Tugwi-Mukosi Multidisciplinary Research Institute Research Innovates, Informs and Transforms Prof Jephias Matunhu (PhD) Executive Director The “inovakwa nevene vayo” philosophy translated to “development is my personal responsibility” entails a huge responsibility and sacrifice on each individual to contribute generously towards sustainable development of communities; each according to available resources and ability – J. Matunhu 2022 Brief Introduction Investment in water bodies is essential for poverty eradication and sustainable socio-economic prosperity. They (water bodies) support industrialisation, irrigation, fisheries, hydroelectric power generation, tourism and revitalisation of climate-change ravaged ecological setups. Government of Zimbabwe has slated dam construction as one of its development priorities. Tugwi-Mukosi River basin in Masvingo Province is one such investment. The Basin has a catchment area of 7 120km2 and water carrying capacity of 1 915 000 cubic metres. This well celebrated investment is not devoid of challenges. First, it created internally displaced persons. Second, it is linked to new disease ecologies such as schistosomiasis, malaria, and water borne diseases. Third, the proposed game reserve is likely to bring about human-wildlife conflict. Fourth, seismic earth tremors cannot be ruled out. Society need reliable information about the dam. The MSU-Tugwi Mukosi Multi-Disciplinary Research Institute (MSU-TMMRI) was established in 2018 to generate and disseminate continuous valid information on social, economic, political, industrial and environmental impact of the dam on society. Activities 2018-2019 TMMRI on Cyclone Idai Project in Chimanimai and Chipinge districts. Baseline studies on Tugwi Mukosi dam were conducted between June 2018 and October 2018 International Conference on Dams, Society and Environment was hosted on 19 and 20 October 2018 at Midlands State University in collaboration with MSU Faculty of Arts Activities 2020 Evalu