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Case study 05
Protecting watersheds and planting trees to reduce erosion, hold water and build resilience to flooding.
In Buhera District, watershed protection and afforestation initiatives set out to reduce erosion, improve the land's ability to retain water and build resilience to flooding and land degradation. This work took part in those initiatives, which treat the health of the watershed as the foundation for both water security and agriculture.
A watershed's vegetation and soils determine how rainfall behaves: whether it soaks in and recharges water sources, or runs off, carrying soil with it and raising the risk of floods downstream.
Where tree cover and ground cover are lost, watersheds degrade. Erosion increases, water retention falls and communities become more exposed to both flooding and drought.
The initiatives combined watershed protection with afforestation, restoring vegetation cover to stabilise soils, slow runoff and improve the land's capacity to hold water.
The work helped reduce erosion, improve water retention and build resilience to flooding and land degradation in the areas involved.
We publish what this case cannot yet show, so others can build on it accurately.
The case links nature-based solutions with climate adaptation: restored watersheds help communities cope with both heavier rainfall and longer dry spells.
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