Project Profile: Southern Africa Resilience in the Limpopo Basin (RESILIM)

Southern Africa: Conservation Upstream Helps Feed Users Downstream

Resilience in the Limpopo Basin (RESILIM) | 2012–2017

The Lowveld region of Zimbabwe sits in a high mountain catchment, serving as a virtual “water tower” for communities downstream along the Limpopo River. The Limpopo River Basin—consisting of four countries and more than 18 million people—is a critical lifeline in this water-strapped region. During the 2015–2016 El Niño climate cycle, which resulted in the worst drought the region has seen in decades, these wetlands were critically degraded.

Through the RESILIM (Resilience in the Limpopo Basin) program, USAID is helping villagers in the Gulati communal lands around Matopos restore community wetlands.

This project profile appears in the USAID Global Water and Development Report.