The Covid-19 Pandemic: Limited Water Access and the Precarity of Women Fishers at Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Man-made reservoirs are constructed to meet certain purposes and Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, was designed for hydroelectric power generation. However, it has developed other multiple uses, and the growth of fisheries on the lake has had a significant impact on the livelihoods of local communities. The declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic in Zimbabwe in March 2020 was quickly followed by the imposition of national lockdowns with varying levels of severity up to the present day. This was done to curtail the spread of the disease, meanwhile enhancing the nation’s capacity in terms of acquiring testing kits, constructing more admission and quarantine centres as well as educating the people about ways to keep safe. In response to the calls by the government to monitor the movement of people and compliance of the lockdown rules, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZNPWMA), the governing body of the Lake Kariba fisheries, imposed rules that have significantly impacted the fishing communities at Lake Kariba. Both gillnet fishers and rod and line fishers have been impacted, but our focus here is on women rod and line fishers. Using the precarious livelihoods conceptual frameworks, we show how the changes in water management during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns has generated high levels of precariousness on the livelihoods of women at Kariba. We define precariousness as the condition of uncertainties brought to the women fishers by changes in water restrictions. The precarity of women was induced by several factors. For instance, the women fishers reported that restrictions to accessing fish in areas with high catches impacted them. They are also now obliged to pay exorbitant fishing fees in a way to discourage them to fish; they were frequently chased away from the Lake by ZNPWMA officers; they had limited amount of time to fish due to curfews; and failure to comply results in heavy fines imposed on them among other challenges. We show how these challenges interact with the current Zimbabwe socio-economic crisis to worsen the precariousness and vulnerability of women fishers at Lake Kariba. Data presented in this manuscript are based on participant observation and interviews with women fishers at Lake Kariba.

COVID-19, Politico-Economic Crises and the Precarity of Actors in the Tourism Industry in Kariba Resort Town, C 2000–2021

“…Though some joined the fishing activity at Lake Kariba, its sustainability was also impacted by the pandemic and lockdowns. It has been reported that national parks officials harassed and confiscated people’s fishing gear during the lockdowns (Nhiwatiwa and Matanzima, 2022).…”

“…For example, during the 1980s and 1990s, précarité in France became widely conceived both in academic and political discourse as extending beyond the sphere of work and into the general precariousness of life (Adams and Darby, 2020; see also Butler, 2013). The precarity concept has further been applied in different fields of study such as development-induced displacement and resettlement (Matanzima, 2021; Wilmsen and Adjartey, 2020), urban and rural livelihoods (Gukurume, 2018; Nhiwatiwa and Matanzima, 2022) and (im)mobility and migration (Banki, 2013; Martin et al, 2019). Constituted by extreme flexibility, impermanence and insecurity, it is seen to be the cause of a series of psychosocial pathologies in contemporary society, such as heightened anxiety about one’s future (Dines, 2018).…”

Marketing horti-tourism and rural development for leveraging tourism agenda 2030: a perspective article

“…Poverty can be classified as one of the key issues in rural areas, therefore, the marketing of horti-tourism could create entrepreneurship opportunities, employment creation and income generation for the farmers and other people living within the community due to domestic and international tourist arrivals. In turn, this can curtail the unemployment issues bedevilling rural communities within emerging countries (Nhiwatiwa and Matanzima, 2022).…”

Surface Temperature Influences the Population of Limnothrissa miodon in Lake Kariba

“…Te surface water temperature data for Lake Kariba were provided by the University of Zimbabwe Lake Kariba Research Station (UZLKRS), and the data were collected at Station 7, Sanyati mouth, 1st cross, Gachegache mouth, Charara, Nyaodza, and Nyenje for the period July 2014 to December 2017 [25].…”