5.3 The Zambesi basin

5.3 赞比西流域

The Zambezi River is the largest river system in southern Africa andthe fourth longest on the continent. Together with its tributaries, it flows through eight countries, namelyAngola, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Figure 5.4)and has two major man-made dams, Lake Kariba and Cahora Bassadam as well as the famous Victoria Falls (Figure 5.5). 

The river is vital to the livelihoods of many citizens of thesecountries as it provides hydropower and water for urban, industrial andagricultural sectors.  However, due tothe steep terrain and poor soils along much of the river, few irrigationschemes have been developed except for those in the lowland flood-plain inMozambique.

The dams (built in 1958 and 1969) have also changed the pattern ofwater flow, and thus the agricultural practices, which were traditionallydependent on the seasonal flooding bringing both water and silt to the fertileflood plain