Project Detail

LAND REHABILITATION, CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT, WATER HARVESTING AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION FOR LIVELIHOODS IMPROVEMENT IN UMZINGWANE DISTRICT CO-ORDINATED BY HELPAGE ZIMBABWE.

BACKGROUND

This project is located in Umzingwane district,in Dobi, Zodula ,Gabheni ,Mtshede11, Nokwane, Dula, Sewondo villages which form part of the Matobo World Heritage Site.A general survey has revealed that most of the community members are not aware of the natural capital ,and cultural heritage available as well as the current status of the land they reside in.This ignorance has resulted in the problems of land degtradation, loss of biodiversity,poverty and food security which this project seeks to resolve.
The goal of this project is to contribute to the improvement of the livelihoods of the community around the MWHS cluster through capacity building, catchment management and sustainable utilisation of reclaimed lands.

OBJECTIVES

-to enable communities in Dobhe,Dula, Mtshede , Sibomvu and Mlambathema to reclaim 5% of the degraded lands through training in a variety of land care ,catchment management and land use planning techniques and to deal with the problems of deforestation, stream bank cultivation and gully erosion by the second year of project implementation
-to improve the livelihoods of the community through implementation of a variety of biodiversity conservation and utilisation strategies, water harvesting and catchment management techniques and gardening by the second year of the project.

ACTIVITIES

-training on land care, land reclamation and catchment management,conservation farming and woodland management
-reclaim 5% of degraded lands within 6 villages
-construct conservation works at least 10% of threatened crops
-relocate and properly site 10% of crop fields located in the river valleys
-establish 2 woodlots and two vegetable and herbal gardens at Mzinyathi and Dobi schools
-establish 2 vegetable and herbal gardens and woodlots in the community areas
-construct water harvesting structures in the proper areas.

project participants and beneficiaries
The project participants are the members in the 7 villages .The estimated total beneficiary population within the project area is 4002.

PROJECT OUTPUTS

-community leaders and various natural resources communities in the 7 villages trained in community based natural resources management and implementation of by laws.
-communities in the 7 villages trained in land care /land reclamation and catchment
-communities and staff acquire improved knowledge and skills in water harvesting and water conservation
-improved yields from two productive vegetable and herbal gardens and orchards established at Mzinyati,Dula and Dobi

OUTCOMES

-communities have knowledge and actually apply skills to manage catchments, control land degradation, on their own due to the knowledge of the benefits.
-better land use patterns and higher land productivity achieved though establishment and improved management of woodlots and productive gardens.
-the rate of biodiversity losses through human agency reduced due to people`s appreciation of the valuwe ,and availability of knowledge on how to take care of the environment
-levels of incomes for communities and schools improve through improved harvests and marketing of products from gardens and orchards.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

HELPAGE ZIMBABWE

Country:

Zimbabwe

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

Phase 3

Grant Amount:

US$ 43,361.98

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 59,863.20

Project Number:

ZIM/SGP/OP3/Y1/CORE/2005/10

Start Date:

10/2005

End Date:

12/2007

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Gender Focus

51% of the 4002 total beneficiary population are women and these women are the group mainly involved in the gathering of fruits, mushrooms andgardening.The project will ake deliberate action to involve both men and women in the shared responsibility of managing the environment.All age groups including boys and geirls will be taken on board.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Improving the livelihoods of the local community is one of the project objectives.This will be achieved through the establishment of vegetable,fruit and herbal gardens .These will be a source of income through vending and will work to improve the communities` standard of living.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Lack of awarenessof the world heritage site status in majority of the community members is a problem in that the communities fail to see the value in the natural and cultural capital they have.This has led to the mismanagement of the capital and its overexplotation leading to degradation of the valuable environment. The project therefore seeks to raise awareness on the biodiversity focal area both at local and global scale.this will be achieved through baseline reports and invertory records and capacity building workshops on conservation and preservation of biological species.

Linkages gef projects

N/A

Planning gef grant

N/A

Planning non gef grant

N/A

Capacity - Building Component

One of the major areas of work in this project is the rehabilitation of the degraded lands. The community is going to be trained in catchment management and rehabilitation especially gulley reclamation together with soil and water conservation techniques. The leaders are going to be trained in Participatory Natural Resources Management (PNRM) together with by-law formulation and implementation. The other area that will be covered under capacity building is the eradication of lantana camara

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

The groups that are going to participate in this cluster programme which include the Dobi, Dula and Mzinyathi schools are goingb to establish gardens and engage in different activities that include agro-forestry and production thata they can sell to neighbouring communities and raise income.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

The local people of uMzingwane district are the speaheaders of the project and are actively involved in all stages of the project.The project is a fora for an awareness on the traditions and beliefs of the local people.This is through the promotion of ecotourism in the area .The area has rich historical information in the form of rock arts,shrines and burial sites.These through tourism are brought into awareness.

Notable Community Participation

The project has a total of six wards that are participating and these have been actively involved in problem identification and project formulation. They will still continue to play an active role in the planning meetings, actual implementation together with monitoring and evaluation. In order to ensure their active participation, they have set up management committees at village and ward levels. In addition, embarking on this project will ensure community participation because the members will be involved in the conservation of woodlots which they place so much value due to their cultural beliefs. There will also be the participation of the youths as a result of the inclusion of the schools that include Dobi, Dula and Mzinyathi.

Policy Impact

The project seeks to make an impact in the area of policy by lobbying for the protection of Matobo World Heritage site which is rich in terms of biodiversity that includes both the plants and wildlife. The other to be included in the area of policy is to review on the level of benefits that accrue to communities especially in Campfire areas.

Replication of project activities

limitation due to non availability of funds

Policy Influence

none

Project sustainability

production and selling of herbs from the garden has improved diet as well as become an icome generating herb

Project Results

20 hectares of lantanna has been cleared leaving the 20hectares free from the invasive specie that survives at the expense of other plants and trees. This has improved the biodiversity as the vegetation cover has improved and no longer dominated by lantanna Camara. Grazing land has increased and livelihoods have increased due to good livestock health.
increased availability of herbal plants in the Dobi, Dula and Mzinyathi areas has saw the establishment of a 3 acre herbal garden. this has improved nutrition and livelihood
a bush pump has been installed and is a source of reliable, clean and safe water for the garden

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Indicators

Empowerment

Number of women participated / involved in SGP project 2041

Empowerment

Number of indigenous people participated/involved in SGP project 4002

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