The Materiality of Lake Kariba

Beschreibung

Nearly 70 years after Elizabeth Colson and Ted Scudder began their pioneering research on the social and environmental impacts associated with the construction of the Kariba dam, Joshua Matanzima presents us with a 21^st century sequel. In rich ethnographic detail, the author tells the stories of the people whose lives are interlinked with this megastructure and its reservoir lake. Of particular interest is the chapter on religious aspects of Lake Kariba, a topic that has received very little academic attention thus far. An important contribution, of interest to any researcher focusing on the past, present and future of large dams. - Dr Christopher Schulz, University of St Andrews, UK.
This book is an exploration of one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs, Lake Kariba, created along the Zambezi River in central Africa. Originally built for electricity generation, as the lake reached its full capacity in 1963 it attracted other socioeconomic activities such as tourism, recreation, fisheries, and conservation. The material properties of the waterscape (including waves, strong winds, water volumes, deities and aquatic species) have shaped these socioeconomic activities since its creation. Community interpretations of the reservoir feature stories of fear, death, income generation, livelihoods, illegal cross-border trade, religion and everyday conflicts with wild animals. Drawing on extended ethnographic research and the author’s personal experience growing up around Lake Kariba, this empirically-rich book provides a nuanced discussion of the ways in which the waterscape shapes people’s lives and livelihoods. Additionally, the book explores the challenges of sustaining and preserving Lake Kariba's unique ecosystem amidst environmental pressures and competing demands for resources. Readers will gain a nuanced perspective of the significance of the lake, its relationship with neighboring communities, and its evolution over time.
Joshua Matanzima (PhD) is a Research Officer at the University of Queensland, Australia. He has co-edited several books including Lived Experiences of Borderland Communities in Zimbabwe and Tonga Livelihoods in Rural Zimbabwe.

This book is an exploration of one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs, Lake Kariba, created along the Zambezi River in central Africa. Originally built for electricity generation, as the lake reached its full capacity in 1963 it attracted other socioeconomic activities such as tourism, recreation, fisheries, and conservation. The material properties of the waterscape (including waves, strong winds, water volumes, deities and aquatic species) have shaped these socioeconomic activities since its creation. Community interpretations of the reservoir feature stories of fear, death, income generation, livelihoods, illegal cross-border trade, religion and everyday conflicts with wild animals. Drawing on extended ethnographic research and the author’s personal experience growing up around Lake Kariba, this empirically-rich book provides a nuanced discussion of the ways in which the waterscape shapes people’s lives and livelihoods. Additionally, the book explores the challenges of sustaining and preserving Lake Kariba's unique ecosystem amidst environmental pressures and competing demands for resources. Readers will gain a nuanced perspective of the significance of the lake, its relationship with neighboring communities, and its evolution over time.

Autor*in

Joshua Matanzima

Themen in »The Materiality of Lake Kariba«

Fisheries Tourism and development Rural and urban livelihoods Climate Change Borderlands Indigenous groups Zimbabwe Zambia Human-wildlife interactions Wildlife Conservation Nature-based tourism Landscapes

Stimmen zu »The Materiality of Lake Kariba«

“Lake Kariba began as a heap of concrete blocking the Zambezi River. It became so much more, as Joshua Matanzima tells us: a space of exclusion, livelihood, worship, and death. Water made it so – and in multiple ways. Matanzima’s ethnography explores the complex, often contradictory capacity of this and all waterscapes to make and unmake meaning and power across lines of difference.” Professor David McDermott Hughes, Rutgers University, author of Whiteness in Zimbabwe: Land, Race, and the Problem of Belonging.
This book provides a rich ethnography of the Kariba waterscape by incorporating such themes as religion, wildlife, tourism, fishing and trading. Crucially, it depicts the lake as active in configuring and affecting local lives and livelihoods. It thus contributes significantly to scholarly literature about and beyond Zimbabwe. -Professor Kirk Helliker, Rhodes University, South Africa.
Nearly 70 years after Elizabeth Colson and Ted Scudder began their pioneering research on the social and environmental impacts associated with the construction of the Kariba dam, Joshua Matanzima presents us with a 21^st century sequel. In rich ethnographic detail, the author tells the stories of the people whose lives are interlinked with this megastructure and its reservoir lake. Of particular interest is the chapter on religious aspects of Lake Kariba, a topic that has received very little academic attention thus far. An important contribution, of interest to any researcher focusing on the past, present and future of large dams. -Christopher Schulz, University of St Andrews, UK.

This well-researched, innovative study is a timely and needed contribution to the history of the Zambezi and the ways in which humans have been interacting with waterscapes more generally. Professor Julia Tischler, University of Basel, author of Light and Power for a Multiracial Nation. The Kariba Dam Scheme in the Central African Federation.

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