Olga Laiza Kupika

Chinhoyi University of Technology | CUT · Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

JEMZ vol 1 No 2

Tourism in South Africa and Zimbabwe grew exponentially before the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. Among other things, the sector has been battling disease outbreaks, political instability and, in recent years, the threat of extreme weather events attributed to climate change. Despite these challenges, the sector has made modest contributio...

Resilience building is a panacea to promoting a safe and sustainable tourism economy in Southern Africa and beyond. This chapter highlights key findings from case studies across South Africa and Zimbabwe before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown period (before 2020 and post-2021). The chapter presents the major findings and policy recommendati...

The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) is being held in November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Having a climate summit hosted in an African country makes it timely to highlight climate change research from the continent. We asked a selection of researchers to share their thoughts on current research questions and how they affect African respo...

The conservation status of inland fishery resources is vulnerable worldwide, and this threatens the livelihoods of fishing-dependent communities. This case study aimed to: (i) establish the use and perception of fisheries and ecosystem services by locals, (ii) undertake a monetary valuation of the fisheries, (iii) determine the potential threats to...

This study aimed at investigating woody vegetation structure and composition in relation to surface water availability in Mana Pools National Park (MPNP). Two study sites, namely the Zambezi River floodplain and seasonal water pans were selected. Sampling plots were systematically placed along transects from water pans at 100 m, 200 m and 500 m and...

Wildlife is a valuable resource in Zimbabwe. This Chapter focuses on the evolution of wildlife ownership regimes, access and conservation in Zimbabwe from pre-colonial to post-colonial period. Evidence was gathered from documentary review of existing literature, primarily focusing on (un)published reports, research articles and books. Google, Googl...

This Chapter aims to explore the extent to which legal and institutional frameworks for biodiversity management in Zimbabwe mainstream climate change adaptation and mitigation issues. This Chapter focused on mainstreaming of biodiversity and wildlife issues in international, regional climate change policies and how it cascades to the national level...

Climate-related extreme events pose a major threat to biodiversity and wildlife habitats. Cyclones and floods cause major disruptions to ecosystems, and the southern African region has not been spared from the impact of these natural disasters. Yet to date, limited studies have profiled the effects of cyclone and flood events on biodiversity and wi...

Biodiversity and natural resources provide various ecosystem goods and services, which play a key role as natural havens for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. In conformity with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 15, the management of terrestrial ecosystem is seen as a life-preserving activity; thus, several differen...

This first issue of the Journal of Environmental Management in Zimbabwe (JEMZ) is a compilation of selected papers that were presented at two research symposia hosted in 2016 and 2019 by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) in Harare, Zimbabwe, as well as contributions from multi and inter disciplinary studies carried out in the country in the...

Understanding the livelihood trends and factors that influence adaptation among rural farmers is critical for promoting community resilience toward climate change. This chapter explores the livelihood trends and factors influencing adaptation among small-scale subsistence farmers in the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve (MZBR), Zimbabwe. A mobile ho...

This paper presents a study based approach to assess climate change vulnerability for riparian based livelihoods in the semi-arid region of Zimbabwe, who had limited abilities to cope with the adverse effects of climate change. The study area is the semi-arid regions of Zimbabwe which are ranked as being extremely vulnerable to the adverse effects...

The Environmental Management Act (CAP 20:27) mandates the Agency to undertake environmental research for purposes of providing guidance to environmental policy, legislation and decision making. Pursuant to this provision, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has provided a platform to all environmental researchers to publish their work in the...

This study analysed the status of ecotourism and related developments in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) with some specific examples drawn from Zimbabwe. The objectives of the study were to: (i) explore the evolution of wildlife conservation and ecotourism related enterprise development by local communities, and (ii) dete...

Institutions of Higher Education, particularly universities contribute immensely to the United Nations landmark 2030 agenda and the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals—the SDGs. Universities are uniquely placed to broken links between different sectors through fostering cross-cutting approaches to achieving the climate change-related s...

This study investigates climate change adaptation and mitigation interventions within the framework of green economy for sustainable development and poverty eradication in the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve, Zimbabwe. The study adopted a mixed methods approach, mainly drawing data from field observations, focus group discussions (FGDs) drawing re...

Background: This study explores the role of local ecological knowledge (LEK) in climate change prediction and adaptation in Africa, including a case study of the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve (MZBR), Zimbabwe. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data that included household surveys, desktop reviews of published jo...

This study assessed the population density and structure of marula (Sclerocarya birrea) in the Gonarezhou National Park (GNP) and adjacent areas, southeast Zimbabwe. Data were collected from 15 belt transects using a stratified random sampling technique (with study sites located in the northwestern Gonarezhou National Park, adjacent communal and re...

Understanding local community perceptions on impacts, causes, and responses to climate change is vital for promotion of community resilience towards climate change. +is study explored local ecological knowledge (LEK) held by local communities on climate change trends and impacts in the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve (MZBR), Zimbabwe. +e objective...

