Sensemaking local solutions and voices in Zambia

A journey with the Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) programme Zambia - February 2023

By SouthSouthNorth

March 7^th, 2023

VOICES FOR JUST CLIMATE ACTION ZAMBIA

The Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) programme is a lobby and advocacy programme being implemented by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Netherlands, SouthSouthNorth (SSN), Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), Slum Dwellers International (SDI), Fundación Avina and Hivos under the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ five-year strategic partnership: “Power of Voices. The programme aims to ensure that by 2025, local civil society and underrepresented groups will have taken on a central role as creators, facilitators and advocates of innovative and inclusive climate solutions. Our alliance brings together global and local voices by connecting a diverse range of civil society organizations representing women, youth, indigenous people, urban poor, digital activists and more.

The programme is being implemented in 7 different regions – including Zambia. The VCA Zambia is working towards a shared vision to have a Zambia where civil society is heard and respected as it influences and co-creates locally relevant, inclusive and fundable climate solutions that deliver real benefits to people and nature as part of a local and global response to the climate crisis. This is done through mutual capacity building which involves working closely with civil society organisations, grassroots organisations and private sector partners.

Sensemaking local solutions and voices in Zambia

VCA ZAMBIA ROADSHOW 2023

Between 15th February and 2nd March, the VCA Zambia Alliance took a journey together to visit the VCA projects. The aim of this 'roadshow' was to showcase the work being done and hear from the community beneficiaries of the programme. The group travelled alongside national media representatives and other partners to the 10 project districts including Lusaka, Chongwe, Rufunsa, Luangwa, Chikankata, Chirundu, Siavonga, Kafue, and Itezhi Tezhi. Below tells the story of the journey to some of the project sites.

The roadshow had the following key objectives:

Deepening the Alliance's understanding of the implementation of the VCA work in the districts;
Strengthening the learning, knowledge brokering and knowledge management in VCA Zambia;
Providing a platform to hear from community voices and identify local solutions to be scaled out and up;
Showcasing the work of the VCA through communications and media.

| KAFUE |

WWF's local partner, House of Ruth Foundation is working closely with the District Commissioner to advocate for climate mainstreaming through training programmes and the development of local area plans. We met with the District Commissioner, who welcomed the work the VCA is doing in this area. Miriam Chilufa, the leader of House of Ruth and their team have been going out to the rural communities in the district to educate them about climate change and support them in diversifying their livelihood practices. e.g. tree planting. We ventured far into one of the local areas, Magoba ward, and met with the Ward Development Committee (WDC), women and youth clubs, and local headsmen from this ward. Magoba ward is situated on a floodplain and people often cannot leave their ward with the heavy rains. We sat under the trees in their meeting space and heard from all the women and headmen about the challenges they have been facing and stories of empowerment from being a part of the VCA. This particular women’s club created their own slogan, "VCA indiswee" meaning 'VCA is us'. They have embodied the VCA as a platform to have their voices heard and value the recognition of their needs in the fight against climate change. We spoke about climate solutions and the opportunity to exchange with other project communities.

| CHIKANKATA |

The Alliance visited several Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance Zambia (CSAAZ) project sites in the Chikankata district. CSAAZ has been working with the Musaya community to do capacity building around water resource management and climate-smart agriculture. They have been conducting training of trainers (ToTs) so that the wider community can benefit from the training of a few key community mobilisers. Through this project, there has been more community integration around the water resources and opportunities to bring together diverse livelihoods by creating more community-owned water systems and projects such as fisheries and gardening. As seen in the picture, the community built an innovative canal system to store and divert water downstream as opposed to creating dams for the water and limiting access downstream. We met with one of the community mobilizers and well a female farmer. According to Annie of CSAAZ, this water project and their training benefit around 26 different headmen and around 3000 people in the surrounding communities. The team reflected on the fact that that local solutions can be small but very impactful. There is a need in Zambia to try and access funding for these small solutions.

| CHIRUNDU |

Chirundu town is situated along the Zambezi river, but areas far from the river are drought-prone. The communities are experiencing decreasing rainfall and shortening rainfall seasons. We visited Musaya Ward, one of the four wards where the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) are implementing the VCA programme through the Disability inclusion in Climate Action project. This project is promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in climate action and alternative livelihood development. The CEJ has been conducting skills training for people with disabilities, and their helpers, in these wards, assisting them with learning new skills to empower their lives and support their livelihoods. Examples include livestock rearing, pottery, civic journalism, tree planning and making charcoal. It is estimated that nearly 100 people with disabilities have been capacitated through this project in the district.

We met with some of the community leaders and individuals involved in the project in their local church and heard from them about their challenges and experiences in the project. One of the individuals, who is a beneficiary of the skills training pronounced how this project had changed their life and the lives of others with disabilities. People with disabilities felt that their inclusion had empowered them to feel equal with others and have the opportunity to contribute and make way for themselves. Others in the community highlighted the benefits of working with CEJ but delved into their daily challenges with dwindling water access and conflicts between livelihoods and conservation. The community group have been empowered to understand how tree planting conserves their water resources. However, many in the community still rely on tree-cutting for their livelihoods. The VCA Alliance discussed the possible ways to have their voices heard. A community radio representative was present, and he agreed that there was more scope to have their stories be told in the district and use this space to hold leaders accountable.

| SIAVONGA |

The Zambia Climate Change Network (ZCCN) is working alongside a group in the Nanyanga village, Siavonga, to promote community-led conservation and forest management by gazetting a Community Forest through the Zambia Forests Act, 2015. Local communities are able to gain new rights to control access and use of their surrounding forests through the Act. The Director of Forestry may recognise persons living in close proximity to or having strong traditional or livelihood ties to an area of forest with the consent of the Chief of the area. The Director may enter into an Agreement with the community group to transfer authority to control access, use and management of a designated forest area following consultation with the Chief and the local authority. The Agreement covers rights to harvest and trade in forest products, including: collection of medicinal herbs; harvesting of honey, grass and grazing of animals; collection of forest produce for community-based industries; operating eco-tourism and recreational activities; establishing plantations; harvesting of timber or fuel wood; and many others as set out in the Agreement.

