BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
A top Zimbabwean government climate change expert has warned of “hydro hegemony wars by 2050” in Southern Africa if the region does not start taking climate change issues seriously.
Wellington Zhakata, director of climate change management in the Environment, Water and Climate ministry made the warning at a regional symposium on the impact of climate change on humanitarian issues in Victoria Falls on Monday.
“For regional purposes, as countries try to reduce the impact of climate change, efforts will be made to harness as much water resources as possible for internal use and as a result, cross boundary of water sources such as Zambezi, Pungwe and Limpopo rivers might lead to wars as is being witnessed in Ethiopia-Egypt relations defined by water/Nile,” Zhakata said.
He said the wars over water could result in displacements of people, increased human-wildlife conflicts, and damage to infrastructure.
“This will result in increased droughts and the consequent hunger, greater water scarcity for human and animal consumption as well as agriculture as rivers dry and the water table recedes,” Zhakata said.
“More human-wildlife conflicts are expected as animals move in search of water-conducive habitats spreading diseases such as foot and mouth and as people seek alternative livelihoods cyclones and the consequent flooding.
“The other consequences will include population pressures, unequal access to resources, poverty, outbreak of epidemics, and spreading of diseases, which are likely to increase in Sub Saharan Africa and affect the everyday life of the most vulnerable among the veld fires.”
He bemoaned reluctance by countries in the region to enact laws to counter climate change, citing lack of action on coal mining.
Apart from natural causes, climate change effects are caused by human activities such as poor waste management, inefficient appliances (household and industrial), unsustainable consumption and production, wasteful behaviour, reduction of carbon capture and storage, capacities, deforestation, coal-based energy-based electricity, fossil fuel-based energy and use and land use change.
Zhakata said there was a need for resilient infrastructure projects such as construction of bridges and roads, safe houses and provision of food security to the vulnerable people among other Paris Agreement obligations that Zimbabwe is a signatory for.
The conference which ends on Wednesday is being attended by officials from the Southern Africa Development Community and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The delegates will discuss the climate change and displacement’s role in the international community, the region’s implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the nature of current legal provisions of climate change and the technical constraints and challenges among other issues.