Reducing sedimentation at Guyu-Chelesa

Summary

At the Guyu-Chelesa pilot site, impressive community-led restoration progress was evident. Local community members have constructed more than 600 gully rehabilitation structures, while over 200 indigenous trees are thriving in half-moon structures and stone bunds.

LIMCOM organized a field visit to one of its Sustainable Land Management (SLM) sites to share experiences on how effective SLM activities can help reduce sedimentation.

The field visit was held on 3-4 February 2026 at the Guyu-Chelesa in Gwanda, Zimbabwe.

Guyu-Chelesa is one of the four SLM pilot sites identified by LIMCOM under its “Integrated Transboundary River Basin Management for the Sustainable Development of the Limpopo River Basin.”

The other pilot sites are the Mogobane Dam (Botswana); the Massingir Dam (Mozambique); and the Mapochs (South Africa).

The field visit to Guyu-Chelesa brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including representatives from the Gwanda Rural District Council, the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Mechanization and Farm Infrastructure Development, as well as local community members.

LIMCOM lead consultant for sediment monitoring, Dr. Benjamin van der Waal, conducted a citizen science training session that introduced stakeholders to effective methodologies for measuring sediment load and assessing vegetation cover.

At the pilot site, impressive community-led restoration progress was evident. Local community members have constructed more than 600 gully rehabilitation structures, while over 200 indigenous trees are thriving in half-moon structures and stone bunds.

Women and youth make up the majority of active local participants in these SLM activities, underscoring the vital role they play in advancing sustainable development.

Gwanda Rural District Council Chief Economist, Mr. Andile Bafana commended the community and stakeholders for their proactive approach in tackling erosion and other environmental challenges in the area. He also expressed appreciation to the partners for organizing the field visit.

The field visit aimed to establish a basin-aligned sediment monitoring framework that illustrates the connection between SLM interventions and reduced sedimentation in the Limpopo River Basin.

The initiative seeks to build institutional capacity for sediment monitoring while exploring innovative Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanisms that could incentivize upstream land management practices benefiting downstream water users, dam authorities, and municipalities across the basin.

LIMCOM is implementing the “Integrated Transboundary River Basin Management for the Sustainable Development of the Limpopo River Basin,” in partnership with the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).