Climate change education in schools, key to tackling climate crisis

By ANNIE ZULU

“I don’t know exactly what climate change is, but I have heard about it a couple of times on television and radio, says 10-year-old Rachael Mulenga while shyly playing with her fingers.

Rachael, who is in her fifth grade at a public primary school in Lusaka’s Kabanana Compound told this reporter that she only learnt about the water cycle and tree planting, but has not been taught anything about climate change at school.

Although she has witnessed the impacts of climate change such as floods, she has no Idea what really causes them.

“When I visited my grandparents in Eastern Province two years ago during the rainy season, I saw water flow which damaged all the crop in my grandparents field and other people’s. I was so terrified because I have never seen anything like that before, my grandparents looked worried and my holiday was cut shot, I had  to come back to my parent in Lusaka,” she said.

For 12-year-old Dalitso Banda who goes to a private school in  Lusaka´s six miles area and in grade six, the word climate change is new to him as he appeared blank when asked about it.

Dalitso has never heard of  the term before, but just like Rachael he had learnt some basics of the environment at school.

He believes that droughts are as a results of God’s anger toward human beings for sinning.

“I have heard people say God stops the rains when people do bad things and I think its true. If we could all do good things and please God, then we will have enough rains,” Dalitso said.

These two stories shows how a lot children in Zambia lack awareness on climate change despite being far more vulnerable to climate-related disasters and associated health risks than any other social group.

Children in class- picture by USAID Zambia

The climate education situation

A report by the International Union  for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) indicate that, the subject of climate change is relatively new in Zambia, and consequently people especially children have a limited or no understanding of it, that is, they are aware of the localised effects of climate change, but cannot associate them with it.

A Climate Change Researcher Mathews Sichone stated that climate change is not directly captured in Zambia's school curriculum.

“It is just cryptically integrated in the various environmental themes and issues under the integrated science section of the curriculum,” he said.

The impact of climate change on children

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), approximately 1 billion children are at an 'extremely high risk' of the impacts of the climate crisis.

In Zambia just like many parts of the world, people are facing multiple climate-related impacts such as severe drought and flooding, air pollution and water scarcity, leaving  children vulnerable to malnutrition and disease. The crisis also threatens their education, development, survival and future.

Climate Change Activist Taonga Phiri observed that when flood hits in Zambia, many children especially girls are often forced to drop out of school and work more than they are supposed to.

“There is a general culture in Zambia that girls have to help with house chores and in some rural areas they are expected to work for more than 12 hours in the field. With the added issues caused by flooding, families are forced to work in the field even harder to make up for the losses and all of this results in labour that cuts down on girls’ study and school time.”

“In urban areas, flooding sometimes lead to the closure of schools. The destruction caused by these natural disasters also leads to unemployment, which eventually pushes families into poverty and leaves children malnourished,” Ms Phiri said.

Importance of climate education to children

Child climate education is one of the major keys to solving the climate crisis because children are the future.

National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) Executive Director Aaron Chansa shared the same opinion with Mr Sichone that children in Zambia do not learn about climate change at school apart from just learning about the basics of environmental protection.

Mr Chansa said many children in the country finish high school without any formal education about the crisis that was already harming their communities and fundamentally reshaping life on earth.

“Schools just teach about recycling and the importance of planting trees, they don’t relate it to our day-to day-lives. There was no real importance placed on the subject.”

“Some children only learn what they know about climate change from the news, not their teachers. That’s part of the problem, they’re not learning much about this in school,” he said.

He has since called on Government to introduce a climate change curriculum from primary school all the way to secondary school, stressing that children are never too young to learn about it as it affects them too.

“Climate change should be a part of the curriculum being taught in schools and should be made relevant to the daily life of children. They should be give the tools to understand the effects of a changing climate so that they can take well-informed and effective action in the future,” he said.

Mr Chansa further said incorporating climate education into school curriculum was key to ensuring children in Zambia grow up understanding the importance of conservation.

