Climate change hits Matobo as dams are drying up

As Climate Change continues to threaten livelihoods across the globe, villager in Saint Joseph Matobo district are at its receiving end.

Recently, a video circulating online exposed how the Saint Joseph Dam in Matobo district was drying up creating a crisis for the villagers and their livestock in the area.

In the video, cows are stuck in the mud in the dam which Saint Joseph villagers heavily rely on while trying to get to the remaining small amount of water.

Decent Dube a young man from Matobo said the drying of Saint Joseph dam had seriously negatively affected the lives of residents and livestock in their community.

‘Our district has been heavily affected by climate change; cows are dying and people are facing water challenges,’ said Dube adding that villagers were mobilizing themselves to come up with ways to remove silt from the dam so that it can hold more water.

‘Dams are significant water sources in our villages. We depend on them extensively. As Saint Joseph dries up, many people are taking their livestock to Semukwe dam which is more than 8km away,’ said Dube.

According to Dube, other dams have also dried up like the one at Msuli village in ward 7 creating a burden as the demand for water increases.

‘While it is encouraging that the community recently received its first rainfall for this season, there is still need to develop and renovate these dams so they can be able to sustain people throughout the year. Collectiveness and creativity is needed to serve people`s lives,’ emphasized Dube. 

Dube also added that the rain season has been dangerous to livestock as they usually suffer from the wet weather since they will be nutrient deficient coming from a dry summer.

Unpredictable weather patterns characterised by low scattered rainfall and high temperatures as a result of Climate Change are making life difficult for rural communities who survive on rain-fed subsistence farming and animal rearing.

Although there are wild calls by Climate Change activists for communities to adopt Climate Smart Agriculture there are questions as to how District Councils through district development funds are developing communities especially in the area of water provision.