In Lusaka, climate change has impacted on river ecosystems which supply water and sources of livelihood to city residents. Prolonged droughts and floods hamper the agricultural sector, which is central to the country's economic strength. Managing water resources sustainably and coupling them with nature-based solutions (NbS) could make residents more climate resilient and improve their economic standing.
Few NbS-linked initiatives for climate risk reduction and water security have been planned. These include groundwater protection projects focused on strategic areas that support water supply to the city and improving capacities for water resource management. In addition to this, Zambian city governments have expressed interest in integrating NbS for climate adaptation in over 40 informal settlements.
Tuwe Pamoja seeks to harness this interest and Zambia’s unique needs and risks to build a network of best practices that enable the use of NbS to create climate-resilient cities.
Lusaka team
Tuwe project activities within Lusaka are overseen by a team of locally rooted leads who provide acacemic and community-linked perspectives.
City Academic Lead is Dr Gilbert Siame, from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Zambia (UNZA). He brings expertise in urban climate resilience, processes of co-governance and social science research. The Academic Team includes Musonda Chipampata and Peter Mulambia, both from UNZA.
Slum Dwellers International support includes Affiliate Lead Melanie Chiwara from the People’s Process on Housing and Poverty in Zambia (PPHPZ), with a focus on disability health and illness, sociology, community engagement and capacity building.
CLARE is a flagship research programme on climate adaptation and resilience, funded mostly (about 90%) by UK Aid through the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) & co-funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
