By CHINOYI CHIPULU
The Zambia Alliance of Women (ZAW) has called for an urgent need of investing in climate resilient infrastructure and a measure to combat effects of climate change.
ZAW Executive Director Edah Chimya said Government should help the people to embrace climate mitigation and adaptation strategies without separating the two because they are two sides of the same coin.
Ms Chimya said ZAW has received a lot of complaints from farmers that their crops were not only affected by the current flooding but their food security was being threatened.
She wondered what would happen if their problem is not adequately sorted out but also what would be the status of the people in areas if the Bridges get washed away too by the heavy rains.
“There is need to come together and find solutions to the problems affecting the people,” she said.
She said climate change is here to stay and the people can only work towards finding solutions together.
“While mitigation efforts will lower or remove greenhouse gases, emissions from the atmosphere, adaptation efforts will help to adjust systems and communities to withstand the impact of climate change in their areas,” she said.
She said this can be done by protecting wetland; securing local people land rights, decentralizing energy distribution promotion of agro forestry and building resilient communities.
Ms Chimya urged the people to be environmental focused in their own small ways.
