STUDY ON LAND USE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE OF DAMBO

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Dambos are grass-covered wetland which is seasonally waterlogged. The dambo in Southern Africa covers an area of about 3.6 per cent of Zimbabwe and 4.6 per cent of Zambia.As agricultural production had become an important quest in Sub-Saharan Africa, the dambo areas have begun to get much attention because of its moist conditions. The more area of dambo is brought under cultivation, the more environmental problems occur. As dambo's environment is very vulnerable and intermingled in nature, it is very urgent necessity that the process and mechanisms of degradation, desiccation and soil erosion of dambo area should be made much clear. This is the reason why this research project was organized.In this research, we conducted very intensive field survey at one of the dambo, called Kanchoncho at Chinena village, Zambia and also comparative study at Zimbabwe and Nigeria. It has become clear that, since the economy of these countries had become stagnant, the demand for agricultural land use at the dambo dambo area had become very big. And in the countries like Zambia where there is no legal restrictions, people have rushed to the dambo area, and in Zimbabwe where people are prohibited to use the dambo area, people's demand for the land of dambo has increased.The Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) which is widely adapted in the Sub-Saharan countries these days has strengthened these tendencies, which hastened the deterioration of dambo environment.