“Their minds are still in the process of learning, receiving and accepting what they hear. Creating change in the classroom begins with Government action on climate change and climate education. The schools can only follow what the leaders have put in place,” he said.

From a teacher’s perspective

Teachers are often the first and best sources of trusted information for children.

Ginandra  Shangozhi, a primary school teacher at Cevrus International School in Lusaka is of the view that it is the responsibility of teachers to prepare pupils for a future shaped by climate change.

According to her, the impacts of climate change were becoming more visible and that children were not spared, hence the need to educate them about it.

She said children were very curious about climate change and interested in learning about it.

Cevrus International School Teacher- Ginandra  Shangozhi

“I teach a class of very little children, but I am able to see their optimism and interest about climate change each time I mention it to them and they want to be talking about it in class,” she said.

Ms Shangozhi is however limited on how far she can go in talking about climate change with her students, as it was not in the curriculum.

“I always try and blend it in environmental topics and talk about it in simple terms to pupils, but I can not go into detail because its not part of the curriculum.  If only we could have, it would be much easier,” she said.

She also said trainings and sensitization on climate change for teachers were needed as many teachers had little knowledge about the topic.

“This would do along way in ensuring teachers have clear understanding of climate change as they pass on knowledge to children,” she said.

Government’s response

Successful climate education for children is dependant on curriculum review and the integration of climate change into the educational system.

The Ministry of Education is responsible for determining the policies and direction of the educational system in Zambia. It is also in charge of distributing learning resources, capacity building and curriculum decision making.

When contacted for a comment on the climate education situation and  climate change programs (if any), Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary for Technical Service Joe Kamoko told this reporter that he could not comment at that particular time because he did not have details and needed to consult first.

Mr Kamoko however, advised this reporter to call the following day around 2pm as he would have consulted by then.

But when this reporter called as advised, the Permanent Secretary said still had no details.

This response is a clear indicator that child climate education is not given the attention it deserves in Zambia.

The urgency and significance of teaching children about what climate change is, how it affects them and adapt to it can never be overemphasised.

Educating them on climate change, practices that lead to it and those that can lead away from it will benefit not just the individual and community, but the entire nation, as children hold the future.

 

This story was produced under the WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN) Social Impact Reporting Initiative (SIRI) Special Edition on Climate Change. Any views expressed in this story are those of the author and do not represent the views of WIN and its partners.

Siavonga fishers deploy new strategies to adapt to Climate Change

 BY ANNIE ZULU, Siavonga

As a fisherman in Siavonga District of Southern Province Zambia, Arnold Nyambe 44, depends on the resources of the Lake Kariba to provide for his wife and seven children. It is how he has earned his income for over 15 years; by taking to the waters for several hours everyday.

However,  the water levels have decreased and yield has become low in the past few years, forcing Mr Nyambe to travel longer distances on the lake in search of fishes for a good catch. This is making his livelihood and that of his fellow fishers more difficult.

“Fishing is now a challenge, we don’t get as much fish as we used to some years ago. We only get the most during the rainy season when water levels get high. Sadly, in the dry season fishers who can’t afford mechanised boats have to paddle far into the waters for many hours before getting some catch and some of them end up loosing their lives on the lake,” Mr Nyambe said.

                             Fisherman Arnold Nyambe in his boat at Kanyelele harbour in Siavonga

More than 20 percent of animal protein intake for people in Zambia is from fish, according to a World Bank report, hence there is an important role of fish products in the food and nutrition security of the Zambian population, especially the urban poor and people living with HIV and AIDS.

A local fish trader Sandra Hakalima told this reporter that most people regardless of social status enjoy fish.

Ms Hakalima said even with unfavourable weather conditions experienced sometimes,  it was important to always have enough stock and at affordable prices.

“Fish must be available, because people love it and it is affordable. Both the rich and the poor at least afford to buy even Kapenta  (small whitebait type fish), we wish prices could  be reduced even further so that everyone can have it,” she said.

