There is no future without waterBy Janio Jaramillo Flechas: Today, we all know that water is the main natural resource, non-renewable, and, more importantly, meanwhile, increasingly scarce. Summary.
Today, we all know that water is the main natural resource, non-renewable, and, more importantly, meanwhile, increasingly scarce. It has a direct impact on global warming, the disappearance of biodiversity,the destruction of ecosystems, loss of food autonomy for people, and with the appearance of hunger, new forms of colonization, domination and dependence.
Rural communities belonging to the Macua ethnic group, within range of the direct influence of Qurimbas National Park, QNP, North Mozambique, Cabo Delgado province, subsist from the species of animals, plants and fish of the ecosystems of the Park, and therefore, these species themselves subsist as an ecosystem.
This ecosystem and the underground water depend basically on two sources of water: the Montepuez river and the Bilibiza lagoon.This eco-systemic relationship impacts indirectly on ecosystems and inhabitants of the other districts of the province, through the close relationships of exchange of food products and goods between villages and cities.
In the rural village of Bilibiza there are the Escola de Professores do Futuro, Escola Agraria, Clubes de Camponeses, the other development projects of ADPP, and important projects of several other organizations,
This initial exploratory research that I made on my volunteering period as a D.I., refers to the dramatical depletion of water and to the environmental situation. It is based on systematic observation of the behavior of Montepuez river, in its lower part, and Bilibiza Lagoon, the water body belonging to the same watershed inside QNP, and also on changes in the wells of the area.
Description of the Environmental Situation.
The problem of extensive deforestation, caused by fire, is presented in Cabo Delgado, in a more intense degree compared to other provinces across the river Lurio.
Across the river Lurio, towards the north, as you start looking at the horizon, you see columns of smoke, and the sky is densely covered by the characteristic grey. The landscape changes abruptly, from lush forest to utter desolation, from abundance of food plants, offered by vendors at stops, to the poverty of products evident in this part of Cabo Delgado.
Technically, the water is shifting to the central areas of the country. The water evaporates quickly, because of the extensive loss of the vegetation cover of the soil. The water is transformed into a cloud, and moves due to the winds, which are generally in the directions east-to-west and north-to-south, without returning the cycle within the area.
The levels of evaporation of water can be measured by observing the river Montepués , which today has no water, and Bilibiza lagoon, which water level dropped by more than one and a half meters in less than two months.
The disappearance of the forest, contrary to popular belief, totally discourages hunting. Thousands of animals and plants die at each burning, breaking the local food chain which of course includes humans, and impacting biodiversity and consequently food production.
In the absence of an inventory of the biodiversity of the species living in the watershed, with appropriate taxonomic classification of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants, the range of species at the risk of extinction, and the impact on them and the related ecosystem, within the exposed environmental situation cannot be established here.
The Bilibiza lagoon, a water reservoir of approximately 160 million liters, has another particular problem. Inside it grows one kind of aquatic plant, typical of the lagoons, which is an invasive plant, when it occupies more than 15% of the water.
The plant reproduces through its roots, submerged in water. The roots become stronger as the plant expands. So as we observe on the surface, units of plants, in fact a vast area, can be a single plant, attached to the root. It has high water absorption capacity, turning water quickly into hydrogen and oxygen released into the atmosphere. When a portion of the plant dies, its roots go to the lake bottom, becoming rich in nutrients in the mud.
Its expansion is geometric, and the decrease of water levels becomes exponential. The increase of sludge in the bed of the lagoon on the one hand, and the decrease of water volume on the other, due to absorption of water by the plant, both add to the high evaporation explained earlier. When some of the roots reach the soil they absorb nutrients from this, as do other plant species growing on their leaves in a parasitic relationship. The birds carry the gene, and deposit it on leaves through their feces, forming islets and developing small ecosystems and food chains, which favor the invasion.
Despite the environmental drama happening here, and the depletion of water resources referred to, this goes unnoticed by, or is invisible to, the organizations and projects and their leaders as well as to the residents in the area.
When interviewed about this situation, different social actors and local authorities neither give any account of the situation, nor express any definitive conclusion or interest in developing a response. This therefore, explains why nothing is being done - quite on the contrary, human actions contribute unwittingly to increase the speed of the environmental and human disaster.
Thus, in the short term, organizations, projects and communities in the area are doomed to extinction. Therefore current education, health, environmental, plantation, and productive projects, entrepreneurship, promotion, and tourism, without developing urgent actions to stop the environmental situation presented here, are at high risk. All investment, and the sustainability of the resources and human capital, depends on the sustainability of water.
VISION
Water Project in Quirimbas National Park, PNQ
The Water Project in the proposed research aims to create and develop a Research Center on water and biodiversity in Bilibiza, for the protection of natural resources of QNP, and the sustainable development of the area, in the province of Cabo Delgado, as a model for other parts of Mozambique.
This Research Center will include laboratories, hydro-measurement instrumentation, electronic equipment and computer analysis, gene banks, field tools, and a specialized library. Therefore it may be a base for different types of specialized research, which could be supported by universities from developed countries.
While this is the goal, the Center will provide an opportunity to link actions "from", "with" and "for" various projects and institutions, integrating them to the everyday life and customs of the Macua people, especially through students of ADPP and EPF projects and Bilibiza Agricultural School, and through the organized exchange of knowledge and technologies between countries. Thereby this should deepen and strengthen organizations' presence in the area, helping them achieve their objectives.
To give continuity to the investigation initiated, it is necessary to observe and record, in the area of work, the different events in the hydro-climate and community, which will occur on the occasion of the next rainy season, which will begin towards the end of November-2009,
In the third week of March 2010, there will be held the “15th International African Water Congress” in Nampala, Uganda. This would be a good scenario for the presentation of research, promotion, and strengthening partnerships.
Camp Future
My experience as Development Instructor, and this report in full is to be filed at the various schools of international volunteers as part of their training and background, and all schools interested in understanding water issues and climate change in the African region. The report can be presented at upcoming events, which are scheduled about the topic.
JANIO JARAMILLO FLECHAS
College for International Co-operation and Development – CICD
Email: jaramilloflechas@yahoo.com
HU12 0NP, Hull, UK
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