When Water Fetching Becomes Risky: Gender, Drought, and Human–Wildlife Conflict in Rural Zimbabwe

Recurrent droughts worsen water scarcity in rural Africa, heightening human–wildlife conflict (HWC) and interacting with gendered divisions of labour in water collection to shape patterns of risk exposure. This study examines the relationship between drought exposure, the gender of household water fetcher, and HWC risk, using nationally representative data from rural Zimbabwe. To address potential endogeneity arising from household self-selection into drought exposure and gendered water-fetching roles, the analysis employs a multivalued treatment effects (MVTE) framework. The study yields three main findings. First, households that engage in water fetching face a higher risk of HWC. Second, drought exposure substantially increases HWC risk, with heterogeneous effects across water-fetching regimes. Specifically, the drought effect is largest for households without a designated water fetcher, followed by those with female fetchers, and is statistically insignificant for households with male fetchers. Third, under non-drought conditions, households with female water fetchers exhibit a lower HWC risk than those with male fetchers; however, during droughts, this relationship reverses, with risk increasing for female fetchers. This reversal reflects gender-specific motivations and water-collection patterns that differentially shape exposure to wildlife encounters under climatic stress.