Bujibuji Simba Nyamaume
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- Feb 4, 2009
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Climate change in Tanzania: a search for water takes its toll
These photographs are part of a book, Changing Climate, Changing Lands, launched in Tanzania today. The book is part of a British Council programme that enables people around the world to better understand, document and communicate the causes and effects of climate change. Seven professional photojournalists were trained for five weeks and then sent out to record life at the sharp end of global warming.
In recent years unpredictable rainfall has reduced the availability of fresh water for the people of Namakongoro village in Lindi, Tanzania, eastern Africa
Forced to find an alternative, the community decided to explore the underground cave network used by rebels during the 1905 Maji Maji war. Digging down through the sand and dry topsoil, they gained access to the caves where they found a meagre supply of brackish water
The women walk to the caves each day to fetch water. Carrying buckets, they descend 30m on precarious homemade bamboo ladders
Filling the buckets is a long and arduous task
This adaptation has helped the village survive the drought, but poses extreme danger and hardship for the women who are responsible for collecting the water
Droughts and floods are the two major extreme climate events affecting Tanzania today. In recent years floods have left thousands homeless and destroyed crops. Droughts have also had a significant impact on lives of the poor and vulnerable in the east African nation
In six droughts from 1980-2008 more than 7.96 million people were affected, losing their livestock and crops and leaving them in fear of starvation. These people are the least responsible for global climate change, yet they are already among those most affected by it