1. Background information of the Zambezi Landscape

1.1 Description of the Landscape The Zambezi Focal Landscape is situated in the far eastern part of the , forming a roughly square-shaped area lying immediately east of , bordered in the north by the edge of the floodplains of the Zambezi River and in the south by sections of the Chobe River. The total area of the Focal Landscape is 219,513 ha. The landscape is fairly flat and parts of it are prone to flooding during the wet season. It is characterized by clay-loam and sandy-loam soils, and rural livelihoods are based mainly on livestock, dryland cropping, and tourism and wildlife in the conservancies.

The relevant features of the landscape are: The Zambezi Focal Landscape is located in several constituencies in the Zambezi Region, namely • Constituency. • Constituency. • Constituency. • . 1.2 Ethnic Groups The Focal Landscape is mainly inhabited by the Mafwe and the Masubia people. WATS Investment cc is the Consortium responsible for overseeing the implementation of the landscape activities in this Focal Landscape.

1.3 Population and demographics The population in the Zambezi Focal Landscape has been calculated from the 2011 cen- sus data, using the NSA’s disaggregated figure for the exact area of the focal landscape (7,213 people) (NSA 2021 pers. comm.) and applying to this the annual growth rate of 1.3% for the Region (NSA 2012). This calculates to 8,207 people. In 2011 the sex ratio was roughly equal, with a very small male bias (51.9% men to 48.1% women).

The average household size of the Zambezi Region in 2015 was 4.4 people/ household (NSA, 2016). Using this figure, the Focal Landscape has 1,865 households. The population density of the Focal Landscape calculates to 3.3 persons/km2. This is lower than the average for the Region, which is 6.2 people/km2 (NSA, 2012).

The Zambezi Region has a relatively young population, although not as young as the other northern regions, with 39.0% of the people being less than 15 years old (NSA, 2012) (Table 2.2.1). This proportion is higher in rural areas, at 40%, and there is also a relatively high proportion (7.9%) of elderly people aged 60 and above in rural areas in Zambezi (NSA, 2012). This is roughly similar to the national average in rural areas, which is 41.4%, at- tributed to the trend for working-age people (older than 15) to migrate away from rural areas and into urban situations where there are potentially better work opportunities (NSA, 2012).

1.4 Livelihoods and employment Officially, the employment rate for Zambezi Region is 62% (NSA 2012, Table 5.84), which is closely similar to the national average of 63.1%. Of the people in Zambezi Region aged 15 years and older, 41.1% of them are engaged in the category ‘agriculture, forestry, and fishing (Table 5.94, p 150). In Zambezi FL, the main source of household income is farming for 27.1% of the population, non-farming business activities for 25.9%, old-age pensions for 18.8%, and wages and salaries for 17.2% (NSA 2021, pers. comm.). These figures show the roughly equal proportions of households depending on farming and businesses. Rural livelihoods in the Zambezi Region are primarily based on dryland crop farming and livestock, while fishing and the use of river resources are also important. Tourism and wildlife are an important and growing component of the economy, providing jobs through accommodation establishments and conservation work (MLR, 2015). Wages and salaries, and non-farming business activities form an important component of rural livelihoods. 1.5 Education The 2011 education statistics for the Zambezi Region are as follows. The percentage of infants attending Early Childhood Development programs was 9.9%, which is equal to the national rural average of 9.8% (NSA 2012 Table 5.2.1 p48). The literacy rate for the Region was 83.7% (NSA 2012 Table 5.3.1.2 p49). School enrolment in the Zambezi was 64% in 2011, compared to the national average of 63.2% (NSA, 2012 Figure 5.3.2.3.2 p52).

1.6 Health The 2011 national census data provide little health information. The only useful indicator is the percentage of disabled people; for Zambezi Region, this is 4.1%, which is slightly lower than the national average of 4.7% (NSA, 2012 Table 5.53 p132).

1.7 Household assets and resource use The proportions of households that possess certain assets and use certain resources are informative of the livelihoods of the residents (NSA 2012 Tables 6.50 to 7.152). The five statistics below give an indication of average material wealth and use of local natural resources in the Zambezi Region (NSA, 2012).

