Abstract
Ecosystem destruction has been given as the primary reason for implementing Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15). This chapter investigates the role of springs in securing rural livelihoods in the Save Catchment of Zimbabwe. It invokes SDG 15 in the debate on springs by examining rural community vulnerabilities regarding the management of spring water and other ecosystem services. Purposive sampling was utilised to select participants for the questionnaire survey and key informant interviews. In the study, springs were shown to be an important component of rural livelihoods. Access to spring waterscapes in the Save Catchment has led to an improved food security and income to rural households. However, climatic variability, weak institutional control and overutilisation have reduced the capacity for springs and their waterscapes to support sustainable livelihoods. The findings reveal that degradation of spring waterscapes is occurring and the productive capacity of springs is being diminished. In view of the multiple uses of the springs in the study area, appropriate management strategies need to be instituted if the goals of SDG 15 are to be achieved.
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Chikodzi, D., Tevera, D., Mazvimavi, D. (2020). SDG 15 and Socioecological Sustainability: Spring Waterscapes and Rural Livelihoods in the Save Catchment of Zimbabwe. In: Nhamo, G., Odularu, G., Mjimba, V. (eds) Scaling up SDGs Implementation. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33216-7_4
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