The Menda Data Pamo (MENDAPO) project embraces a Citizen Science approach to data collection in the Lower Kafue Sub Catchment. The project ensures that regular water quality monitoring exercises are carried out my community members in order to provide data for a better understanding of the dynamic nature and condition of the Lower Kafue Sub Catchment.
Data is collected by community members (school-going children that are part of the Chongololo and Chipembele Conservation Clubs) and are located along the tributaries or main stem of the Kafue river between Itezhi-Tezhi and Kafue districts. The data is co analysed by industry experts and community members to provide key results from the catchment.
The data is then used to lobby with the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, to improve decision making in the area of water resource management and is also meant to encourage private business entities to scale up their cooperate social responsibility in the landscape.
The project contributes to providing a clear case study showing how industrial and agricultural activity, urban migration and informal settlements affect the water quality and quantity in the Lower Kafue landscape. Such information will help develop initiatives and technologies that will help safeguard livelihood practices such as fishing and agricultural and ensure that harvest sufficiency in the landscape is upheld and food is frequently and abundantly provided to the growing population in and around the landscape.