Table1. Criterion Zambezi Region Averages for

Households that possess a car 1.9% 22.3% (Table 6.33 p171)

Households that possess an 0.7% 6.3% animal-drawn cart

Households that live in a tradi- 63.2% 37.7% tional dwelling (Table 7.8, p179)

Households that use wood for 82% 53.6% cooking (Table 7.88 p194)

Households that use wood for 74.9% 46.3 heating (Table 7.123 p200) 2. Main geographic features and land uses in the Zambezi Focal Landscape

2.1 Topography and soils The Focal Landscape is fairly flat with a gentle slope from the northwest near Katima Mulilo, towards the south along the Chobe River. Low-lying areas are inundated to vary- ing extents, depending on the level of water in the Zambezi River which is usually high around January to March, with floodplain areas mainly in the north-east and south-west- ern parts of the landscape, and the Bukalo Channel connecting these two areas (Men- delsohn & Roberts, 1997).

All the soils are fluvisols, being derived from river deposits, and these loamy soils vary locally in the proportions of clay (distributed in the areas which experience frequent flooding) and sand (found mainly in the non-inundated areas). While soils are “naturally fertile and suitable to a range of crops” (Bhalla & Rothauge, 2019) the sandy parts of the Landscape have poor soils with rather low nutrient levels, similar to other soils in the Kalahari sandveld (Mendelsohn & Roberts, 1997).

2.2. Vegetation The floodplain areas are mostly grassland with woodland on a slightly elevated area, while non-flooded areas have either mopane woodland or burkea-Terminalia woodlands where the dominant trees are mopane (Colophospermum mopane), burkea (Burkea Afri- cana), and Terminalia (Terminalia sericea).

2.3 Main geographic features and land uses in the Zambezi Focal Landscape Much of the non-floodplain areas of the landscape are classified in Bhalla & Rothauge (2019) as ‘scrub’ which indicates bush encroachment, suggesting the need for rangeland management on a large scale. They also recommend establishing and expanding com- munity-based forest management in the landscape. The approximate area under the three main vegetation types /classes as calculated by Bhalla (2019) is presented in Table 3 23 below. The trend for the change in land cover type/class averaged over 16 years (2003-2018), as calculated by Bhalla (2019) is pre- sented in Table 3 24.

2.4 Surface and groundwater The floodplain areas are intermittently inundated, and Lake Liambezi in the south-west- ern corner of the Landscape undergoes long periods of being dry – for periods of 10 years or more – alternating with periods when it holds water up to 300 km2 in extent. This fea- ture and the Zambezi floodplains are widely used for their fisheries resources (MLR, 2015).

Groundwater quality in much of the region is generally good, especially within 5 – 20 km from the rivers, which recharge the aquifers (MLR, 2015). Boreholes provide water for people and livestock and are concentrated along the main access roads, while piped water is delivered to communal water points between Katima Mulilo and Ngoma. 3. NILALEG Project Key Activities

3.1 Establish a multistakeholder coordination structure or support existing structure to spearhead Integrated Landscape Management in the Zambezi Landscape. 3.2 Facilitate Participatory Land-use Planning Training for local stakeholders to enhance capacity for ILM. 3.3 Develop. Implement and Monitor management plans and protocols for sustainable land and forest management 3.4 Update Community Forest Management plans for Zilitene, Sikandjabuka and Bukalo CFs 3.5 Establish a Local Youth Employment scheme that will support Infrastructure devel- opment in the Landscape. 3.6 Establish drought-resistant fodder production plots in line with piloting Forest Field Academies in the landscape. 3.7 Conduct awareness sessions on sustainable forest management practices 3.8 Develop, implement and monitor a plan for restoration of Savannah for grazing /forest for mixed agroforestry. (are you doing both or only focusing on one of them) 3.9 Training of farmers on livestock and rangeland management 3.10 Train and equip community monitors for ongoing monitoring and enforcement of restoration sites and protocols. 3.11 Support the development of Small grant applications as well as the establishment of successful Enterprises. 3.12 Establish one indigenous tree species nursery and use the seedlings for restoration purposes. 3.13 Establish one fruit orchard and explore the processing potential of fruits. 3.14 Establish through a PPP an Ecotourism facility in Salambala Conservancy. 3.15 Set up a micro drip irrigation system in Sikunga Conservancy 3.16 Support Climate-Smart Aquaculture in Lusese and Salambala Conservancies 3.17 Development of a value addition and processing facility for plant-based natural prod- ucts in Zilitene CF Inquiries: Ms. Regina Mwinga WATS Investment cc Project Coordinator [email protected] Mobile number: +264 81 040 1082

Mr. Cletius Maketo WATS Investment cc Field Facilitator [email protected] Mobile number: +264 81 147 0308/ +264 81 252 0968