SOETZim Magazine October Edition Issue 5/2021

ISSUE NUMBER 5

SOETzim

OCTOBER .

Inside Stories 1. URBAN WOMEN UNDER

Pictorial Backgrounds Used.

CLIMATE CHANGE. THREAT. 2..KNOW YOUR INDIGENOUS

TREES .

3. STOP CHILD MARRIAGE..

4.REPTILE AWARENESS DAY

1. Urban Women Under Climate Change Threat.

2. Know Your Indigenous Trees.

23 OCTOBER .

5. THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ERADICATION

OF

POVERTY. 6. PRESIDENTIAL CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGN.

3. Stop Child Marriage.

4. Reptile Awareness Day.

5. The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

6. Presidential Clean-up Campaign.

7. POETRY CORNER. 8..VSO ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE MANAGEMENT.

7. Poetry Corner.

8. VSO Role in Climate Change Management.

URBAN WOMEN UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE THREAT.

Most urban women in Zimbabwe are local vendors

By Nheya Vivian

temperatures posed by climate change business has

Climate Change is one of the greatest global challenge in the 21st century. Its impacts differ among regions, generations, age, class and gender. Urban women are equally vulnerable to the adverse impacts

of climate change just as their fellow rural women though the degree of vulnerability vary. Water shortages in cities has become the order of the day. The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) is

failing to adequately supply all the urban areas communities with water, at times communities going up to one week without water. Women who bear the responsibility of providing water for household use tend

to walk long distances in search of this important basic commodity. Looking to 10 years back the scarcity of water is intensifying year by year with rapid population growth caused by rural to urban migration, the shortages will still continue to rise.

V

who rely on selling farm fresh produce, due to high been hindered with most of the fresh vegetables and fruits quickly perishing. Moreso, due to the biological make up of women they are affected mostly by respiratory diseases and high temperatures increase their vulnerability. Challenges in the economic and transport sector of Zimbabwe are also exacerbating the situation, women walk long distances in search of food, water and ways to sustain their families therefore they become vulnerable to fainting and other respiratory related illnesses. There are growing concerns on the increase of sexual abuse of women by men at water collecting points. Women wake up as early as 3am in search of water and therefore they are vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse mostly rape. The gender disparity gap between men and women keeps widening due to climate change impacts with women becoming more vulnerable and even more subjected to poverty.

Furthermore, women in urban areas rely on gardening and urban farming to feed their families with the increase in droughts and erratic rainfall patterns livelihoods have been disrupted and climate change impacts will worsen food insecurity across the globe.

The government of Zimbabwe is committed to include

women as part of development solutions to contribute to the sustainable management of the environment and reducing climate risks. To address the gap between gender and climate change at national and local levels

and realizing the need to coordinate efforts on gender issues in climate change initiatives, the government has introduced the national gender action plan. The plan seeks to address challenges which are being faced

by women as a result of climate change.

Friday Fact

By Vivian Nheya

Know your indigenous trees.

Marula Tree. Sclerocarya birrea Indigenous trees also referred to as native trees are plants aboriginal to a given area in geologic time, they are referred to as plants that developed, occurred naturally or exist for many years in an area. Marula Tree is a single stemmed tree with a wide spreading crown. The tree grows up to 18 m tall mostly in low altitudes and open woodlands. It is widely distributed across Africa. There is evidence of human domestication of marula trees because of its vast benefits.

The fruits, which ripen between December and March, have a light yellow skin. The trees are dioecious, meaning that there are male and female trees. The fruit is traditionally used for food in Africa, and has considerable socioeconomic benefits. The fruit juice and pulp are mixed with water and fermented to make beer, commercially it is used to make the famous Amarula beer. The fruit is also food for elephants. The fruit is edible, rich in Vitamin C and is used to make marula oil. Women pick the fruit for sale therefore it's importance in sustaining rural livelihoods.

Marula Trees do not require much water and can thrive on unfertile soils therefore can be panted in areas with low water tables. Marula Trees also play a pivotal role in climate change adaptation and mitigation, therefore the need to plant the tree and sustain those already available at the same time avoiding overexploitation of the fruit. In Zimbabwe the Marula tree is mostly found in areas around Masvingo, Zvishavane and Mangwe district.

