Multinational - Water Harvesting Pilot Project in IGAD

The Pilot project proposed is a clear response to the call for small-scale, community based solutions to the nefarious effects of recurring droughts and famine in the IGAD region. This pilot phase addresses the poverty situation in the region and seeks to reduce opportunities for conflict between communities caused by lack of water for livestock. It also tries to defeat and reverse the degradation of natural resources in an arid and semi-arid environment, and to contribute to improving the living and working conditions of local pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities, which are among the most disadvantaged people in the region. This pilot project will enable IGAD to enhance the capability of its member states to combat desertification in the region through the implementation of the sub-regional action plan to which this pilot project responds. The pilot project will be conducted in two phases over 15 months. The total cost is estimated at UA1.22 million. The program that will likely emanate from the Pilot project will foster the rural development of the IGAD region through direct and indirect benefits from an enhanced availability of water through water harvesting interventions.