Risk Returns

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An integrated approach to disaster

mitigation at Nyachilenda River

Abel Chigunduru, Engineering Coordinator and

Charlie Kabanga, Programme Coordinator, Disaster Risk Reduction and Food Security,

GOAL Malawi

sanje district, in the far south of Malawi, is one of

the most vulnerable districts in the country to floods

and drought. GOAL, an Irish international relief and

development NGO, has been working in Nsanje since 2004,

initially as a partner of the World Food Programme on food

distribution, then transitioning to long-term community resil-

ience programmes. In order to build comprehensive resilience to

natural disasters it is essential to facilitate local-level prepared-

ness for the alternating hazards of floods and drought, including

provision of necessary technical support. The current challenge

is to continue improving community preparedness to potentially

devastating flash flooding while most households are struggling

with food insecurity after crop failures caused by erratic rains

during the rainy season.

GOAL is responding through linked Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)

and food security projects, funded by the Disaster Preparedness arm

of the European Commission Humanitarian Office (DIPECHO) and

by the mainstream European Commission Humanitarian Office

(ECHO). The focus of the DIPECHO project is on capacity build-

ing of community Civil Protection Committees from village up to

district level, strengthening the district government’s DRR capacity

and refining early warning systems (with exchange visits to counter-

part community organisations and local government in Mozambique

contributing to all of these aspects); while the focus of the ECHO

project is on improving food security of vulnerable households via

trialling climate-shock varieties of seeds and via Cash for Work

activities on flood mitigation works and tree planting, which in turn

substantially reduce disaster losses.

A holistic approach to DRR has improved the resilience of commu-

nities living in flood-prone areas, as illustrated by the case of the

Traditional Authority area (sub-district) of Ndamera.

Issues faced in Ndamera

The people in Ndamera started experiencing flash floods from the

Nyachilenda River in 1978, according to local elders. They blame

the influx of Mozambican refugees fleeing the protracted civil war

in their country. The refugees would indiscriminately cut trees to

clear land for agriculture, and would settle on fragile lands (wetlands

and mountain slopes) as long as the land was tillable. The situation

was made worse by the fact that during this time land distribution

in Malawi was handled by political figures. Traditional leaders’ roles

had been reduced to those of virtual onlookers. They suspected that

politicians had an incentive to bring in more people as this would

increase their support base. Refugees’ allocated land

exceeded the sustainable carrying capacity of the land

and this resulted in massive deforestation, land degra-

dation and silting of rivers and streams.

The Ndamera area has often suffered from crop failure

due to erratic rains, flash floods and unsustainable agri-

cultural practices. In cases of severe erratic rains, the

population has resorted to stream bank and, in some

cases, riverbed cultivation as community members seek

to take advantage of residual moisture from the floods.

There are no strict bylaws to curb this practice.

All the nine villages in Group Village Head (GVH)

Ndamera (Ndamera, Katsano, Malemia, Thipa, Kadambe,

Mankhangwe, Dalesi, Zavedo, Karikoka) are affected. At

least 300 houses are usually affected by flash floods when-

ever there is a flood. Though there is no record of human

deaths, structure and asset loss has been very high with

houses and toilets falling and crops, grain reserves, goats,

chickens and bicycles being swept away. Ndamera Full

Primary School, with an enrolment of 1,713 pupils, is not

spared. The schoolyard is usually flooded and attendance

significantly reduced as pupils from across Nyachilenda

River, as well as young pupils from the whole school

catchment area, do not come to school. Several other

infrastructures including the local Post Office, Ndamera

Court building, Extension Planning Area offices, Ntowe

Community Day Secondary School and Ndamera Training

Centre have also often been affected by floods.

Geography of the Ndamera area

Ndamera lies some 45 metres above mean sea level with very

highaverage summer temperatures (42°C)

, lowandunevenly

distributed annual rainfall (590mm) and poorly drained soils.

Almost 35 per cent of Ndamera lies in the Ndinde marsh

along the Shire River. When the Nyachilenda River reaches

the Ndinde marsh it ceases to have a defined channel and

discharges itswater into themarshes. TheNyachilenda River’s

source is in the hilly Kalitera area, 540metres above mean sea

level and some 16 kilometres fromNdamera Primary School.

The rivermeanders fromthe uplands for 7kilometres at gradi-

ents of over 5per cent,with the last 9kilometres atmore gentle

gradients. Most of the silt comes from the uplands due to a

combination of poor agricultural practices, lack of soil conser-

vationmethods and population pressure.

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