Pro-poor adaptation to climate variability in semi-arid regions of Zimbabwe: the role of Ziziphus Mauritiana and network interventions in Muzarabani district

A Thesis submitted to the Faculty Of Science, at the University Of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor Of Philosophy in Geography and Environmental StudiesThe study seeks to interrogate the role that Ziziphus mauritiana plays, as a non- human actor, in building the adaptive and resilience capacity of poor people in Muzarabani of Zimbabwe through the lens of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Commodity Chain Analysis (CCA). The qualitative approach was largely used. Empirical evidence, which is largely the role that Zm plays in the adaptive capacity and resilience discourses on semi-arid space of Muzarabania as established by observations, interviews with diverse actors that included household heads, traditional leadership, civil society organisation (CSOs)and government department is presented in this thesis. The study revealed that there is a myriad of actors that form a complex web of adaptive and resilience capacity in Zm production, processing and marketing in Muzarabani. The analysis and discussion of the results places Zm into perspective, illustrating how Zm could enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience in Muzarabani if it were given the attention it deserves. Furthermore, the study revealed that local communities are not passive, as often portrayed, when they experience adverse weather conditions. Excluding them from processes that directly influence their day to day experience, for example the use of Zm, defeats all efforts to address environmental challenges. The case of Zm is argued with the lens of ANT. The study goes further “to unpack the black box” using ANT. Ultimately the research proposes the Actor Networked Eco-based Resilience Logic Model (ANELRM) as the framework that can catapult Zm to the right position in the adaptive capacity and resilience discourse in Muzarabani. The study further demonstrated another contribution to ANT that is it considers the natural resource Ziziphus mauritiana (Zm) as a non-linear commodity that needs to be followed closely to fully understand its contribution, contrary to the idea of taking natural resources as linear and static. ANT views power relations, not in terms of the physical power, but in terms of connections, offering a base to suggest it can, to some extent, address social inequality, exclusion and power dynamics which characterise local natural resource use. This is important to policy makers as they would understand better actors and the natural resources influencing community resilience after drought or floods. In context this will help government actors, like the Muzarabani Rural District Council, to come up with contextual policy measures and implementation efforts to address resilience challenges in semi-arid spaces of SSA, specifically in Zimbabwe.XL201

Community Based Rehabilitation: A Bridge to Inclusive Sustainability Among Persons with Disabilities

Abstract The study intended to explore as to what extend persons with disabilities (PWD

The Nexus between Urban Agriculture and Poverty Alleviation in Zimbabwe’s Cities: A Case of Kadoma City

A study was carried out in Eiffel Flats suburb in Kadoma City to investigate the impact of urban agriculture on poverty alleviation. The objectives of the study were to investigate major reasons behind urban agriculture (UA), establishing social classes and gender involved and identifying the relationship between urban agriculture and a subsequent poverty reduction. A sample size of 98 respondents was randomly chosen from the sample. Questionnaires, personal interviews and observation were used for data collection. The major reasons behind urban agriculture were: low incomes, unemployment and large families. The study revealed that UA alleviated poverty because residents produce food, generate income from surplus and save household income which is channeled to other needs. The age group of 31-60 with women dominating was most active in the practice and both the employed and unemployed were involved in UA.  Kadoma city council supports UA by creating agro-zones. The major limitations of UA in Eiffel Flats are land shortage and inadequate resources such as inputs and draft power. The council is recommended to create more agro-zones and to register farmers with AGRITEX department so that they could benefit from government supplied inputs as well as technical knowhow from the local extension services. Keywords: nexus, poverty alleviation, urban agricultur

Natural hazard mitigation strategies review: Actor–network theory and the eco-based approach understanding in Zimbabwe

This paper presents the literature reviewed on the evolution of the natural hazard mitigation perspective and an overview of its progression to date. The article uses information taken from diverse sources such as a globally accepted scientific databases Google Scholar (http://www.scholar.google.co.in), Scopus (http://www.scopus.com), Science Direct (http://www.sciencedirect.com), SpringerLink (http://www.springer.co.in) and Wiley (http://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com); conference proceedings; theses; abstracts; and impact and non-indexed journals. It demonstrates how the actor–network theory (ANT) theoretical framework can be applicable to Muzarabani in Zimbabwe as a tool for analysing and elaborating hazard mitigation strategies. Actor–network theory is gradually becoming influential but is still a bone of contention, mainly because of its radical approach. Actor–network theory treats humans and non-humans as equal actors. In spite of its limitations, studies have shown that an ANT-grounded approach is useful in providing a framework for the comprehension of the complexities of daily life during natural hazard episodes and the dynamic role of Ziziphus mauritiana in the network in Muzarabani, Zimbabwe. The theory can demonstrate its importance in respect of how social results are produced as a result of linkages among diverse actors (human and non-human) in a network. The article argues that if ANT is used logically it is useful in examining eco-based natural hazard mitigation and resilience approaches in semi-arid regions.https://doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v11i1.62