The fishers in Siavonga are now forced to come up with strategies to adapt to these changes they are experiencing.

Impact of climate change on fishing

Despite Zambia's rich endowment of water resources, the fisheries sector has only contributed between US$51 and US$135 million per annum to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the years, a World Bank report further states.

This relatively small contribution at the macro level masks important contributions of fish production to the rural economy through employment, earnings and as a source of food.

It is estimated that more than 300,000 people are deriving their livelihood directly as fishers and fish farmers, or indirectly as traders, processors and other service providers.

Although the sector has continuously faced challenges such as illegal fishing and weak governance, climate change impacts have completely changed the game.

With fewer fishes to catch, the livelihood of thousands of small-scale fishers is at risk.

The high Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions which drive global climate change has been identified as one of the major reasons for declining of  fish on lake Kariba.

Chief Simamba of Siavonga District’s Representative Phanwel Simamba said some of trees around the water bodies in the area have been cut for solid fuel consumption thereby affecting the rain patterns.

Mr Simamba noted that Siavonga has not been receiving enough rainfall for some years and gets extremely hot.

“The fishing industry in Siavonga has gone down drastically, it is not like in our days when we were growing up in the 1970s up to the 1990s when we had enough water and fishers who were mainly the white community made a lot of money because the catches were good.”

“Now a lots of trees have been cut down which is now affecting the weather. Siavonga is hot most of the times and sometimes when you get on the lake, the water is as hot as if its being boiled. There is a temperature for fish, so when its too hot the fish go down deeper and most artisanal fishers don’t have nets that  can go 10 meters down,” he said.

Chief Simamba ’s Representative Phanwel Simamba

Just like Mr Simamba, Siavonga District Council Chairperson Given Kwapu talked about the irritably high temperature in the district as a result of uncontrolled cutting down of trees.

According to him, the temperature gets  as high as 43 degrees Celsius.

“When you are coming from Lusaka, just a few kilometres away there is rain but Siavonga has no rain and is very hot, mainly because of cutting down of trees,” Mr Kwapu  said.

He however, stressed that the local authority is working with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)  in finding ways of preserving trees.

WWF is an international non-governmental organization that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment.

“I’m happy with the coming in of  WWF to partner with us in coming up with ways to mitigate climate change activities,” he said.

Siavonga District Council Chairperson Given Kwapu 

Fishers’ new strategies

Zambia ratified the Paris agreement on climate change in 2016 and one of the goals of the agreement is to foster the inclusion of a longer adaptation goal by increasing the ability to adapt to adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience.

Siavonga Kapenta Fishers Association Chairperson Fined Mutempa said fishers are trying their best to adapt to climate change and sustain their livelihood in their own way.

Mr Mutempa mentioned acquaculture, use of mechanized boats and fishing deeper into the water as some of the strategies being applied by fishers.

“Whether we like it or not, climate change is here. We just have to look for ways to cope with it because we must feed our families, most fishers are now shifting to motorboats, even though they are expensive and not every fisher can afford them, they help a lot. They enable fishers to travel long distances on the water very fast and catch more fish."

“Fishers are also turning to aquaculture, despite the fact that its expensive, so that during the dry season when they can’t catch plenty, they supply fish from ponds,” Mr Mutempa said.

He added that sensitization meetings against bad fishing practices have also continuously been held.

“We have been having meetings with fishers, nobody fishing from the lake is allowed to use chemicals for fishing. Although it was popular before, now it is completely banned because it causes more damage,” he said.

Appeals to Government

Mr Mutempa further observed that fishing has been disturbed by the increased price of fuel.

He implored Government to consider reducing the price of fuel to a favourable one to lessen the challenges faced by fishers.

“Fishing has become expensive because of the high price of fuel. Fishers are trying to use motorboats which use fuel, now they can not catch more fishes because of luck of fuel and this is also affecting the price of fish which is supposed to be low considering that its majority of Zambian’s favourite. The price of fuel has to come down,” he said.

