Limpopo Basin profile

Limpopo River Benchmark Basin > Limpopo Basin profile

Statistics and background information

• Catchment area: Around 413,000 km²
• Rainfall: Average 530 mm per annum. Range: 200-1,200 mm
• Evaporation: Average. 1,970 mm per annum. Range: 800-2,400 mm per annum)
• Runoff: 5.5 x 109 m³ per annum or 13 mm per annum
• Water transfers: Water is transferred into the basin under 6 separate transfer schemes
• Irrigation: Present. 244,000 ha. Potential: 122,000 ha in selected sub-catchments. Current overdevelopment, where demand exceeds water availability is 70,000 ha
• Other land use (dryland): Crops: 234,000 ha. Pastures: 1,780,000 ha. Forestry: 455,000 ha
• Population: 14 million
• Poverty indicators: Poverty rate: 75%. Pretoria, 75% and Mozambique flood plains, 34%.Average = 52%
• Population dynamics: Within 4 years 10% of the population are expected to abandon their homes and migrate southwards and up to 10% of those remaining will die from aids-related illnesses.

Main issues in the Limpopo

A short and intense rainy season, with highly unreliable rainfall leads to frequent droughts. Crop production is not secure.

On major reaches of the Limpopo and many of its tributaries, the flow of water in the river in dry years can occur for 40 days or less.

When the rivers do flow, river water can contain up to 30% sand and silt. Large areas of land are seriously degraded. Other issues include:

• Difficulty in obtaining development capital
• Insufficient training and support services for small-scale farmers
• Political instability
• Land piracy in certain areas, and
• Land mines in parts of Mozambique seriously hindering farming

CPWF NEWSLETTER
Water & Food Monthly

Over utilisation of water resources and pollution arising from high-density urban settlements, mining and other industrial development are seen to have an impact on the social, economic, political and natural environments downstream.

It is necessary to study and quantify these effects.

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Ongoing interventions (projects and programmes)

Successful development in areas with poor soils and limited water resources and failed initiatives on prime fertile lands could provide valuable guidelines.

Reasons for selection for the
Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF)

The entire catchment area is arid or semi-desert. Most rivers are able to provide water only for short periods of time each year.

Pollution of the available water in some catchments and competition for water in others create significant stress on the available resources.

Poverty is widespread and people are extremely vulnerable to the effects of drought or crop failure.

Each river in the basin has communities with an average annual per capita income of less than US$200.

Starvation and malnutrition are common occurrences. About one million people in the basin currently rely on food aid.

NARES working in this basin actively seek funding to expand their research activities. Most of the ongoing work shares common aims and objectives with the CP.

All parties are willing and able to cooperate in a joint coordinated venture.

Priority will be given to areas where the greatest number of people live in abject poverty. A development history exists for the whole basin that will enable the identification of interventions, which are likely to be successful.

Extensive work is currently being done in the Olifants river basin and other areas in the north-eastern districts of South Africa. IWMI is already involved in some of these projects.

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Limpopo Basin profile report

• Introduction (PDF format - 998kb)
• Part 1: physical setting
  • pages 2-7 (PDF format - 567kb)
  • pages 9-12 (PDF format - 704kb)
  • page 13 (PDF format - 1,59Mb)
  • pages 14-15 (PDF format - 1,54Mb)
  • pages 16-18 (PDF format - 1,66Mb)
• Part two - five (PDF format - 660kb)
  • Part two: hydrology
  • Part three: socio-economic setting
  • Part four: institutional setting; and
  • Part five: information and data group

3. Download the Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF) annual report 2004 (PDF format - 1,175Mb). See pages 39-46 for references to the Limpopo.

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