Article by Theophelous Mutakuramombe.

What is Child Marriage?

The union of between two people in which one or two parties are younger than 18 years of age. The issue of Child marriage is now a widespread issue that is leading to a life time disadvantage and deprivation of a girl child.

Main causes of Child marriage 

The increased levels of poverty, reduced access to education, rising levels of hunger due to Covid-19 pandemic and some of the religious beliefs, gender discrimination and cultural values also contributed to early child marriages in bid to escape from the world’s challenges.  Orphan hood, family disruption, and ill treatment by guardians and Coercion by parents.

Unplanned teenage pregnancies, materialism/consumerism and transactional sex.

Effect of child marriage

 It traps girls and their families in the cycle of poverty  Is linked to high global rates of maternal mortality  Child brides are more likely to contract HIV/AIDS  Child marriage is the major barrier to achieve gender equality It locks away women’s enormous potential to help solve global problems Let’s end child marriage     

Empower girls with information, skills and Support networks Enhance girl’s access to a high quality education Encourage supportive laws and policies Provide economic support and incentives girls and their families Educate and rally parents and community members

REPTILE AWARENSS DAY: 23 OCTOBER .

Reptiles are cold-

Article by: Theophelous Mutakuramombe.

blooded vertebrates. They have dry skin covered with scales or bony plates and usually lay softshelled eggs and they have successfully colonized most of the planet, including the oceans and some of the harshest and more environmentally unstable ecosystems on earth.

Reptiles offer to the Environment Reptiles form a paraphyletic group with significant roles for human society, including species that are considered important for food, medicinal and mystical use and as pets.

Reptiles in the tropics are important in ecological processes, and they play important role in ecosystem function through gene dispersal, nutrient cycling, trophic action, and ecosystem engineering. Tortoise and turtles are proficuous seed dispersers.

Why Reptiles are being neglected from conservation programs Unpopular and aversive some of the repitiles are often pursued and indiscriminately killed in many locations. The feeling of aversion can be triggered by many factors like disgust, fear and/ or cultural aspects. Some are venomous such as snakes and snake bites may cause human deaths, consequently instilling fear in people.

Further, these animals are the targets of many negative symbolisms which contribute to the creation of negative conservation perspectives in some people.

Moreover, human-reptile conflict is a usual problem for every city and rural landscapes on the tropics. There, anacondas, pythons and crocodilians threaten human lives and livestock.

REPTILE AND THEIR THREATS Reptiles face six significant threats on a global scale: habitat loss and degradation, introduced invasive species, pollution, disease, unsustainable use and climate change. Nearly 20% of species of reptiles are threatened with extinction.

Climate change poses a serious threat to reptile populations of reptiles and their physiological performance, which is closely linked to their vulnerability to extinction. One of the most direct and predictable effects of climate change is an increase in mean air temperature which has also been clearly identified as a major threat to reptiles.

How best can we spread the conservation awareness of Reptiles A. Increase information spreading about Pleistocene-Holocene reptile extinctions using popular media; B. Increase research effort on anthropogenic reptile extinctions and their potential to predict future losses; C. Address the potentially present or lost ecosystem effects of extant and extinct reptile species.

D. Donating towards the Reptile conservation program E. Visiting the nearest national park

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Article by:By Liandra S Ganyiwa World end poverty day, also known as the International Day of the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated annually on the 17th of October and is of paramount importance to the populace in the fight against poverty globally. The overall objective of the commemorations seeks to provide an opportunity to acknowledge the efforts and struggle of people living in poverty as well as provide a moment for recognition of the fact that poor people are the first ones to fight poverty taking into consideration their concerns.

The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty dates back to 17 October 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris , where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honor the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. These convictions are inscribed in a commemorative stone unveiled on this day. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on October 17th to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor. Replicas of the commemorative stone have been unveiled around the world and serve as a gathering place to celebrate the Day. One such replica is located in the garden of United Nations Headquarters and is the site of the annual commemoration organized by the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

On the 22nd of December 1992 the UN General Assembly officially set the 17th of October as the International Day of the Eradication of Poverty and invited all states to devote the day to presenting and promoting, as appropriate in the national context, concrete activities for the eradication of poverty and destitution. Basically poverty entails the lack of a socially acceptable standard of living and from a world’s perspective, due to the increasingly growing populations in countries, rates of poverty keep increasing. This is because population growth places governments and economies under a lot of pressure to provide them with basic amenities. In some instances especially in developing countries, poverty is rampant to the extent of witnessing people staying in shacks or squatter camps.

