Problems with natural resources

The NGO network and MS partner, FOCADE, is engaged in environmental problems and natural resource administration in the Cabo Delgado province. These problems are also common in the rest of Mozambique, and they could have serious consequences for the well-being of the population in the future.

There are problems with access to clean drinking water in great parts of Mozambique, and it causes endemic diseases such as cholera. Photo: Per Bergholdt Jensen.

From the 26^th to the 30^th of September 2005 the Third Annual Meeting of the Civil Society was held, and the member NGOs of FOCADE prepared its contribution for the national debate on the environment. Nearly a year the later the problems continue. And many of these problems are only too familiar all over Mozambique.

The exploration of timber without hardly any benefits for the population in the affected areas was one of the issues addressed at the meeting. But the population is facing many other challenges in order to survive, challenges that will also affect future generations.

Water - the precious liquid

The lack of water is a problem in the cities, towns and villages. People spend many hours daily in order to fetch water that in most cases is not potable, which results in various illnesses such as cholera, as well as accelerating the development of illnesses of HIV positive persons. The lack of water generally provokes hygienic problems, creating epidemics of illnesses such as mange which is widespread in the province.

The hours spend fetching water also create social conflicts such as lack of confidence between men and women. Men start to distrust their wives due to the time it takes them to get water, and the situation gets worse when the husband oblige his wife to have sex with him even though she is exhausted. If she does not leave her husband completely satisfied, he accuses her of having a lover she sees on the way to the water hole or the river.  

Therefore many women prefer to go to water holes nearby. Apart from reducing matrimonial conflicts, it also saves the women and the girls time that can be spend studying, and furthermore the body will not have endure so much hard work which normally leads to early ageing of the women.

Another conflict is that between the human beings and the animals, especially elephants, since both parties are procuring water from the same sources.

This proximity implies that the animals have access to the fields, leaving the families starving because the crop is being consumed by elephants, for instance.  

The widespread slash-and-burn agricultural practice in Mozambique has grave environmental consequences. Photo: Per Bergholdt Jensen.

Destructive habits

Despite the fact that campaigns against the slash and burn practice have been going on for a long time, the smoke from the fires is still seen on the horizon, because this method still is the preferred practice of the farmers. The burnings clean the bush land and it is also a technique used for hunting rats and other animals.   

Apart from the smoke pollution, the problem with the slash and burn practice is that the bio diversity (including medicinal plants) is in danger, and that the fruit trees produce less. 

The production of charcoal is made on a big scale, and it is one of the few ways the rural population can make revenue, so therefore it will continue to take place, even though the environmental effects are less desirable.

The production of charcoal is not well organized, and there is no planting of fast growing trees (such as eucalyptus for instance) to secure this activity and to main it sustainable.

As a consequence there is an increasing shortage of firewood in the rural communities. In many locations in Cabo Delgado it is already necessary to walk long distances to collect firewood.

Natural resources to be explored

The Cabo Delgado province offers a variety of resources that can be explored and thus contribute to the socio-economical development. Among some of these resources are precious stones, fertile soils for agriculture on small, medium and big scale, petrol, tourism, goat skin for the tanning industry, sun for solar power, wind for Aeolian power, small rivers for mini hydro power projects, and medicinal plants. 

Sustainable technologies are not being used to its full potential, however. Some technologies adopted to local conditions are being integrated into the local communities in order minimize the dependency of human resources and external materials, but on a very limited scale.   

These technologies include wells and irrigation systems made with materials that are accessible locally and made by local craftsmen. In this way maintenance will be made locally, and thus it is not necessary need to wait for expensive experts to come from far away. Local production and maintenance also creates a micro-economy that beneficiates the population. 

Other technologies of this sort include making and using compost to enrich the soil, aquatic plants that clean the water in order to get clean drinking water, and dairy production such as cheese and yoghurt.

But the application of these new techniques in order to improve the sustainable utilization of natural resources is not yet being prioritized very highly by the development programs, despite the obvious advantages this sort of technologies imply.

(Translated / edited by Per Bergholdt Jensen)