ZCCN has been working with the community-established Forest Management Committee (FMC) to go through the process of gazetting the Nanyanga area to transfer rights and ownership to the local community. This particular area is 4700 hectares and forms part of an important ecological corridor for wildlife and an area of cultural importance to the surrounding people. The community have been experiencing the rapid destruction of the forest and agreed that something needed to be done to conserve this area together. As part of the gazetting process, the ZCCN conducted a baseline assessment and forest inventory and has been working alongside the FMC and the Department of Forestry to move this process forward. The documentation is currently sitting with the provincial office, but the FMC is positive that the application should be approved this year. The local chief in this area has praised the work done by the community and has encouraged every senior headman in Siavonga to learn from the process and establish their own community forest.

On our visit, we walked through the forest with the FMC and headmen to their hot spring. They told us stories of the hot spring and the process of bringing together the community to establish the forest. The natural hot spring is said to have healing properties and significant socio-ecological value. Of course, we all filled our bottles with the 90-degree + water in hopes of the water working its magic. One of the headmen emphasised that the hot spring provides an opportunity for locally-led tourism, but this must be done in a way that respects the spiritual significance of the site and the surrounding environment. Through the Community Forest, the Nanyanga village wants total local ownership of the spring before it is exploited by outside lodges and tourist groups.

| ITEZHI TEZHI |

We travelled a great distance to one of the rural schools, Masasabi Primary School, where the Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia (WECSZ) is undertaking environmental education programmes. This is one of the only schools in the area that could be accessed by road during the rainy season. We joined the teachers, students, Chief representative and local ward councillors at the school to hear from WECSZ and their beneficiaries about the VCA project in Itezhi Tezhi. WECSZ has been working with 18 schools in this district to set up environmental education clubs with the teachers at the schools. These teachers have voluntarily agreed to host afterschool eco-clubs, Chongololo and Chipembere clubs, with the students at the school. During these sessions, young students have been educated on climate change and environmental issues. Furthermore, WECSZ has hosted several dialogues between teachers, community members and counsellors on the local climate change context to ensure that the education is tailored to the needs of the specific community.

We had the incredible opportunity to hear from some of the students about their experiences in the eco clubs and how passionate they are about their learning. We watched a few groups' poems created by different club representatives. It was moving to hear the passion of the VCA from such young people and future leaders. The students also performed a skit on climate change and the tensions between stakeholders. All the kids loved the skit and it proved how impactful this type of performative education can be.

| MAZABUKA |

The Alliance, alongside Panos Institute colleagues and media representatives, travelled to two sites in the Mazabuka district. The first site in the Mwanachingwala ward was a community group of youth and women engaging with the Consumer Unity Trust Society Zambia (CUTS) which is engaging the group on environmental degradation and climate change through awareness raising and capacity building. The small group of representatives addresses us on the challenges they are facing and the opportunities presented through the VCA. The group valued gaining an understanding of climate change and the awareness that they are feeling the direct effects of their own doings. The youth highlighted that their primary income is sand mining and cutting down trees for charcoal burning. In this remote ward, their livelihood options are limited and they resort to unfavourable practices. We visited one of the sand mining sites where the youth showed us how their activities take place. They told us of the dangers of sand mining as a livelihood as numerous people lose their lives as the sand caves into the river. Just last week, three of their colleagues died from sand mining incidents. The sand miners also acknowledged that their activities had negative impacts on the river system as the mining caused silting. Chief Mambo explained that this project has provided much-needed education and learning for the community. CUTS used innovative awareness-raising techniques through sports clubs and drama shows in this area, alongside 4 other wards. The group were interested in continuing to learn from CUTS and other communities through exchanging ideas and solutions. After the discussion, we visited the temporary relocation site in Mazabuka for flood victims. Over 400 people were moved from their homes to this site due to the severe flooding in the weeks prior to our visit.

On our way back to Mazabuka town, we stopped off at another CUTS intervention site – the Kachasu Brewers. We entered into a settlement site to meet with a group of 20+ female brewers. Kachasu is an illegally brewed alcohol that is common in Zambia and neighbouring countries. The women took us through the brewing processes and demonstrated how the alcohol is distilled. Mazabuka district is the largest sugar-producing site in Zambia, and brewers purchase molasses as the base of their alcohol. We sat with the all-female group as they spoke to us about their livelihood. They run grave risks brewing Kachasu as it is illegal and individuals often get jailed or fined. However, for these women, this is the most viable option for income. The women emphasized that without the sale of their alcohol, they would be forced to enter into other unfavourable activities such as prostitution to support their families. The production of Kachasu is an important income source for these women but improper facilities have created negative environmental and social impacts. Downstream farmers have complained of water contamination from the molasses' outputs. The women do not have appropriate waste facilities and thus their community is laden with puddles of molasses in open spaces. When it rains, these contents flood houses and groundwater sources with thick sludge.

Through this journey, the VCA Alliance collaboratively engaged through experiential learning and sensemaking. Hearing directly from beneficiaries and seeing their needs, challenges and solutions allowed the Alliance to understand the context better and identify further areas of intervention. The programme is in its third year of implementation and has made significant progress for the target communities thus far. However, the team is ramping up progress and action to ensure that we reach the intended outcomes and impact of the VCA programme by 2025 and beyond.