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Mutale View Map The project implements rehabilitation intervention in wetlands in a rural part of Limpopo, about 30 km from Thohoyandou. They are used for grazing and subsistence agriculture, and are therefore of high livelihoods to the communities surrounding them. These wetlands also influence the quality of water flowing into the Mutale river, which is an important tributary of the Luvhuvhu which flows into the Limpopo river.
The quaternary catchment is about 7,924 ha and composed mainly of rocky surfaces. The region has a semi-arid climate and experiences high temperatures. Because the wetlands are surrounded by a rocky mountain range, water flows into them at high speeds during high rainfall events, which accentuates their importance for flood attenuation and stream flow regulation.
Active erosion features in the wetlands and on their margins threaten their health and their ability to provide ecosystem services. Unsuitable farming practices, road crossings and sand mining are the main contributors to degradation.
Large gabion structures and earth works are constructed to stabilise erosion, slow down the rate of water flow through the wetlands, encourage water accumulation in the soils, and raise their water tables. Because the main threats to these systems are subsistence agriculture and grazing in the wetland, it is considered of extreme importance to introduce wise use management principles in the wetland. For example, ploughing could be managed in a way that reduces soil loss.
The project budget for 2008/9 is R 2,734,235 and temporary employment and skills development has been provided to 54 people, who are recruited from the surrounding communities.
Mulondodi Wetland : This is an extensive unchanneled valley-bottom wetland, about 1,790 ha in extent. It is a stable system that is capable of withstanding heavy utilisation. It has a gentle gradient and receives water mainly from seepage from the surrounding mountains. Land use in the wetland and its catchment is grazing and subsistence agriculture, and its catchment also supports rural residential areas. The wetland is heavily utilised by the local community, with approximately two-thirds cultivated for subsistence crops and rest heavily grazed by domestic livestock. The wetland is modified and further threatened by several active headcuts that have already resulted in changes in vegetation composition and desiccation of some sections of the wetland. Sand mining at the base of the wetland has resulted in an erosion headcut, and a headcut at the top of a large pond in the wetland threatens to migrate upstream into the wetland. Rehabilitation is aimed at deactivating headcuts and preventing further degradation of the wetland. Gullies below the headcuts will also be addressed.
Sambandou Wetland : Sambandou is 203 ha in extent and used for grazing, subsistence agriculture and sand mining. The wetland’s margins have been extensively cultivated, and drainage channels have resulted in the development of several small erosion headcuts. Several headcuts at the base of the wetland developed probably as a result of cattle movement through the wetland. The wetland’s hydrology, however has only been moderately altered, and the main impact is to biodiversity. Rehabilitation intervention in the form of large gabion structures will deactivate erosion at the toe of the wetland and secure the health of the 26 ha of remaining intact wetland habitat. Structures will also prevent further incision of the road crossing and deactivate headcut erosion.
Zwavhavhili Wetland : This is a 76 ha unchanneled valley-bottom system on the Zwavhavhili river. Large-scale erosion is progressing from the lower part of the wetland into its upper reaches. The lower section is already significantly modified. Rehabilitation intervention in the form of large gabion structures is intended to stabilise the headcuts and prevent their migration upstream within the wetland. The aim is to maintain biological integrity of the upstream wetland habitat, and improve wetland functioning and provision of ecosystem services. Contacts
For more detailed information such as project implementation plans and progress reports, please visit www.thelapa.com, click on Working for Wetlands and enter view for both username and password.
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