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Understanding the role of big rivers in Africa

by Elisa Calamita, 23.05.2019
Drinking, fishing, washing, transporting: the Zambezi River provides many services for resident people in its basin (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita/Davide Vanzo)
Drinking, fishing, washing, transporting: the Zambezi River provides many services for resident people in its basin (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita/Davide Vanzo)
Drinking, fishing, washing, transporting: the Zambezi River provides many services for resident people in its basin (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita/Davide Vanzo)

At the start of my PhD, I had the opportunity to travel many times to the Zambezi River Basin to carry out a water quality-monitoring program designed to answer the scientific questions of my research plan.

I was not alone during such trips. I mainly travelled with Cristian Teodoru, an expert on water quality who is so experienced in the Zambezi River Basin that he is no longer considered a ‘musungu’ (white foreigner) by the locals. Working together, I learned a lot about fieldwork—fieldwork in the tropics in particular, focusing on precision in measurements and water quality issues. However, here I would like to tell you about another lesson I learned during my experience.

In Zambia, I became acutely aware that humans are just one of many species in this world. The perception of the natural world in our western countries is very different – we have cut ourselves off from other species. We are used to thinking about one species at a time, for example in the way that we think about different species in a zoo. In the Zambezi River Basin, many living species coexist and interact on a daily basis. Witnessing this coexistence of species brought with it a much broader range of emotions. I, for instance, had never felt ‘real’ fear of big animals before. Having a crocodile trying to hunt your water-collecting instrument, or having an elephant running behind our car was totally new for me.
The Zambezi River at the Victoria Falls during the wet and dry season. Seasonality is not just a concept (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita)
The Zambezi River at the Victoria Falls during the wet and dry season. Seasonality is not just a concept (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita)
A shared need for water forms the basis of coexistence between species. It is fascinating how vegetation phenology, food availability, the migration of animals, and the activity of predators are all easily explained by the water cycle in the Zambezi River Basin. The Zambezi is a real living character, the main protagonist in this story, and every species is willing to follow his rules. It is the director of any concert in its basin, of both the good and the bad ‘music’. Also for humans—the relationship between human activity and river dynamics is in fact very straightforward. People use the Zambezi’s water for drinking, washing and transport. Fishing is one of the main livelihood for many residents in this basin.
Animals, water and land - the concept of ‘ecosystem’ is much more tangible and easier to absorb when experiencing life in such contexts. The great anthropogenic changes happening in the Zambezi Basin together with changes of the climate impose pressures on this river ecosystem and therefore research about solutions for a more sustainable development of the basin needs to be prioritized.
Baboons, monkeys and impala along the road in the Kafue National Park (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita)
I am grateful for all that I was able to experience! And now with what I learned, I can come back to my research project: how will new dams affect the Zambezi’s water?
Coexistence of species in the Zambezi River. We humans are just one of the many species. (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita/Davide Vanzo)
Coexistence of species in the Zambezi River. We humans are just one of the many species. (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita/Davide Vanzo)
Coexistence of species in the Zambezi River. We humans are just one of the many species. (photo credit: ETH Zurich/Elisa Calamita/Davide Vanzo)
The Kafue River, main tributary of the Zambezi River (photo credit: Davide Vanzo)
The author with local residents along the Zambezi River downstream Kariba dam. What is their perception of this dam? (photo credit: Christian Teodoru)
The impoundment created by the Itezhi Tezhi dam along the Kaue River (photo credit: Davide Vanzo)
More information about the DAFNE project
Read More
More information about Elisa's on-going research
Read More
Read about the experiences on the Zambezi river of Elisa's research colleague Scott Winton
Read More

About the author

Elisa Calamita conducted her Mater of Science in Environmental Engineering at University of Trento in Italy and now she is a PhD Student at ETH Zurich. A strong affinity with water science and her curiosity led her to her current project on water quality in the Zambezi River Basin.
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