And the local traditional leadership wants Government to come with more programs to encourage acquaculture, especially among the youths and women.

Mr Simamba said it was difficult for Zambians to venture into acquaculture because it was expensive.

“We want to have more Zambians venture into acquaculture, so that they should own development. We hope with the new Government more funds will be allocated to encouraged more youths and women  get involved in acquaculture,” he said.

Fishing is not just a livelihood for Siavonga fishers, but it also reflects their cultural identity. This is why they are reluctant to completely abandon it for other options but rather look for strategies to sustain their livelihood.

And even though the climate challenges in the district will remain a persistent threat, and continue to make their livelihood difficult, they remain optimistic about the future, hopeful that every new day will be better than yesterday.

This story was produced under the WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN) Social Impact Reporting Initiative (SIRI) Special Edition on Climate Change. Any views expressed in this story are those of the author and do not represent the views of WIN and its partners.

Meet young women turning world green

 

By ANNIE ZULU

GREEN Technology is becoming increasingly critical in addressing climate change and is currently a male-dominated field, despite women being more affected by this global phenomenon than men.

A recent study by the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub shows the existing disparity between men and women working in the clean energy industry in 2020; 30% female to 70% male.

However, this might soon change as more women are joining the industry and changing that narrative by taking the lead in developing Green Tech innovations to help protect the planet.

Green Technology is an umbrella term that describes the use of technology and science to create products and services that are environmentally friendly.

Meet two Zambian young female Green Tech innovators who are making a mark with their innovations in the country.

1.     Jane Nakasamu 26

Chief Executive Officer for Greenbelt Energy Zambia- Jane Nakasamu

Jane is a Renewable Energy Expert and Chief Executive Officer for Greenbelt Energy Zambia, a company bottling biogas from organic waste and producing smart stoves, as an affordable energy solution that enables primarily women to cook fast, safe and clean.

According to her, the high rate of deforestation in Zambia prompted her to set up her company  and be part of the people offering solutions to climate change.

¨In Zambia 90% of the population are dependent on charcoal and firewood for cooking, this has led to charcoal led to deforestation, making Zambia one of the highest in the world with 300,000 ha of forest being lost every year, so Greenbelt Energy is a social enterprise saving trees and lives,¨ Jane said.

She works with women, youths and farmers in selected communities around the country to turn waste into energy.

¨ We are currently working in Lusaka, Kitwe and Chipata where we have a 100 direct sales agents mostly women and youths who effectively distribute our products to target customers. We recently conducted in feasibility study in Chipata in partnership with the Global Council for Sustainable Industrial Development and Msekera Junction Industrial Park to provide biogas a biogas stoves to 2,500 households within the industrial park, she said.

Her  innovation has won awards among them, the 2021 Meaningful Business Award, 2021 SEED Award, 2020 Africa Funding Tour Award, 2019 Boost up award from the Southern African Innovation Support Program and 2019 Fembiobiz Award from the Southern African Network for Biosciences.

Jane was also last year appointed by the World Business Angels Investment Forum as an International Partner for Zambia during its Grand Assembly.
¨I have always dreamed of becoming a diplomat, the appointment enables me to function as an 'International Business Diplomat' supporting start-ups and companies in Zambia to access the world’s equity investment markets and, Zambia will now be able to connect more with the global investors market, which will open up splendid opportunities for the country,¨ she said.

Several investors have shown interest too in funding her innovation and talks are still ongoing.

Asides the business aspect, Jane has been active in advocacy work on climate change too, as she views it a serious issue that needs to be addressed urgently.

She has been sensitizing young people in communities, mainly on the effects of deforestation.

¨We have had trainings with young people on climate change, we can not ignore it anymore, because its impact is been seen and felt. Over the years in Zambia we have our rain season delayed. If we do not pay much attention it may be even worse than covid-19,¨ she said.

