Zimbabwe Country Report

The report assesses Zimbabwe's capacity for climate compatible development (CCD), identifying significant research and institutional gaps despite a strong tradition of academic publishing. It highlights the need for interdisciplinary research, curriculum innovation, and better integration of indigenous knowledge to address vulnerabilities in agriculture, water, and health.

• Zimbabwe is highly vulnerable to climate change, with projected temperature increases of around 2.5°C by 2050 and a predicted decrease in rainfall across all seasons by 2080, which will likely lead to the expansion of semi-arid conditions and scrub savannah.
• The agricultural sector is a primary vulnerability, with over five million Zimbabweans living in semi-arid zones who suffer disproportionately from droughts, flooding, and loss of crop lands.
• There is a significant gap in the formal education system, as climate change is not offered as a standalone course at any university and is generally not adequately addressed in primary or secondary school curricula.
• Zimbabwe possesses a strong research presence in climate change, particularly in agriculture and fisheries, with a high capacity for publishing in international literature, though many experienced academics have left the country due to economic decline.
• Critical institutional capacity gaps include the lack of a coordinated legislative framework for climate change, limited access to affordable meteorological data, and a shortage of funding and research facilities.
• There is a widespread lack of integration of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) into scientific research and climate adaptation strategies across various sectors.
• While some universities like Chinhoyi University of Technology have incorporated CCD into their curricula, most other institutions only 'integrate' climate aspects into existing courses rather than having a mainstreamed CCD approach.
• The report identifies specific centers of excellence and expertise, including the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for dryland agriculture and the Biomedical Research Training Institute (BRTI) for malaria research related to climate change.

APA

Lotz-Sisitka, H., & Urquhart, P. (2014). Zimbabwe Country Report. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SARUA-Vol2No12-Zimbabwe-Country-Report.pdf

Chicago

Lotz-Sisitka, Heila, and Penny Urquhart. Zimbabwe Country Report. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SARUA-Vol2No12-Zimbabwe-Country-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lotz-Sisitka |first1=Heila |last2=Urquhart |first2=Penny |title=Zimbabwe Country Report |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2014 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SARUA-Vol2No12-Zimbabwe-Country-Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lotzsisitka2014zimbabwe, author = {Lotz-Sisitka, Heila and Urquhart, Penny}, title = {{Zimbabwe Country Report}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SARUA-Vol2No12-Zimbabwe-Country-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }