From Globalization to Global Sustainability: Perspectives on Transitions

This paper  critically looks at the concept and process of globalization in the context of sustainability. Globalization in its current form presents more challenges than opportunities to the global societies. Reversing the process is a myopic idea, yet it can not be left to the dictates of its movers such as Multinational Corporations, global financial markets and trade regimes among others to make it sustainable. The argument forwarded here is that there is need for a transition to sustainable globalization. A number of pathways maybe followed in the process of transition such as managing the global  environmental governance systems, global  trade, global financial market, Multinational Corporations and information systems. However, this is not prescriptive, but a set of ideas that nation states and policy makers may consider. The transitions processes  are gradual but also not smooth thus it is also important to critically look at the challenges that  stand in the way and, the negative repercussions to societies

Understanding climate variability and livelihoods adaptation in rural Zimbabwe : case of Charewa, Mutoko

Rural farmers in Zimbabwe have been grappling with various changes and challenges occurring in the country since the early 1990s. Amongst these, climate variability has emerged as one significant aspect. It has introduced new challenges for these farmers who are already facing various difficulties in maintaining their insecure livelihoods. Yet, current adaptation theories and inquiries have failed to sufficiently account for and analyse the capacity of these farmers to adequately respond to changing climatic conditions. In this respect, a number of studies have been heavily embedded in deterministic concepts that regard rural farmers as passive victims who play only a minor part in decisions and actions that affect their own livelihoods and well-being. Similarly, although some studies have acknowledged farmers’ capacity to adapt and build elements of resilience, they have not adequately shown how farmers interpret changes in climate and the structures, processes and conditions underpinning adaptation. Following that, my study uses a case study of a rural community in a semi-arid region of Mutoko district in eastern Zimbabwe and Margaret Archer’s sociological theory to understand and analyse how farmers problematise climate variability and respond to it. The study utilises a qualitative approach to divulge the subtleties on how rural people interpret processes of change and adapt to such changes. The thesis found that farmers are encountering increasingly unpredictable and unreliable rainfall patterns as well as shifting temperature conditions which are inducing labyrinthian livelihoods conundrums. However, these climatic shifts are not being experienced in a discrete manner hence farmers are also discontented with the obtaining socio-economic circumstances in the country. Simultaneously, whilst farmers in large part conceived changes in rainfall and temperature to be caused by natural shifts in climate, they also ascribed them to cultural and religious facets. Importantly, the thesis reveals considerable resourcefulness by farmers in the face of nascent changes in climate variability. Farmers have therefore constructed versatile coping and adaptive strategies. What is crucial to mention here is that climatic and non-climatic challenges are negotiated concurrently. Therein, farmers are adapting to climate variability and at the same time navigating difficult socio-economic landscapes. All the same, the process of adaptation is ostensibly not straightforward but complex. As it evolves, farmers find themselves facing numerous constraining structures and processes. Nonetheless, farmers in this study are able to circumvent the constraints presented to them and at the same time activate the corresponding enabling structures, processes and conditions

Food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture nexus:the role of higher education in attainment of zero hunger in Zimbabwe

Sustainable development goal 2 (SDG2) is about creating a world free of hunger by 2030. Southern Africa faces a myriad of challenges affecting food and nutrition security, from population expansion, old and emerging pandemics, increased frequency of climate-induced natural disasters, ageing infrastructure, and challenging service delivery. The increased shocks and hazards and inadequate social safety nets have changed the dimensions of food and nutrition insecurity, giving rise to new roles for higher and tertiary education. Higher education (HE) institutions are expected to play a more active role in capacity building and producing goods and services that can contribute to the achievement of SDG2. This chapter assesses the role of HE towards the attainment of SDG2 which seeks to eliminate hunger and all forms of malnutrition. The chapter will highlight an insect-based value chain project as an example of HE contribution to reducing food insecurity. Through the case study, the chapter will explore the role of HE in community engagement, human capital development, and conducting research that informs policy and programming decisions. Furthermore, the chapter explores the role of North–South Collaborative research, interdisciplinary collaborations, and innovation hubs in developing innovations that can transform food systems and help build resilience in the face of the increasing climate and health shocks. Within these spaces, the contribution of HE to the achievement of food and nutrition security in Africa can be realised, and this approach replicated in other African institutions seeking to engage in such work

Mopane worm value chain in Zimbabwe:evidence on knowledge, practices and processes in Gwanda district

Consumption of edible insects is a potential solution to the growing need for protein. However, the wild harvested edible insects’ value chain faces several challenges including limited knowledge on indigenous practices in the harvesting and processing and lack of information on roles of the different actors in the chain. A case study of Gonimbrasia belina, colloquially referred to as the ’mopane worm’, was conducted to understand and identify determinants of participation in the value chain of the edible caterpillar. A cross sectional study was conducted in Gwanda (a rural district in Zimbabwe) to (a) understand the indigenous knowledge on harvesting and processing methods, (b) explore value addition and the traditional beliefs surrounding the utilisation of the mopane worm. Results showed that consumers (81.7%), and harvesters (76.6%) were the main actors in the mopane worm value chain. Using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model, the following were shown to be determinants of participation in the mopane worm value chain: (a) gender (b) household size (c) marital status (d) religion and (e) household assets. Two primary processing methods of harvested mopane worm were distinguished i.e., boiling and roasting on ambers. Results showed lack of diversity in mopane worm-based products. Current culturally acceptable processing techniques need improvement and standardization to support sustainable mopane worm processing while optimising nutrient bio-accessibility

Epistemic geographies of climate change: science, space and politics

Anthropogenic climate change has been presented as the archetypal global problem, identified by the slow work of assembling a global knowledge infrastructure, and demanding a concertedly global political response. But this ‘global’ knowledge has distinctive geographies, shaped by histories of exploration and colonialism, by diverse epistemic and material cultures of knowledge-making, and by the often messy processes of linking scientific knowledge to decision-making within different polities. We suggest that understanding of the knowledge politics of climate change may benefit from engagement with literature on the geographies of science. We review work from across the social sciences which resonates with geographers’ interests in the spatialities of scientific knowledge, to build a picture of what we call the epistemic geographies of climate change. Moving from the field site and the computer model to the conference room and international political negotiations, we examine the spatialities of the interactional co-production of knowledge and social order. In so doing, we aim to proffer a new approach to the intersections of space, knowledge and power which can enrich geography’s engagements with the politics of a changing climate

Understanding adaptation to climate variability in smallholder farming systems in eastern Zimbabwe: a sociological perspective

The literature on climate change in Zimbabwe continues to grow, but literature specifically focusing on how people in rural communities are responding to it is still comparatively limited. Only a few scholars have sought to offer a reasonably detailed account of farmers’ concerns and adaptation from localised, qualitative case studies based on farmers’ narratives. As such, this article is empirically based, using mainly qualitative data from a broader research on understanding climate variability and livelihood adaptation conducted in Mutoko District in rural Zimbabwe. In doing so, the aim is not only to contribute empirical data to existing knowledge but also more importantly to theorise adaptation sociologically. The main argument is that farmers are reflexively engaged in various adaptive strategies predominantly at the household level not only to adapt to increasing climatic variability but also to simultaneously navigate a difficult socio-economic landscape. The adaptive strategies are underpinned by diverse structures, processes and conditions that are enabling and constraining. Hence adaptation is unfolding as a complex and reflexive process under specific socio-spatial conditions