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Declining crop and livestock production due to a degrading land resource base and changing climate among other biophysical and socio-economic constraints, are increasingly forcing rural households in Zimbabwe and other parts of southern Africa to rely on common natural resource pools (CNRPs) to supplement their household food and income. This study investigated the nature and dynamics of CNRPs that are utilised by smallholder-farming communities of Dendenyore and Ushe wards (local development unit) in Hwedza district in eastern Zimbabwe, as influenced by climate change and variability. Special attention was paid to quantifying how community responses to climate change and variability have influenced natural resource use patterns and gender roles among households differing in resource endowments in Dendenyore and Ushe wards. A combination of farmer participatory research approaches, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing were employed between 2011 and 2013 to characterise the contribution of CNRPs to household food and income of these smallholder communities. Across study sites, wetlands and woodlands were ranked as the most important CNRPs. These were given highest priority because of their provisioning services by providing fruits (Mazhanje (Uapaca kirkiana) and Hacha (Parinari curatellifolia)), raw materials for crafts (Tsanga (Phragmites mauritianus) and Mutsvairo (Miscanthidium sorghum)), and firewood for energy. The extraction and use patterns of products obtained from the wetlands and woodlands varied significantly by household resource endowment, with the resource …