Editorial – Issue 08
In this edition of SustainZim our feature article is by Martha Munyoro Katsi from Practical Action. She discusses ëincreasing food security through solar powered irrigationí. In a project in Gwanda, 6 community gardens were installed with solar powered irrigation systems.
The project aimed to benefit 720 residents in the area and ensure food security. Producing crop can now be throughout the year, increasing income and improving livelihoods. Martha has previously contributed to SustainZim and her articles are very popular with the readers.
Green Innovation HUB 2 was launched on the 8th of December by the Swedish Embassy and UNICEF Zimbabwe. GI HUB is an incubation space which seeks to unlock potential of young people in contributing to Sustainable Development through initiatives around smart and sustainable energy. GI HUB has 3 components; Green Schools, Green Jobs and Green Innovations. GI HUB 1 was completed in 2017, contestants sent in ideas to UNICEF and those chosen were given funds to make their ideas a reality. GI HUB 1 produced some unique ideas which can be found here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stONGxU7D60 . The aim of GI HUB is to tackle climate change and youth unemployment by tapping into their creativity and knowledge for ideas that can be harnessed into sustainable solutions. Youth have the chance to come up with ideas that can be turned into an enterprise to make a living from.
Joy Mlambo from UNDP discusses, ‘livestock production in the face of climate change’ in Ward 30, Buhera. Due to climate change some regions are now classified as drought stricken areas and communities are being affected negatively. Small holder farmers are losing out, they are putting in the hard work physically and financially, but their staple maize is failing. Joy explains the need to turn to livestock production as a climate change adaption strategy. To add to this, as showcased in SustainZim Issue 7 local farmers can also turn to small grain crops which are more drought resistant.
The final article is by Washington Zhakata from the Ministry of Water Resources Development and Climate. It is a summary report on the 2017 COP23 negotiations in Bonn, Germany. According to Washington a few points were discussed; developing countries worried that developed countries will not meet their 2020 obligations to reduce their emissions. Another point of discussion was the 100 billion pledged yearly by developed countries to finance climate change activities in developing countries. Coal continues to be a hot topic of discussion with the rest of the world taking the decision to cut down on its usage, except the current US government. It was decided at COP23 that countries should review and ratchet their commitments to cut carbon according to the framework. A ‘Paris Rule Book’ is being completed, this book will contain implementation guidelines for nations to follow to fulfil their obligation to reduce emissions.
The SustainZim team would like to thank all its partners, contributors and readers for continuing to support the publication. 2017 has been a successful 2nd year for the paper with its own drawbacks. Issues 7 & 8 had to be cut from 16 pages previously to 8 pages because of lack of content. In 2017, we did not receive as much content to keep up with the demand for the paper. We look forward to 2018 and encourage more contributors to send in content of any sustainable development ventures in the country. We at POVO Afrika intend on targeting more content from the 2nd and 3rd level educational institutions around Zimbabwe. Since the youth are the future it is the right thing to do, to give them a platform to speak on their behalf. Subject to funding, SustainZim Issues for 2018 will not be available in print but will continue to be published online at www.sustainzim.org . If there are any organisations that are willing to fund the printing of the publication please get in touch with us at email@example.com . 2018 promises to be a good year in terms of moving Zimbabwe towards a greener future, with the new government and increasing world pressure to go green, SustainZim will be there to report and showcase the progress we are making as a country. SustainZim continues to be popular amongst the readers and the team will continue to bring you green news from around the country. Information from SustainZim is used nationwide in; universities and colleges, government departments, civils society organisations, communities and by individuals. SustainZim recently won an award for ‘best upcoming community newspaper’ at the 2017 Youth Voice Journalist Honours Awards. We at POVO Afrika would like to thank the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT) and our readers for rewarding us with this award. Our work is not going unnoticed and we have realised that we are achieving 1 of our goals to inform and educate Zimbabweans on all aspects of Sustainable Development. SustainZim intends to keep the message of Sustainable Development alive for the future of Zimbabwe depends on it.