This shows a lack of proper protective shelter exacerbated by the growing population which puts a lot of pressure on the available resources. In some cases, children are unable to go to school as the areas are remotely located meaning school kids have to walk long distances to access educational services.

Sometimes there is scarcity of water and food which is heightened by climate change and this exposes populations to hunger, starvation and malnutrition. Therefore in a bid to advocate to poverty eradication, the United Nations set goals, known as Sustainable Development Goals which seek to look into each and every sphere of human survival with poverty eradication as one of the goals. Sustainable development caters for the needs of present generations without compromising those of future generations. A large number of countries have adopted strategies to reducing poverty. In Zimbabwe for example, the effects of climate change have adversely affected agricultural food systems. A considerable size of population in Zimbabwe relies on rain-fed agriculture, and since rainfall patterns have become erratic, methods to adapt to the current situation have been put in place and these include the use of conservation agricultural techniques which involves use of minimum tillage methods, maintenance of a permanent soil cover and intercropping. The Pfumbvudza/intwasa scheme worked tremendously in achieving the desired outcome of increased yields during the 2020-2021 rainy seasons.

Governments in the world over are also encouraging and assisting people on the need to diversify their income streams so as to make sure they are able to provide for themselves and their families. This is evidence that quite a number of moves are being made to eradicate poverty. However, since the United Nations seeks to have reduced poverty by 2030, is it anywhere near achieving that goal? That is a topic up for debate. A source argued against the idea attributing that to climate change as well as Covid 19 pandemic which has seen economies of countries plummeting that leaving people in poverty and halting progress of poverty reduction by a decade.

Presidential Clean-up Campaign.

Article: by

Sihle Hlakanyana

The President of Zimbabwe, Mr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa initiated a Clean-up campaign on 5 December 2018 to ensure a clean and safe environment for all people. This is also essential in mitigating land pollution which has been a concern in the country.

Why clean-up The world is moving towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and Zimbabwe certainly contributes to this vision as shown by the Government of Zimbabwe in declaring a National Clean-Up Day. Waste management is a challenge in most urban areas deterring the achievement of the vision of SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production respectively.

The country is on its way to fulfil its commitments under multilateral environmental agreements that address pollution such as the Stockholm, Basel, Bamako, Rotterdam as well as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. More so, declaration of the National Clean-Up Day is a step in the right direction in curbing problems arising from waste.

President of Republic of Zimbabwe recognised Constitutional Mandate to uphold environmental fundamental rights and freedoms provided for in the section 73 of the constitution of Zimbabwe the “right to an environment that is not harmful to tier health and well-being”, hereby declared every first Friday of each calendar month is a National Clean-Up Day. This is a smart move in creating sustainable cities.

The National Clean-Up Day exercise which is in the spirit of creating a clean, safe and healthy environment states that it is the duty of every individual across the country to clean their surrounding areas be it places of work, education, religion, recreational and residential premises to manage waste in the country.

Clean-Up campaign take place from 0800hrs-1000hrs on the First Friday of each calendar month and every stakeholder is expected to play a pivotal and exemplary role to this commitment. The Government, private sector, Non- Governmental Organisations, schools and the general populace all come together every first Friday of the month in recognition of this day.

Role of Save Our Environment Trust (SOET) and its partners in support of Clean-Up campaign.

Save Our Environment Trust, The City Council, Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and Cecil John Rhodes (CJR) Primary School are playing a critical role in support of the Clean-Up campaign. Every month whenever there are no restrictive lockdowns the organisation clean up School Avenue and surrounding areas. In light of SOET’s school and community environmental awareness programme, the organization partnered with Cecil John Rhodes Primary School learners also participate in the clean-up campaign. Gweru City Council and EMA provides by-liners, litter pickers latex gloves and brooms clean-up to use. On 1 October 2021 SOET, Good Deeds, CJR children and Doctor Mtambara team cleaned up the School Avenue Street Road and six bin liners were filled with petty bottles, plastics and other waste which was in support of presidential clean-up campaign.

