Zambezi River Basin

Droughts Recurrent and prolonged droughts in the Zambezi basin are a threat to food security. Extensive droughts affected the basin in 1981- 82, 1986-87, 1991-92, 1994-95 and 2001-03 (SARDC 2009b). Besides the direct impact on agriculture, previous droughts have caused water levels in dams and rivers to fall. For

example, the water level of the Kariba Dam dropped by 11.6 metres from 1981 to 1992 due to a series of droughts (SARDC and HBS 2010). This had a major impact on the dam’s capacity to generate hydro power. In Malawi, many rivers that rise from Mt. Mulanje, and historically had reliable water flow year round, have begun to dry up (IIED 2008).

© SARDC

A maize crop wilting due to drought.

Land degradation is a major threat to Namibia’s land resources. Uncontrolled grazing, poor methods of crop production and fire are some of the causes of land degradation in Namibia’s Katima Mulilo region. The Katima Mulilo area is one of the fire hotspots of southern Africa. Katima

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