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Noah Pito Features Correspondent
For villagers in Nyamakate, Chirundu and Kazangarare areas in Hurungwe and Nyaminyami districts of Mashonaland West, conservation of natural resources can reward quite handsomely albeit in a painstakingly slow manner. Two lush community gardens, a prosperous beekeeping project, more than 80 rehabilitated boreholes and stationery and equipment to schools and clinics donations are all that the villagers have benefited through the Kariba Redd+ Project.

The programme started in 2012 when a United Kingdom-based company, Carbon Green Investments, which specialises in conservation and carbon credit management, penned a contract with the Hurungwe Rural District Council in which the former would carry out a carbon credit management projects in the district for 30 years.

Binga and Mbire rural district councils have also signed similar agreements mandating them to administer their tracts of greenbelts under the same project.
Through the programme, communities are expected to push their conservation efforts through reforestation programmes, prevention of veld fires and land degradation including use of environment-friendly sources of energy that negate destruction of forests.

CGI works closely with communities in an effort to mitigate deforestation and increase conservation levels.
The greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) or carbon dioxide reduced through such conservation is quantified and sold as carbon reduction credits (CRCs) on the global market.

The measurement and calculation processes are carried out periodically while these credits are sold to major GHG emitters such as airplanes among other organisations that pollute the atmosphere.

In Hurungwe, out of the revenue realised from the sale of such credits, CGI, HRDC and each community gets a 30 percent share while the remaining 10 percent goes towards ongoing operational management of the project by entities such as environmental groups operating community outreach projects.
Funds ploughed back into the community are used to improve the lives of the people mainly through sustainable agricultural projects and construction or funding of schools and clinics.

In Nyamakate Resettlement Area (Ward 7) one major boost to the livelihood of villagers are two community gardens. Tashinga and Budiriro have transcended their initial purpose of providing nutrition.

Villagers in the Chundu area have also been empowered through a vibrant beekeeping project while a conservation farming programme has benefited villagers in all the three areas under the Kariba REDD+ Project (Nyamakate, Chundu and Kazangarare).

The conservation farming programme has seen thousands of villagers receiving special training and inputs that include fertilisers, maize seed, sugar beans and cow peas over the past two seasons.

In Nyamakate about 70 families have benefited from the two gardens whose scope has since diversified into income generation. The families are now churning out large quantities of vegetables, not only for marketing to motorists and travellers along the Harare – Chirundu Highway but also to Kariba and Chirundu communities.

Mrs Lydia Chiyangwa, chairwoman of Tashinga Community Garden, said the CGI project had benefited the community not only through financial returns but transformation of the villagers’ behaviour and attitudes towards conservation of natural resources.

After the establishment of the gardens two years ago Mrs Chiyangwa said the villagers are no longer constructing brushwood gardens that previously accounted for most of the deforestation in the area.

“There was a high rate of deforestation since most villagers would indiscriminately cut down trees in a stampede to repair their dilapidated brushwood gardens. With the advent of these community gardens, brushwood gardens have now disappeared from our river banks thereby reducing land degradation and deforestation.

“There used to be disorder since everyone would follow their own programme of action no matter how dangerous it was to the environment. Women accommodated in the community gardens have become messengers in disseminating the word of safeguarding the environment,” she said.
Mrs Chiyangwa said women in her community had also been empowered financially through the establishment of quasi village-bank or societies.

“We established a society into which we pool our cash and later share among ourselves when the need arises. This has enabled us to comfortably pay school fees for our children or even buy expensive items in other cases.

“We have plans to establish a burial society from the same gardening project. For your information our gardens have indeed boosted food security in the surrounding villages,” said Mrs Chiyangwa.

Ward 7 councillor Mr Jealous Mateyesanwa said through the rewards realised from the project, villagers in the area have become environmental watchdogs over each other resulting in a reduction in incidences of land degradation, veld fires and deforestation in the area.

Hurungwe Rural District Council chief executive Mr Joram Moyo said the CGI’s project was a major boost to the welfare of the villagers in the area particularly because the project was creating jobs for members of the community some of whom were now realising some in- comes.

“The fact that members of the community are engaged in the rehabilitation of boreholes and bridges including the digging of wells implies that the organisation is creating employment for the community.

“It is quite a noble project with long- term advantages to the communities. Several boreholes have been rehabilitated and plans are afoot to embark on rehabilitating roads and clinics and building schools,” he said.

The community garden project started in 2012 with a noble initiative of improving the villagers nutritionally. CGI supplied fencing materials, a variety of vegetable seeds including the digging of deep wells at Budiriro and the rehabilitation of a borehole at Tashinga.

While launching the project back in 2012, CGI chief liaison officer Mr Chris Moore said the project was the brainchild of the Kyoto Protocol, a 1997 agreement which compelled developed countries to cut on greenhouse emissions.

The project, he said, also focused on the development and deployment of techniques that could help increase resilience to the impact of climate change since there was need to conserve the greenbelts in Africa, Asia and South America which acted like mother earth’s lungs.

Over the years CGI donated to HRDC laptops, two motorbikes and several mountain bikes that have been used in monitoring the programme.
The mountain bikes have been used by members of the community while motor bikes have been used by council officers during their awareness and monitoring routines.