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Water, wildlife, and people are tightly linked in the
The Nature Conservancy has been working with partners in Africa to restore the natural flows of the Zambezi River, providing benefits to both the animals and people that call this land home.
Nature.org sat down with Patrick McCarthy, director for the
nature.org: We understand you recently went to Africa with the The Nature Conservancy’s Freshwater team. What were you working on?
McCarthy: The goal of the trip was to determine whether there is a role for The Nature Conservancy to play in restoring natural flows to the most important protected areas of Zambezi River – one of the world's greatest and wildest rivers.
My colleagues and I had three main objectives of this trip:
- Introduce environmental flow concepts and methods to decision-makers at the Zambezi Basinwide Stakeholders Forum in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
- Investigate opportunities for new or enhanced partnerships with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), World Conservation Union (IUCN), UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, African Wildlife Foundation and key public agencies such as the Zambezi River Authority.
- Tour areas that are affected or likely to be affected in the future by hydropower dams.
nature.org: How did you tour Africa's dam sites?
McCarthy: One day, we did a flyover of the river that provided an aerial view of Kariba Dam in Zambia/Zimbabwe. In Mozambique, we saw the Cahora Bassa Dam, as well as a new dam site at Mpanda Nkuwa.
It was a remarkable experience – we surveyed more than 300 river miles and saw both highly degraded and wonderfully intact floodplain grasslands.
nature.org: This led to a new partnership with WWF Netherlands, WWF Zambia, WWF Mozambique and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. How is the Conservancy working together with them, and what is their expertise in the area of water flows?
McCarthy: This new partnership takes advantage of each organization's strengths to transform the way water, floodplains and energy are managed – no small feat for a river basin that spans eight countries and is as big as the Rio Grande and Colorado watersheds combined!
Our partners all bring valuable skills to the table:
- WWF Netherlands brings strategic expertise, funding and river science;
- WWF Zambia and Mozambique have well-trained local staff, political savvy and extensive networks within communities, government and academia, as well as experience with environmental flows on the Kafue River, an important tributary;
- IHE brings extensive experience and technical skills in environmental flows and international capacity building.
This new partnership complements the Conservancy’s existing partnership with the African Wildlife Foundation, with whom we'll continue to work to conserve the Kazungula Heartland and Zambezi Heartland, two important landscapes along the river's mainstem.
nature.org: What’s the biggest challenge you see that lies ahead?
McCarthy: Our biggest challenge is garnering support from government power authorities and from downstream communities for restoring natural flows to the Zambezi River — at a time when demand for electricity is at an all-time high in southern Africa.
We need to show that the river and its floodplains can be brought fully back to life, providing food and biological diversity for the basin's 42 million people, without significantly lessening the supply of energy to the region's developing economies.
nature.org: This project is also connected to the Conservancy’s dam projects in the United States and China. How so?
McCarthy: The Conservancy's experience working to restore and preserve numerous rivers in the United States, along with the Yangtze River in China, is directly applicable to the Zambezi.
The goal is to show decision-makers in the Zambezi River Authority and other dam managers real-world examples of dams being "re-operated" to protect river health, while continuing to provide services such as electricity to the local population.
nature.org: Why do you think partnerships are essential to our work in the Zambezi River watershed?
McCarthy: Africa is vast – with cultural and biological diversity to match. The Nature Conservancy’s strategy is to maximize our impact by joining our technical expertise and financial resources with the established presence and homegrown knowledge of local partners. Our job is to figure out how to make wise and strategic investments, directly and through well-chosen partners, to achieve great conservation results.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Patrick McCarthy/TNC (Reservoir on the Kafue River created by the Kafue Gorge Dam); Photo © Erika Notremann/TNC (Patrick McCarthy); Photo © Patrick McCarth/TNC (Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River between Chirundu, Zambia and Kariba, Zimbabwe).
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