CONTENTS
I. Introduction ………….……………………………………….....…………. 5 II. The Need to Retain More Water ………………………….....…………. 6 III. Current Projects ………………………………………….......…………. 7 1.0 Shangil Tobaya Water Harvesting Project ……………………. 8 2.0 Azagrfa Water Harvesting Project ……………………………. 11 3.0 Turra Water Harvesting Project ……………………..……..…. 14 4.0 Umpronga Water Harvesting Project…………………………. 15 5.0 Idd Elbeida Water Harvesting Project ………………..………. 17 IV. Proposed Projects ………………………………………….......………. 18 1.0 Abu Delieg Water Harvesting Project …………..……….…. 18 2.0 Abu Degaise Water Harvesting Project ………………………. 19 V. Institutionalizing the Experience ………………………….......………. 20 Annex -1: Criteria for Future Water Harvesting Projects …………. Annex -2: Hydrological Analysis …………………………….....………. References ………………..................................……………........………. 21 22 23
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I. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Sudan HE annual precipitation in Sudan is estimated at 1000 MD cubic metres. The two Niles and their tributaries bring about 122 MD cubic metres only 14.6 MD cubic metres are being utilised by Sudan out of its share of 20.5 MD cubic metres as per the Nile water agreement of 1959. Other seasonal surface water (water courses known locally as khors or wadis) is estimated at 7.8 MD cubic metres with only 160 million cubic metres have been utilised. 1.2. North Darfur ORTH Darfur is situated within the marginal tropical zone, in which precipitation is concentrated in a short summer period. The area has been struck with a series of droughts since the famine of the mid-eighties, which was followed by droughts in the years 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, and partially in 1997. The ecological balance is getting worse and worse. Rainfall is described as increasingly more erratic, irregular and unreliable in its amount and pattern of distribution. Between 1967 and 1982, the mean annual rainfall decreased by 42%. The average rainfall in Kutum, for instance, has dropped from 345mm to 243mm annual mean. This has resulted in great losses of livestock, crop production, natural vegetation cover and wildlife. During the last few decades, the rapid growth of human and animal
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populations, and the occurrence of a long drought phase, from 1968 to the present date, has resulted in desertification. This phenomenon of ecological imbalance has brought the spread of desert conditions south of the Sahara and into the savannah zone. For the resident populations adaptation to the new reality is a necessity. As a result of drought and desertification, farmers’ yields have dropped dramatically. Over many years, the poorest families have consistently harvested only one bag of food, and some have even seen zero production. Dry natural pastures have led to the death and loss of animal resources. With losses in crops and herds, people have become food insecure. Coping Strategies: A common way of coping with drought for many households is to migrate out of the area. A recent study estimated that around one third of the total population has left their households and local areas for good. The remaining inhabitants have found themselves facing serious hazards. Many have realized that the only way to combat macro- environmental hazards is by adapting coping strategies. The most common of these can be summarized as follows: Polygamy: Increasing the size of the family also increases the labour force allowing more food to be secured by more hands planting and harvesting. Increased Cultivation: By expanding areas of cultivated land, farmers can
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compensate for losses caused by the drop in soil fertility. Ploughing: Animal-drawn ploughs, mainly donkey drawn, have been introduced and adapted by many farmers in the area to reduce dependency on inanimate power in the overall farming process. Inter-cropping: This technique to produce a variety of crops from the same plot of land is being practised by farmers as the best way of exploiting available resources. Water Harvesting: Farmers have started to copy terrace building from other farmers in their area who are using existing local knowledge in water harvesting. Diversification of Products: Growing more than one crop in the same plot means that part of the farm can be
allocated for millet, another for sesame and a third for sorghum. Farming on Different Plots: Some farmers are choosing to plant in small plots in different areas and different directions. Cultivation of Wadi Lands: With the decline in soil fertility, and hence productivity, farmers have moved to make use of the more fertile wadi clay soils. Using Early Mature Crop Varieties: Because of the unreliability of rainfall and the fluctuations in the rainy season, farmers have been forced to grow early mature seeds. Planting of Nitrogen-fixing Plants: Farmers use cowpeas both as food and as a nitrogen-fixing plant to enrich the soil. them to try and adapt their practices and conserve more water. Potentially, the water resources in Darfur are estimated at 31 Million cubic metres only 0.5% of it is being exploited at about 5 litres/person/day, which represents only 25% of the recommended minimum required average consumption per individual. 60% of the water is consumed by the 33 million heads of livestock. The equivalence of 150-240 days a year of families’ time is spent in water collection. (Dr. Hamid Omer, Al Ayamm daily newspaper, issue 8151, March 2005).
II. THE NEED TO RETAIN MORE WATER
S is the case in most regions of the arid zone, North Darfur faces the problem of acute deficit in its water balance. The greatest part of the state is desert and semi-desert, with 10–12 arid months annually. The rest of the state has 8–9 arid months. The prevailing aridity of North Darfur constitutes the most important precondition for the process of desertification. For farmers in the area, the need for water in domestic use and cultivation has forced
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PRACTICAL ANSWERS TO POVERTY
Millet is the main nutrition for peasant families in North Darfur. About 90% of the labour force working in the millet fields is female. Fetching water is also the responsibility of women, mainly young girls, and it is one of the hardest tasks to perform, with long distances to travel in order to find water. Their most likely destinations are wadis, which sometimes form a source of subsurface water. Women usually dig shallow wells on wadi beds, locally known as ‘tumad’, that reach about 50cm to 1m in depth. As wadi land becomes more valuable, the richer people are trying to acquire as much of it as possible. This means that poor farmers are often denied access to wadis and are forced to depend on ‘goz’– sandy soils – in spite of their low productivity. The severity of the water shortage has led village chiefs to take preventative measures that will limit ownership of wadi land by the wealthy few.
This situation shows that efforts are being made to reclaim more wadi lands for use by more people, especially poor farmers. Methods of reclaiming such lands are many, but the most effective one is through building earth dams and terraces to catch more water for direct and flood irrigation. ITDG Sudan’s efforts in this field are concentrated on training farmers in water harvesting techniques. These are mainly building terraces on wadi beds and building dam structures supported by earth embankments to catch as much water as possible for both domestic use and irrigation. The purpose of this document is to focus on ITDG’s experience in building dams and earth embankments, and to show the impact of these methods on people’s livelihoods and on the environment.
III. CURRENT PROJECTS
TDG Sudan has five projects in the Darfur area that focus on water retention and harvesting. Community Participation: ITDG has considered the scope for beneficiary participation in each project, throughout the project cycle. Community members have been involved in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. In particular, local knowledge has provided information regarding the history
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of flooding and watercourses which helps technicians design the maximum possible storage capacity based on the highest experienced floods in each area. Communities have also participated by providing local materials and nonskilled labour. Community Training The communities at all sites have been trained in the management of the dams in terms of opening and closing the gates, cleaning the silt, undertaking necessary maintenance, and assessing potential damage.
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