Environmental Profile Western Province, Zambia
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE WESTERN PROVINCE, ZAMBIA : „..*•• *••'•• -<•• 1111: ••:-*• ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE WESTERN PROVINCE, ZAMBIA Dr. Hein van Gils with contributions from: G. Aongola Jan Broekhuis Jasper Fiselier Kevin Jeanes S.J. Mulungushi Rob Robelus Carin W. Verduyn International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC) P.O. Box 6,7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands Provincial Planning Unit, Mongu, Zambia May 1988 NORTH WESTERN PROVINCE CENTRAL PROVINCE LIUWA PLAIN ^NATIONAL MBANDA PLAINNC^ ^ PARK NYENGO-.•.-.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•. • • • Kalabo Liumba Hill ''' ;^ Namushakendo MULONGA PLAIN •;•:: MATABELE ••PLAIN •• SOUTHERN PROVINCE SIOMA - NATIONAL PARK ANGOLA N/A M I B I A 0 15 30 45 60 75 km CAPRIVI STRIP BOTSWANA PREFACE In 1983 the Provincial Planning Unit (PPU) of Western Province The Netherlands Government installed a Commission Ecology and commissioned a study on the forestry resources of the Province. Development Cooperation (CECOS), which reported in May 1986. Very little was known about the forest resources let alone the rate of A main recommendation of the CECOS is to prepare an Environ- exploitation of hardwood trees such as the Mukusi, Mukwaand Mu- mental Profile for areas where Netherlands Development Coopera- zauli. Among the various recommendations of this study, was a fo- tion is concentrated. The Western Province of Zambia is the third rest inventory. A similar resolution was formulated at an area for which an Environmental Profile is commissioned by the Ne- international conference on Zambezi Teak in Livingstone in March, therlands Government. The other areas are West-Java (Indonesia) 1984. The PPU held the opinion that it might be better to embark on and the Senegal River Valley (West Africa). a comprehensive study on all natural resources rather than on fo- rests alone. The Environmental Profile of Western Province is aimed for the Zam- bian and Dutch officials, consultants and decision makers who must assess programmes and projects financed by the Netherlands There is so much interaction between water, soil, vegetation and on their environmental soundness. land use that a complete picture cannot be obtained by looking at The Profile may also serve as part of the base line information for the one aspect only. second Western Province Development Plan due in 1991. Also the second Western Province Development Plan is not feasible with the scanty information currently available on natural resources. This Environmental Profile is based on compilation, evaluation and on integration of secondary data available before July 1987. The budget and the time schedule did not allow for the collection of new The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources of the Republic of data. Therefore area-wise (the south) and resource-wise (water re- Zambia and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and sources) information gaps are obvious. Especially data to assess Natural Resources (IUCN) published the National Conservation trends in resource exploitation are scarce. Strategy (NCS) for Zambia in 1985 recommending a follow-up on the provincial level. The NCS was funded by the Netherlands and The Profile is meant for provincial planning purposes and therefore Swedish Governments. The compilation of this Environmental Profi- describes and analyses the Environment on the land system level. le of Western province is meant as a contribution to conservationo- This level of abstraction allows only limited conclusion for de far- riented planning at the provincial level. The outline of the NCS has ming system or project level. been chosen as a model for this Environmental Profile. The various co-authors contributed to the Profile by supplying writ- ten information and/or a presentation at the Seminar "Environmen- tal Profile Western Province" held in Monguonthe3rdof July 1987. The final text, the conclusions and recommendations are those ol the first author. r V^ TANZANIA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ZAIRE \ Most of the photographs have been taken by Mick Pilcher (Lusaka). Editing was done by Carin W. Verduyn (Schayk). Both are acknow- ledged for their sincere interest in the Profile and their pleasant com- T pany during the work. Bin nwllliftll 7 MALAWI gjglill. ZAMBIA Numerous people have contributed to the Environmental Profile by ANGOLA! sharing their expertise, supplying their comments, asking questi- ii'SfBf .LUSAKA ( MOZAMBIQUE ons, giving their suggestions or supplying food and transport. We IIBIIIIIIIHIII j* areespeciallygrealfulto J. Banda (Mongu), M.L.E.J. Beerling (Mon- gu), Jacques de Graaf (Kalabo), J.W. Harnmeyer (formerly Mongu), J. Harnmeyer (formerly Mongu), Rob Havekes (Mongu), Albert Els- 1 ZIMBABWE ^^^* hof (formerly Mongu), Peter Hayward (Lusaka), Dennis Huckabay NAMIBIA ^^>" >-P (Lusaka), J. Liswaniso (Kaoma), G. Mann (Mongu), G. Maxwell (Maxwell's island), G.M. Milindi (Mongu), S.A. Mulala (Lusaka), Ja- cob M. Muwamba (Mongu), Petra Penninkhoff (Mongu), Rob de Figure 1 Rooij (Mongu), Alister Scott (Lusaka), S.C. Zimba (Mongu). TABLE OF CONTENTS page PREFACE j ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS j 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 General 1 1.2 Climate 1 1.3 Land systems 2 2. FOREST RESOURCES 5 2.1 General 5 2.2 Fuelwood 5 2.3 The typical woodland: Kalahari Miombo 6 2.4 Evergreen forest and woodland: Mukwe 8 2.5 Zambezi Teak timber: Mukusi 8 2.6 Thorny woodland and savanna: Munga 10 2.7 Mopane 10 2.8 Polewood plantations: Eucalyptus 10 2.9 Summary on forest resources 10 3. WILDLIFE RESOURCES 11 3.1 General 11 3.2 National Parks and Game Management Area 11 3.3 Wildlife in and east of the Zambezi river 12 3.4 Summary on wildlife resources 12 4. AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES 13 4.1 Agro-pastoral farming system 13 4.2 Lowland versus Upland 13 4.3 Drained organic wetland soils: Sishanjo and Wet Litongo 16 4.4 Flooded outer plain: Saana 19 4.5 Floodplain mounds: Mazulu 19 4.6 The grazing resource: Bulozi meander belt 20 4.7 Forest shifting cultivation: Upland Sands 20 4.8 Upland away from Barotse Sands: the maize potential 22 4.9 Summary on agricultural resources 22 5. LIVESTOCK ANDGRAZING RESOURCES 23 5.1 General 23 5.2 Grazing resources 24 5.3 Growing cattle numbers 24 5.4 Endosulfan spraying against tsetse 25 5.5 Goats 25 5.6 Summary on livestock 25 6. FISHERIES 26 6.1 General 26 6.2 Actual and potential fish catches 27 6.3 Risk of overfishing 28 6.4 Fishfarming 28 6.5 Summary on fisheries 28 7. WATER 29 7.1 Drinking water 29 7.2 Zambezi floodwater 30 7.3 Summary on water 30 8. POPULATION AND HEALTH 31 8.1 Population 31 8.2 Human health hazards 31 8.3 Nutrition 31 8.4 Summary on human resources 33 page 9. LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION 33 9.1 Introduction 33 9.2 Customary Law in general 33 9.3 Statutory Law in general 33 9.4 The forest resources 33 9.5 Wildlife and hunting 34 9.6 Agricultural resources 34 9.7 Cattle and grazing resources 35 9.8 Fisheries 35 9.9 Ministries and departments 35 9.10 Non-Governmental organizations 35 9.11 Concluding remarks 35 10. GENERALCONCLUSIONS 37 APPENDICES (separate report to be requested at ITC) 11. LITERATURE (approximately 140 references) 12. NOTES ON FOREST CLASSIFICATION 13. ESTIMATION OF STAPLE FOOD PRODUCTION 14. FISH SPECIES AND CATCH ESTIMATES 15. HUMAN POPULATION TREND 16. SEMINAR 17. WATER IMPOUNDMENT AND DISEASE 1 - 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 GENERAL riods of 95 days as encountered in Sesheke (Table 1) are critical for cereal crops especially for maize. The required growing period of the The National Conservation Strategy of Zambia has chosen for the main crops in the area is as follows: maize, sorghum and millet 140 conservation in the broad sense and consequently this approach days, rice 180 days, wheat 130 days and cassava 1.5 to 3 years. For was followed for the Western Province (Figure 1). In this view con- maize, a drought period of one week during the growing period will servation deals with the sustained use of the renewable resources. reduce yields considerably. Greatest decrease in grain yield (up to Consequently it includes the preservation of specimens of each 50%) is caused by water shortages in the flower initiation period re- plant species, animal species and ecosystem. sulting in decrease in grains per cob. The likelihood of drought is For the near future the potential environmental risks in the Western greater in the south and south-west of the province (Table 2). These Province are to be expected in the overexploitation of the renewable are areas where the growing period is also short. resources: the Forest Resources (chapter 2), Wildlife Resources (chapter 3), Growing periods for rainfed crops based on 70% rainfall probabili- Agricultural Resources (chapter 4), Livestock and grazing resour- ties (Table 2) areconsirable lower than those based on average rain- ces (chapter 5), Fisheries (chapter 6), Water Resources (chapter 7) fall (Table 1). Especially in Sesheke this difference is dramatic. and human health hazards (chapter 8). Currently no major mining, industrial, infrastructural or reclamation developments are taking place nor are they envisaged in the Provincial Five Year Develop- Growing period Drought ment Plan (1986-1991) of Western Province. Station Mean annual rainfall (mm) (days) periods 1.2 CLIMATE Mongu 900 126 2x10 days Kaoma 1000 113 2x10 days In Western Province, four climatic seasons can be distinguished. In Kalabo 800 111 2-3x10days July the Province is dominated by high pressure, dry weather and Sesheke 700 81 4x10 days cold nights. This continues through August and mostly September. Table 2 Growing periods for rainfed crops on Upland sandy soils at 70% probabilily ol October to December is a transitional period of dry and hot weather rainfall Iwolsoasonl. and day temperatures may reach 38.4 °C in Mongu. The low pres- sure period is between December and March when most rain falls.