Scat hair presents a diverse profile of hairs for morphological assessment that may find versatile applications in wildlife forensic investigations. Successful morphological assessment of scat hair microstructure, however, depends on a robust sectioning methodology. We assessed the feasibility and efficacy of a cryosectioning technique compared to...

This paper seeks to delve deeper and assess ecotourism and wildlife conservation-related enterprises development by local communities within the Zimbabwean component of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA). Transfrontier Conservation was embraced by scientists, policy-makers and other stakeholders in Chiredzi and Chipinge Di...

This presentation focuses on the current status of both cultural and natural heritage studies, especially the curriculum content in Zimbabwe's Higher Education and Training institutions, taking Chinhoyi University of Technology as a case. We consulted academic program regulations and module content to extract the coverage of heritage elements in th...

In this paper, we aim to explore community livelihoods and conservation issues surrounding natural resources that are utilised by resettled farmers within the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve, Zimbabwe. Data collection was done in two phases. During the first phase undertaken in 2011, we administered household interviews, held focus group discussio...

Written by 18 authors, this book on Sustainability, Climate Change and the Green Economy brings together insights at the nexus of the four key concepts embedded in its title. The book is unpacked in six parts. Part 1 is a single chapter that covers the context of the topic. Part 2 looks at the green economy and green jobs, and addresses the challen...

Climate change poses one of the greatest challenges to wildlife management in Africa. With increasing trends in climate change related natural disasters in Africa (particularly extreme weather events like drought, heat waves, floods, cyclones, frost and wildfires), it is imperative to understand how international community, regional organisations a...

The global hydrologic regime has been intensively altered through activities such as dam construction, water abstraction, and inter-basin transfers. This paper uses the Range of Variability Approach (RVA) and daily stream flow records from nine gauging stations to characterize stream-flow post dam construction in the Manyame catchment, Zimbabwe. We...

The global hydrologic regime has been intensively altered through activities such as dam construction, water abstraction, and inter-basin transfers. This paper uses the Range of Variability Approach (RVA) and daily stream flow records from nine gauging stations to characterize stream-flow post dam construction in the Manyame catchment, Zimbabwe. We...

The Rio+20 outcomes document, the Future We Want, enshrines green economy as one of the platforms to attain sustainable development and calls for measures that seek to address climate change and biodiversity management. This paper audits climate change policies from selected east and southern African countries to determine the extent to which clima...

The Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve is under threat from a myriad of anthropogenic stressors such as habitat encroachment, land degradation, climate change, deforestation, poaching and illegal harvesting of resources. The government, through stakeholders in the wildlife sector, has a mandate to interpret international conventions and adapt them to...

With increasing trends in natural disasters in Africa (particularly extreme weather events like droughts, floods, cyclones, frost and wild fires), it is imperative to understand how African countries are addressing such through legislative provisions in the context of wildlife management. This paper audits wildlife policies from selected East and S...

Resettlement communities in Zimbabwe have been documented to have complicated institutional settings due to overlapping powers amongst; de facto and de jure institutions. These institutions and their interactions over time influence the way individuals and communities experience the plethora of stressors that confront them rendering them vulnerable...

Post-release monitoring of wildlife is essential to the success of ecological restoration initiatives. Translocation of wildlife to new ecosystems is associated with changes in diet profiles of individuals and ultimately animal performance, since productivity of rangelands varies in time and space. The population decline and local extinction of buf...

Agriculture makes a substantial contribution to Zimbabwe’s economy in terms of employment creation, household incomes, food security and economic growth. In recent decades, the performance of the agricultural sector has been hampered by frequent droughts. The paper uses research results from published and unpublished works to determine the impacts...

The important role indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) is described in redefining the biodiversity conservation agenda of the Chibememe and Tshovani communities in the Sangwe Communal Lands, Chiredzi, in the management of dryland ecosystems of the southeastern low veld of Zimbabwe. These communities constitute part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier...

The impact of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) on population structure of baobab trees (Adansonia digitata L.) was assessed in northern Gonarezhou National Park (GNP), southeast Zimbabwe. Baobabs were sampled in March 2008 and September 2012 using 11 randomly laid belt transects of variable length within 1 km of the eastern and western section...

Woodland ecosystems are integral and crucial to biodiversity and neighbouring human communities. These ecosystems have experienced vast changes in their physical nature which affect the roles they play, as urban expansion, agriculture, wood fuel collection and open-air churches all result in the clearing of woody vegetation. Remote sensing and geog...

Activity pattern plasticity in ungulates serves as an evolutionary adaptation to optimize fitness in inconsistent environments. Given that time is a limited and valuable resource for foraging wildlife species, provisioning and attraction may affect the activity pattern plasticity and reduce complexitiesof time partitioning for different activitiesby i...

We compared the structure and composition of vegetation communities across different land uses in the northern Gonarezhou National Park and adjacent areas, southeast Zimbabwe. Vegetation data were collected from 60 sample plots using a stratified random sampling technique from April toMay 2012. Stratification was by land use, and sample plots in al...