind is how do all these issues
affect our very livelihood?
It took me minutes of
circling the Kafue Gorge in a light aircraft to capture the extent
of invasion in the dam that provides Zambia some of its
electricity. The sight of water hyacinth choking the Kafue River
sent a shiver through Zambian society. An unknown species had
arrived in our waters and was wreaking havoc.
Questions were asked.
How did it get into the river in the first place? Who brought it
here? What impact would it have? While most people are obviously
familiar with this famous invasive in the river (a project I once
coordinated whilst at Environmental Council of Zambia), the
relationship to this plant for most was only limited to seeing it in
the river at the Kafue Road Bridge. Mr Mulele in a recent speech
regarding invasive species in Zambia highlighted that they are a
clear and present danger. This is very true. This plant found
itself in the Kafue Gorge Dam where it started to create problems as
it got sucked into the turbines. A classical example of how
ecological disasters can evolve into economic ones. Perhaps it is
these inter-linkages that people ought to understand.
 Other
than being aquatic, Invasive species can also be terrestrial. In
fact a lot of us are all too familiar with this except we may not
even be aware that the plants growing in our back garden are
invasive. Take lantana (Lantana Camara) for instance, a
plant commonly used as a hedge by many people. In fact I remember
eating the little black berries as child. This plant is bad news.
It grows and spreads very fast and it is bad for cattle. The levels
of toxicity in this plant are highly dangerous for both cattle and
humans alike.
Another invasive that
people may perhaps not be aware of is spreading in Zambia’s largest
floodplain, the Kafue Flats in Southern Province. Mimosa pigra
is a Mexican plant that grows up to 6 metres high when conditions
are favourable; is incredibly opportunistic and can survive long
droughts. This means it spreads very fast. The Kafue Flats host
two of Zambia’s protected wetlands that are also incredibly
important for the pastoral tribes, the Tonga and the Ila.
Zambia is a signatory
to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, one of many treaties. In
1991we joined the Ramsar Convention primarily to show our commitment
to the conservation of wetland ecosystems in the country. Zambia
designated initially three sites, Lochinvar and Blue Lagoon National
Parks, Bangweulu Swamps and more recently the Lukanga Wetlands, as
Ramsar sites.
Wetlands are the fabric
of our society that hold us together and help feed us. Let me
qualify that further. Looking at the map of Zambia, it is dotted
with large lakes in north, notably Lakes Mweru, Bangweulu and
Tanganyika. The wetlands around these ecosystems have been the main
source of fish for most, if not the whole, of Zambia. Invasive
species can alter the services these systems provide, such as
navigation, fisheries, grazing grounds and wildlife sanctuaries.
Back to the issue of
the issue of the Kafue Flats, l feel as an expert in wetland ecology
I need to elaborate on what has happened to the home of the Ila and
Tonga tribes. We all know about the pastoral culture of the
southern tribes with their cattle, the big dowry paid for that
virgin bride etc. These pastoral tribes have historically been
dependent on the Kafue Flats floodplain, an area covering
approximately 6,500 square kilometres. It is large. But, the last
15 years or so has seen the spread of Mimosa in the flats occurring
in districts such as Namwala and Maala and, more predominantly,
Lochinvar National Park. This plant is here to stay, whether we
like it or not. It has spread to Lochinvar like wildfire, covering
an area of approximately 2,000 square kilometres of grassland area.
Invasive species not
only affect so called protected areas but also communal land that
local livelihoods are dependent on.
The question still then
arises, how do they really affect us? Invasive species affect the
cultural, social, economic and environmental aspects of our
livelihood. From a cultural perspective, the Tonga and Ila tribes
have taken their cattle to graze in the flats during the low flood
season. In recent years, parts of their grazing ground have been
invaded by Mimosa, making parts of their grazing grounds
inaccessible.
Economically, Lochinvar
National Park has been a tourist destination since its designation
in 1991. This park hosts the Kafue lechwe, an endemic antelope that
exists only in the flats, other wildife such as buffalo, zebra and
oribi, to mention but a few. It also hosts well over 400 species of
both resident and migratory bird species. The sight of these during
the wet season is phenomenal. Some ringed birds from Lochinvar in
the past were found as far as Senegal. Lochinvar is also one of the
remaining hosts in the world to an endangered bird species, the
wattled crane. So economically this site is important. Zambia
prides itself as a major tourist destination and indeed it is.
Socially, the decline in the number of cattle within the Kafue Flats
pastoral communities is reducing the wealth status as defined by the
number of cattle per family. This decline is also contributing to
poverty in the area.
So these invaders are
present in Zambia. This then begs the question - how long have they
been here for and what can we do? The answer to the first question
that any ecologist in Zambia can give you is ‘we don’t know’. In
most instances it has taken an explosion, as in the case of water
hyacinth, to actually realise that indeed the plant is present in
the first place. Unfortunately, poor research resources have
resulted in poor identification and detection of invasive species.
In the Lochinvar case for example, it has taken a good twenty years
to realise that this initially harmless shrub was turning into a
nightmare. It has gone unmanaged for that long.
 What
can be done? Resources from initiatives such as the UNEP/GEF will
help in the dissemination of information on the dangers of these
invasive species. Monitoring is incredibly important, as it will
also help in early detection in uninvaded sites.
It is important to
realise that Zambia is becoming susceptible to environmental changes
everyday. Climate change is an example and a threat too. This will
compound further the spread of plant invasive species that seem to
favour warmer temperatures and, in some cases, survive droughts as
in the case of Mimosa.
Finally, let us imagine
the invasion of water hyacinth in the Kafue Gorge Dam occurring in
the Zambezi floodplain of Western Province. God forbid. The
Kuomboka Ceremony would never be the same again. It’s a major
tourist attraction, economical. The Lozi chief migrates from the
lowland to the highland palace, cultural and social. And the
communities living around this wetland depend on it for food, fibre
and grazing, social and economic. All these activities occur around
a wetland. Lets think about it : invasives are altering life
as we know it today. They are already here.
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October
2006