 

2.     Stella Ng'ona 24

                                                Co-founder of Trip-charc- Stella Ng'ona

Stella, is a 5th year Pharmacy Student at the University of Zambia (UNZA) Ridgeway Campus and Co-founder of Trip-charc, an initiative that produces clean and affordable energy blocks made from waste.

Trip-charc was born to help Zambia attain Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 7 of the United Nations, which encourages nations to have affordable and clean Energy.

She says the energy blocks are 40% cheaper than wood charcoal and smokeless,  and have a high calorific value compared to wood charcoal.

¨Using energy blocks as an alternative energy source that reduces wood-cutting that is contributing to deforestation. This allows trees to remain standing as carbon sinks, which prevents further climate change. The fact that our blocks are produced from agricultural wastes makes them way cheaper and affordable,¨ Stella said.

 

 Energy blocks produced by Trip-charc

However, she highlights that lack of machinery is a huge hindrance to producing enough energy blocks.

¨At the moment we do not have any source of funding, we fund our project through small contributions with my other six group members, so we are unable to produce enough energy blocks as we would want to,¨ she said.

She urged government and other stakeholders to support women-led innovations.

She noted that women have taken up the mantle to come up with innovations and be involved in issues of climate, but lack enough support.

¨There are a number of women-led innovations focusing on environmental issues, the only problem is that they do not have tools to do more aside from just speaking about it. There is need for financial support through grants, venture capital and debt financing.

¨Education is also crucial to promoting climate action, It helps people understand and address the impacts of the climate crisis, empowering them with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes is needed too, ¨ She said.

Women have a critical role to play in addressing climate change, by being the engine for climate innovation and their engagement in every process of proffering solutions to climate change can never be over emphasised.

Supporting women’s involvement and investment in innovation processes and green technologies will not only enhance their capabilities and livelihoods but also contribute to the wellbeing and resilience of their communities and overall gender equality.

 

This story was produced under the WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN) Social Impact Reporting Initiative (SIRI) Special Edition on Climate Change. Any views expressed in this story are those of the author and do not represent the views of WIN and its partners.

Enduring the Charcoal, Firewood hazard

 

By ANNIE ZULU

After properly tying her Chitenge (wrapper) around her waist, Beatrice Kabunda 57, bends down to blow air on her slow-burning firewood to intensify the flame.

A few minutes later, she looks dizzy and struggles to stand. She constantly coughs and her eyes are teary too as a result of inhaling the smoke emanating from the firewood.

This is what she has been dealing with for over 10years since she started her small ‘Kachasu’ brewing business.

Kachasu is an illegal traditional distilled spirit consumed mainly in rural areas and poor urban suburbs of  Zambia and is normally brewed from sorghum and maize.

Beatrice who resides in Chibolya, the most notorious slum in the country’s capital Lusaka told this reporter that despite severe effects that the continuous use of firewood had caused on her health, she is not quitting her business any time soon.

Beatrice trying to intensify the flame of her firewood.

“I usually experience  chest pain, cough, teary eyes and back pain, but what can I do? I am a widow and mother of four children, I also have five extra dependants under my care. if I stop this business, how will I feed them and send them to school?  I have to endure because it´s the only source of income I have,” Beatrice said.

Her children, who sometimes helps her prepare the spirit also experience similar health challenges.

Asked if her family has ever sought medical help, Beatrice declined saying going to the hospital was expensive for them.

“Doctors just give prescriptions, there are no drugs in hospitals and one has to buy drugs which is expensive. When we don’t feel fine we use local herbs, its much cheaper for us,” she said.

Another woman Mutinta Maambo 37, of  Lusaka´s  Matero Township also battles with constant headache, cough, and back pain associated with cooking with solid fuels.

She uses charcoal to prepare food for her family and has done so for over 5years.

According to her, the continuous hike of electricity tariffs by the state owned electricity utility, Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) has made her resort to using charcoal for domestic cooking.

