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Locadia Mavhudzi Midlands Correspondent
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) says it requires urgent funding to continue work on the rehabilitation of the famous Chireya gulley in Gokwe as the current scenario poses a threat of flooding at the nearby Chireya Mission hospital in case of heavy rains.

EMA, with gets support from the World Wide Fund for Nature, embarked on a project to rehabilitate gullies along Ume river to stop land degradation with a target to cover the area around Chireya business centre.

Environmental Management Agency (EMA) provincial manager Mr Benson Bhasera said they have so far constructed over 2 000 storm gabions along Ume river to re- direct the flow of water from the direction of the hospital area.

“We are working on the rehabilitation of the Chireya gulley where we have so far constructed over 2000 storm gabions along Ume river at a cost of $300 000.

‘‘We are only targeting an area of 200 meters which is close to Chireya Mission Hospital.

“We have hired a contractor who is working with the community to ensure the flow of the water is redirected.

‘‘However more work still needs to be done to control environmental degradation in the whole of Chireya area.”

He said the below normal rains received this year had assisted in reducing the washing away of sordic soils in Chireya as more water was able to sink into the ground.

Mr Bhasera said they have also spearheaded conservation and income generating projects for the Chireya community in the form of bee keeping, nutrition gardens, tree planting and veld fire management.

Bhasera also highlighted that EMA, together with its partners like Agritex, are also monitoring the construction of contour ridges in the farms around Chireya to control land degradation.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has so far injected $750 000 out of 1, million availed towards the reclamation of Chireya gulley since 2015 through the Hwange  – Sanyati biodiversity conservation project.