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Charco Dams

Charco Dams are a traditional means of water harvesting in arid and semi-arid landscapes of Eastern Africa, especially in Tanzania. This type of dam has a deep reservoir and limited surface area which helps to reduce water-loss from evaporation. Charco Dams are built to collect rainwater and runoff water from flat surfaces. As a result, they are suitable for livestock watering and crop irrigation, but less suitable for domestic use (unless the water is treated). Typically, trees and shrubs are planted around the edges of the dam to act as windbreaks to further reduce evaporation. Small earth dams may vary significantly in size based on the water storage capacity needed. Storage of up to 1000m3 is possible, beyond which a pond is considered large and will require different building protocols. Dams need to be thoroughly planned in order to ensure their feasibility, longevity, and safety. Please make sure to consult the additional supporting resources provided for more specific details on how to plan and build a Charco Dam, or talk to a local extension officer for help on planning and implementing a Charco Dam in your landscape.

Picture by: Rikolto (Vredeseilanden)

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Perma Atlas Initiative

Perma Atlas Initiative

Home to 1200 people and with an altitude of 1800 m, the low Atlas Mountain area in Morocco is very dry and arid, with little to no trees outside of the river valleys. In recent years, climate change has brought prolonged periods of drought, flooding, and erosion of mountain slopes which have severely impacted the land. Soil fertility has declined, and the landscape has become extremely dry and degraded – partly as a result of implementing unsustainable agricultural techniques. Unpredictable rainfall and intense droughts have created problems such as soil erosion, landslides, and a reduction in healthy and productive land for agriculture.

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Regreening Murcia

Restoring degraded farmland

Iris van der Horst and Remko Schouten bought a large part of land together in Murcia, Spain with the intention to restore the health of the land and regreen the area, alongside their team of regreening experts. These experts are: Cedrick Gijsbertsen and Lucas Borst.

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Kuku Group Ranch

Loss of biodiversity

Nestled between the Rombo and Mbririkani Ranches, the Kuku Group Ranch is a savannah landscape and critical wildlife corridor between the Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks. The area is home to more than 29,000 Maasai people. In recent years, the Kuku ranch’s population has grown exponentially, at the same time, the area is increasingly affected by unpredictable rainfall and decreasing topsoil quality due to climate change. Some parts of the region now only receive 400 mm of rainfall annually.

These factors have led to increasingly rapid erosion and degradation of pasturelands for the Maasai community to live and farm on. Consequently, agricultural and livestock productivity have decreased dramatically, affecting many Maasai livelihoods across the savannah landscape. Historic overgrazing of the land by cattle coupled with the effects of climate change are drying up the land and reducing its productive capacity, causing water and food scarcity, increasing poverty, and leading to a loss of biodiversity.