ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Water
Sec. Water and Human Systems
This article is part of the Research TopicMainstreaming Sociohydrology: Towards Designing and Implementing Management InterventionsView all 3 articles
Community Water Scarcity Practices in Ngwezi River Basin, Southern Zambia
Provisionally accepted
- 1Rusangu University, Monze, Zambia
- 2University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
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Extreme droughts in southern Zambia have intensified water scarcity, triggering migration, livelihood disruption, and social tensions across the Ngwezi River Basin. In response, governments and development partners have constructed dams and drilled boreholes under various climate-resilience programs, yet the sustainability and institutional integration of these interventions remain uncertain. This study assessed how community water-management practices interact with formal governance systems across the basin, using the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework as an analytical lens. A mixed-methods design combining household surveys, focus group discussions, and key-informant interviews was employed. Chi-square tests revealed significant regional variation in water-management practices (p < 0.05), while qualitative data illuminated how cultural norms, institutional support, and hydrological settings shape local adaptation. Results show that communities employ diverse strategies—rainwater harvesting, soil-moisture conservation, crop diversification, and social water-sharing agreements—which reflect strong local agency but limited engagement from formal institutions such as the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA). Participants expressed concern that existing state and NGO programs often overlook customary governance structures and inequities in access. The study concludes that strengthening water security in the Ngwezi Basin requires hybrid governance: integrating local ecological knowledge and customary authority into formal IWRM mechanisms through inclusive decision-making and co-management. Such an approach would enhance resilience, equity, and long-term sustainability of water resources in Zambia's semi-arid regions.
Keywords: Climate Change, water governance, integrated water resources management, Rainwater Harvesting, Community adaptation
Received: 30 Apr 2025; Accepted: 03 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wankie, Chisola, Nyanga and Sichigabula. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Richman Wankie
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