Impacto econômico e ambiental da Albufeira de Cahora Bassa na actividade pesqueira, estudo de caso: Chipalapala, 1974 a 2001

Abstract

The study was carried out in Chipalapala, located close to the Cahora Bassa reservoir. Its objective is to understand the economic and environmental implications of fishing activities, resulting from the changes that occurred with the formation of the reservoir. From the study it was found that, before the reservoir, the population of Chipalapala did not have a strong fishing tradition, that is, only a small number of people were dedicated to it in the Zambezi River, catching in small quantities, species such as Tilapia andersonii (Pende) and Hidrocynus vittatus, (N'chene), which only served for subsistence. The instruments used for this purpose were basically handmade, such as the hook, “akombe” nets, “ntuo” traps and poison. The ecosystem of the area currently occupied by the reservoir was adapted to the periodicity of the floods and the narrowing of the river bed; conditions that allowed the growth of some plant and animal species, adapted to the variations of current waters. With the increase in the volume and area occupied by the waters, an immediate effect of the dam, there was a need to resettle the populations from Chicoa Velha to other regions, some of them unsuitable for the practice of agriculture. They are, for example, Chicoa Nova, Estima and Chinhanda. With the location of Chipalapala remaining, closer (1000 m) to the waters, the environmental conditions changed, giving rise to the redesign of a whole set of cultural practices previously adopted by the local populations. Fishing can be mentioned, before the reservoir, activity of the last plan, later it became more widespread(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)