Planning water resources management in Limpopo National Park buffer zone

This paper deals with the results coming from the research activity of the SECOSUD Phase II, called “Conservation and equitable use of biological diversity in the SADC region (Southern African Development Community) a project supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the SADC [1]. In the framework of this project they have been investigated groundwater resources and shallow ones present in the buffer zone of National Limpopo Park, in the aim of better support water demand in the villages, rising in this area. At the mean time it has been carried out a hydrogeological budget, referring to the area of Limpopo National Park and its buffer zone. Geochemical characterization of groundwater, carried on more than 10 points of groundwater exploitation and some river banks, pointed out that groundwater present very high salinity, due to their long staying in the rock masses. On the other hand, results coming from the hydrogeological budget highlighted that in the area under study, most part of precipitations doesn’t infiltrate but, due to their hard intensity, runs on the surface and gives its large contribution to the seasonal flooding events, which affect, every year this area. The comparison of these two results let us suppose that exploited groundwater doesn’t come from seasonal hydrological cycle, and, it maybe, they are not the best for civil use purposes, while it could be plan a different management of surface water, coming from precipitations, in the aim of reducing damages due to flooding, and giving a better satisfaction to civil water demand.