By Dr Michelina Andreucci

DURING parliamentary debate on Tuesday, November 24 2015, House of Assembly member Tapiwa Mashakada affirmed the West must compensate us for global warming.
While I do not wish to debate the accuracy or inaccuracy of his statement, I would like to point out that low rainfall is not a new phenomenon to this part of the world. It is a truism in our natural seasonal cycle. Even our traditions acknowledge the need to pray for normal rainfall and abundant harvests.
The various indigenous rain shrines, rites and rituals attest to the fact there have always been cycles of drought in Zimbabwe – why else would we need rainmaking ceremonies?
The concept of Zunde raMambo – a king’s communal harvest — was a system which ensured food security in the event of a drought.
Even some of the traditional dances are a celebration of the rains, the harvest and survival. Below is compiled evidence of our cycles of drought and floods over the last four decades.
The year 1969 was the worst rainfall season experienced in 40 years. The drought was so severe the World Council of Churches was requested to assist the country and bequeathed 20 000 pounds through churches in the then Rhodesia which were urged to share the burden.
Drought relief committees were set up in Salisbury (Harare), Umtali (Mutare), Gwelo (Gweru) and Bulawayo. Although some rivers failed to run, Kariba was full.
During the drought of 1972, the Ndebele people summoned their rain priest to call upon the sea at the (Natal coast), from where the abeZansi Ndebele originated from, to induce rain clouds.
This rain-calling ritual is known as Ukuphehla Izulu. The Shona have a similar ritual known as Mukwerera – a rain supplication. These Zimbabwean land rituals show that vagaries of weather are nothing new; they have not been ours to control.
In the course of Western geographical history, during the period 150 to 400BC, the population of the Roman Empire was estimated to have declined by over 20 percent from 65 to 50 million, resulting from reduced agricultural outputs believed a consequence of the Dark Ages Cold Period (circa 300 BC –700), when there was a decrease in global temperatures.
Zimbabwe, however, is blessed not to have the extreme climate conditions of severe heat or cold, as in other countries, like India for instance where over 2 000 people died from heat exhaustion (2015).
There are many factors contributing to environmental changes in Zimbabwe where water-based eco-systems have been altered; wildlife numbers have fallen and the general bio-diversity has changed through the introduction of alien species and the loss of some species.
Natural environmental dynamics are characterised by the increasing frequency of alternating floods and drought.
The main causes of these weather changes include population growth, which then results in expansions of settlements, deforestation, soil erosion and depletion as well as pollution resulting from human economic activities such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing.
In 1998 the total population of the Zambezi Valley, which is of vital importance to Zimbabwe and its weather patterns, was 32,7 million people, representing one third of the total population of the estimated
100 million in the eight basin countries.
Owing to HIV-AIDS pandemic (albeit its declension), population growth is projected to be modest in the eight regional countries. It will nonetheless reach 168 million by 2025; 30 percent projected to be living in the vital Zambezi Basin.
One of the contributors to global warming is deforestation, caused by clearing for agriculture, harvesting of non-timber forests, commercial harvesting of indigenous timber species and forest fires. Until alternatives to (cooking) fuels are provided, deforestation is likely to continue, more so with the ever-increasing electricity load-shedding.
These are a few of the issues that must be addressed by authorities in order to stem the destruction of the eco-system, which in turn contributes to the ever-increasing global warming.
Would the Honourable Mashakada’s energies not be better utilised by educating his constituency on the importance of environmental management by not polluting, causing forest fires, deforestation and all other destructive causes of global warming?
Our ancestors were quite aware of their dependency on the environment. Food is derived from it; and conversely the lives of humans and other living creatures, plants and organisms. They recognised and respected the mutual interaction between the various forms of nature and utilised the knowledge regarding the universe and nature they gleaned through their inter-action with the environment, for which they had great reverence.
Ngoma yevamwe masimba mashoma… Don’t beat someone else’s drum, you have no power over it… We have a tendency to follow Western agendas which may not necessarily apply to our national or local circumstances.
As Zimbabweans, we need to enforce environmental education from an early age. The environment is our childrens’ heritage. Reviving our traditional ways of perceiving the importance of the environment and conserving it will better avert global warming. No monetary compensation can reverse the environmental damage and ensuing global warming.
Dr Michelina Rudo Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian Researcher, Industrial Design Consultant and Specialist Hospitality Interior Decorator. She is a published author in her field. For Comments E-mail: linamanucci@gmail.com