Interesting part of clean-up.

The Clean-up campaign helps to promote a hazard free nation as well as correct disposition of waste. Furthermore, clean-up campaign promotes diffusion of information for sustainability reasons for future generations since it is participatory in nature. Waste is also a contributing factor to greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, therefore managing waste will help towards mitigation efforts set out in the Low Emissions Development Strategy and the Nationally Determined Contributions.

POETRY

CORNER

Good Deeds

Waste away

By :Ropafadzo Ruzungunde.

By: Rutendo Charanga.

Good Deed are precious and wonderful things and are filled with compassion. All happiness they bring.

Down the funnel the water flowed

They can not be corrupted.

You can not buy them with cash.

They are gifts and blessings.

They come in a flash.

Good Deeds have voice they whisper so clear. Good Deeds comes with compassion and gives hope to some.

Good Deeds also tell of darkness deep sorrows and fierce pain. They whisper of wishes that have turned into shame.

Some tell of hopeless.

Marching from unsteady soils.

Impurity embedded in every particle.

The rich nutritious benefits of water lost to the carelessness by humans.

Error of ploughing along stream banks.

Erosion of the soil is lost to the wind.

Only to be found in the stream.

Where our life line resides.

The water body slowly but surely dwindles.

Only to await a dry bed filled with rocks.

The unseen rock bed receiving the water.

Rumors that we have not seen, but science has confirmed.

We hope and await on their truth.

VSO Role in Climate Change Management.

Article by Tendai Maregere.

Climate change is affecting livelihoods negatively across the globe: rainfall patterns shifted, more cyclones and natural fires among other disasters caused by climate change are noticed time and time again on the planet.

Volunteer Environmental Standard.

Volunteering Service Overseas (V.S.O), is playing a critical role towards promoting climate, resilience, mitigation and adaptation. On 16 September 2021, VSO managed to equip volunteers and SOET members with climate change resilience, mitigation and adaptation ideas under the efforts of Mrs Clodagh Byrne. Through WhatsApp webinar individuals were equipped with environmental protection measures under “Volunteer Environmental Standard” topic which calls for inclusiveness, for everyone to play a role towards mitigating climate change and recovery of biodiversity. The environmental standard aims on conservation of nature, reducing harm to the environment and promotion of climate resilience.

Why do we need an environmental standard within volunteer standards?

In the twentieth century, there is increased high biodiversity loses recorded. VSO calls for global climate emergency action which advocates for volunteers and projects to be part of the solution. The number of ecosystem services and climate change action and volunteers ensured to be impactful on the projects. Planning actions and risk assessment is required on the environment to increase climate action plan through resource conservation and tree planning. Raising issues on environment efficacy to the community and improving air quality. SDG 13 strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related disasters is also a duty of call. This help on food security, green economy protection of water bodies such as oceans and health well-being.

Contributing Partners.

Good Deeds Day Zimbabwe gooddeedszim@gmail.com Nqobizitha Nyakuna Advocacy and Communications Advisor Nqobizitha.Nyakunu@vsoit.org.

Good Deeds Children from Cecil John Rhodes Primary School on the clean-up campaign.

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SOET is a publication that promotes a green culture within Zimbabwean homes, schools, work places and everyday lives.

It aims to disseminate information about our environment, raising awareness on

how to maintain our beautiful environment. The magazine seeks to showcase initiatives that have been done already by

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KEY PERSONAL

EDITOR: Vivian Nheya

PROJECT COORDINATOR: Tanaka N.M Marewangepo.

DESIGN AND LAY OUT: Sihle Hlakanyana & Tendai Maregere PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR: Edwin Moyo

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Oswald Chishanga

DISCLAIMER The information, opinions and views set out in this journal are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT TRUST or any of their partners. Rights to the photographs and articles remain with the photographers and the authors respectively.

While all care has been taken during proofing, errors and omissions may slip through and we sincerely apologies While

all care has been taken during proofing, errors and omissions may we sincerely apologies.