Author(s): Luigi Piemontese; Natalia Limones; Giulio Castelli; Marcus Wijnen; Aleix Serrat-Capdevila; Elena Bresci; Alice Grazio; Irina Liudmila Miguel; Marco Paulo Carlos; Pietra Chaves
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: The provinces of the South of Angola are suffering a severe drought from the weak rainy season in 2012/2013 until now. Intermittent rains during this period brought some relief but were not enough to instigate a recovery. Some areas in southern Angola, as well as other parts of southern Africa, recorded the driest season in 35 years in 2015/2016, a peak of severity linked to the El Nino effect. Angola tackles drought under a crisis management approach (Serrat-Capdevila et al., 2022). These methods do not solve the long-term problems, but they have traditionally avoided the worst social impacts by diminishing the pressing emergencies. Consequently, there is an evident need to move from crisis management to risk management and resilience building, especially in the rural areas of the southern provinces. Previous work has mapped and characterized the drought vulnerabilities of communities in the Center and South of Angola, learning about their access to safe water, and exploring sustainable rural water supply options to improve drought resilience (Limones et al., 2020; Serrat-Capdevila et al., 2022). Depending on resource availability, topography, soils and geology, different options for water supply and storage infrastructure can be considered for further analysis across the most vulnerable areas identified. In case surface water or shallow or intermediate groundwater is not available in sufficient quantities, the use of Nature-based solutions for managed aquifer recharge should be considered. In the drylands of the southern Benguela and Namibe provinces, for example, where bedrock is close to the surface and significant amounts of sandy sediment are available, the potential for constructing sand dams needs to be explored. Sand dams are barriers built along ephemeral streams that create small reservoirs filled in trapped sand, which in turn stores water in the pores (Lasage et al., 2015). Although some colonial structures are serving as such, sand dams projects have not been documented in Angolan drylands (Ritchie et al., 2021; Serrat-Capdevila et al., 2022). Transferring water harvesting solutions like sand dams, widespread in other dry regions like the Horn of Africa and some parts of India, for example, to other areas of the world, could help creating additional reliable water resources and water points along ephemeral streams and expanding communities’ water and food security. However, finding an adequate location for the dam, both from the water harvesting point of view and from the community engagement point of view, is essential to guarantee usefulness, effectiveness and sustainability of the technology. Local communities’ habits, perceptions and knowledge must be included in the siting phase to avoid misplacement or conflicts.
Year: 2022