User:MichaelParkTaylor/Tonga people (Zambia and Zimbabwe)

Human-Environmental Interactions of the Tonga of Zambia
The Longitudinal Gwembe Tonga Research project a 50 year study took place in southern Zambia uses carrying capacity to explain general social processes and the human-environment interactions of the Tonga people. In the article Carrying Capacity's New Guise: Folk Models for Public Debate and Longitudinal Study of Environmental Change, Lisa Cligget focuses on the relationship between the Tonga people and the environment. The construction of the Kariba Dam caused 57,000 Tonga people on both sides of the Zambian lake due to constant flooding. Lake Kariba is the largest artificial reservoir in the world. A majority of the population moved up stream. However, last minute engineering forced 6000 people to relocate to Lusitu a small village downstream from the dam. Lusitu is known as the most ecological disturbed region.The drought cycle is a common ecological risk that affects the southern African farmers and directly impacts the Tonga people's access to food. The worst drought in the past decade happened between 1994 and 1995 in Lusitu. This drought caused no harvest for the people in Lusitu. Economic factors have influenced relationships within and outside of Tonga people community. The economic factors in the region include; the collapse of the copper industry, and the structural adjustment program. The structural adjustment program for these rural communities cut government funding limiting infrastructure even more. The consequences of the structural adjustment program means clinics do not have access to aspirin, chloroquine, antibiotics and other medications. The negative affect on education in these rural areas that are remote makes it challenging to find teachers to accept and keep positions. The Tonga people in Lusitu and surrounding areas have become dependent on agriculture production and kinship family networks.