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Land is life in Zambia
Dec 13, 2007 By: Rebecca CohnLUSAKA, Zambia — “Please don’t let them take our homes,” says a woman in Ufwenuka village in southern Zambia. “We were born on this land, our ancestors died on this land. Why do they want our rocks? Don’t they have rocks where they come from?”
“Land is life,” says another woman. “If they take our land, they take our life.”
A giant mango tree shades residents of Ufwenuka village from the midday sun as they gather to discuss a very personal and fundamental issue: land. Rumours have been circulating that investors have discovered minerals beneath their land. In cases such as this, investors are almost always able to purchase land and mining rights from the government.
The people of Ufwenuka know this and they also know that if this happens, they will be told to leave. Sometimes residents will be offered alternative land (often in another province) or compensation for resettlement, but in many cases they are simply displaced.
Sadly, this scenario is becoming increasingly common in Zambia’s poor rural communities. With more than 90 per cent of the population falling into this demographic and the vast majority of mining profits leaving the country, it is no wonder the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) ranked Zambia as one of the 25 poorest nations in the world in 2006.
My work with the Zambia Land Alliance (ZLA), as an information/communications officer, is largely aimed at bringing rural land concerns, such as this one, to a national audience. It is my job to ensure land issues make headlines, are discussed on media programmes and the public has access to easy-to-understand information, such as posters, brochures and newsletters.
One of many interesting assignments took me to a small rural community called Monze in mid-November. I had arranged for a national television crew to accompany us, as we, the ZLA, met with local residents to discuss critical issues concerning deforestation in their community.
The impacts of poverty, combined with the complicated and expensive process of acquiring land, have forced residents to move away from traditional means of sustaining their livelihood and to find alternative methods of feeding their families.
In Monze, this alternative has taken the form of mass deforestation for small-scale charcoal production, which is then sold to generate income.
The problem is that the term re-forestation does not yet exist in Zambia, making this form of income incredibly short-term, with substantially harmful environmental effects for generations to come.
This, among many other visits into the field, has given me a glimpse into the real issues and challenges Zambians are experiencing when it comes to land. I very feel privileged to have the opportunity to learn and work in this environment and, in some way, contribute to the development of the country.
Although, I am quickly realizing that this country will teach me far more than I could even begin to offer during my six-month placement.
Stay tuned for my next dispatch as I travel to South Africa and Namibia for holidays and explore the world famous dunes of the Namib Desert.
Rebecca Cohn, a 26-year-old former Port Perry High School student, began her internship in Zambia on Sept. 13 with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Throughout her six-month stay there, she will offer her thoughts on Africa, her work and travels to Star readers from time to time.