For Mutinta, using an electric stove is the only clean method of cooking she knows and she says is a luxury as its becoming more expensive.

ZESCO  has increased traffic by 27 per cent, 35 per cent, 26 percent, 16 per cent, 75 per cent in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017 and the whopping 200 per cent in 2019, respectively

And recently, Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane announced the Government´s decision to scrap fuel and electricity subsidies in 2022 as part of a structural economic adjustment program under the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a move that would once again adjust electricity tariffs upwards.

Dr. Musokotwane said decision was necessary to halt the negative cash bleed on the national treasury through subsidy support.

Currently,  K100 buys about 43.2 ZESCO units and it is expected that units of that same amount would automatically reduce once the electricity tariff hike is effected.

Mutinta stressed that she has an electric stove in her house, but has however packed it as she could not afford to use it.

“Using an electric stove nowadays is a privileged for people with money. The electricity units depletes  quicker when you use it, so people like me who can´t afford to buy enough ZESCO units have no choice but to use charcoal,” She said.

She admits that the smoke from the charcoal makes her sick but she’s helpless.

“I feel dizzy and sick most of the times, especially if the charcoal is too smoky. I hate cooking with charcoal but there is nothing I can do, ” She said.

Beatrice and Mutinta´s stories are some of several stories of women in Zambia, whose lives are being threatened by the harmful effect of inhaling the smoke that comes from cooking with firewood and charcoal.

Health implications

According to a 2018 World Health Organisation (WHO) report close to 4 million people die every year prematurely from illness attributable to household air pollution from inefficient cooking practices using polluting stoves paired with solid fuels.

Many of these people live in under-developed countries like Zambia.

Women and children often bear the burden of household fuel collection and food preparation, which require substantial time allocations when the energy source is firewood or charcoal.

Speaking on other negative effects of cooking with firewood and charcoal, Gertrude Tembo, a medical expert, said the effect include irritation of the eyes known as conjunctivitis, which she said may result to partial or total blindness and low back pain from excessive bending chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), among others.

 “Conjunctivitis is an infection that covers the white part of the eyeball and often results in blindness. People cooking with firewood also risks having a respiratory condition like COPD, due to long term exposure to smoke, they have a chronic cough and experience difficulty in breathing,” Dr Tembo said.

Effect on climate change

Climate Change Activist Rachael Mwamba , observed that cooking with firewood and charcoal is one of the factors that contribute to deforestation which is having negative impacts on the environment by fuelling climate change.

With approximately 67% of its land surface covered by forest, Zambia is one of the most forested countries in Africa. However, at the global level, Zambia has been identified as one of the top 10 greenhouse gas emitting countries as a result of deforestation and degradation.

The country´s deforestation rate is at a staggering 250,000 to 300,000 per year and one of the highest in the world, according to United Nations (UN) statistics.

Charcoal and wood fuel production was listed as one of the reasons behind this, yet it has continued despite campaigns against illegal felling of trees.

As forests grow, they battle against climate and emissions, preserve watersheds, stabilise soil and prevent erosion. They also help to protect the planet from a major greenhouse gas by absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2).

Way forward

Climate Change Expert Abel Musumali urged stakeholders to scale up sensitization of women on the negative  effects of cooking with solid fuels on their health and the environment.

Mr Musumali said there was  need to raise awareness on the need to shift to the use of energy clean methods of cooking.

“There is a need to let the women know about the negative effects of indoor pollution, there are alternative clean methods of cooking which are safer than cooking with firewood and charcoal such as briquette and biogas,” Mr Musumali said.

He said the reason why the world was shifting to renewable energy is ”because of its lack or at least minimal negative effect on the environment and health”.

 

This story was produced under the WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN) Social Impact Reporting Initiative (SIRI) Special Edition on Climate Change. Any views expressed in this story are those of the author and do not represent the views of WIN and its partners.