GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IN LIMPOPO NATIONAL PARK (MOZAMBICO) AIMED TO PRESERVE BIODIVERSITY

This paper presents the first phase of a study held in the context of the SECOSUD Phase II project, called “Conservation and equitable use of biological diversity in the SADC region (Southern African Development Community), which aims at promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable economic development in the SADC [1]. The development goal of the Project is to contribute to stop biodiversity loss by supporting the development of conservation strategies. An important step in developing conservation of biodiversity requires a successful groundwater protection. Conservation of biodiversity depends on groundwater needs strategies that allows for the use of groundwater in a way that is compatible with the persistence of ecosystems in natural area, such as Limpopo Transfrontier Park, in the Southern African Region. Groundwater is a key element n the SADC region Groundwater is the primary source of water for people living in the SADC region, because it is used extensively throughout the southern African region, including the Limpopo River basin, supplying a large percentage of water for irrigation, rural water supply schemes and mining. The province has limited surface and ground water resources. Most of the water management areas are severely stressed and many people still do not have access to the accepted minimum supply of water. The goal of the strategy is to make sure that the water resources of protected areas are managed in an equitable manner so as to ensure the long-term sustainability of those resources, in order to the continue availability and security of supply of suitable quality water for all consumptive users and for the needs of the environment. Crystalline basement rock is distributed extensively throughout Africa and underlies large parts of the semi-arid Limpopo Province in South Africa. The development of crystalline basement aquifers as a reliable source of water supply is notoriously complex, and groundwater occurrence is spatially highly variable. Some of the greatest groundwater needs occur in the region and groundwater is the only dependable source of water for many users. The aim of the study is to provide an assessment of the actual groundwater monitoring network and in consideration of the growing demand for water, there is a need to understand the effects of planting on water rescouces to estimate crop water requirement for the focus area, as last step of the methodological strategy. This paper would outline a methodology on where to focuse future research