Sand dams: water conservation and regreening
Introduction
Sand dams play a significant role in mitigating the effects of climate change, including reversing land degradation. They raise groundwater levels through slowing down the rate of run-off and capturing rainwater that would otherwise be lost as run-off, while allowing most water to continue downstream. The slowing down of water runoff allows water to infiltrate the soil, resulting in vegetation recovery, reduced erosion and restored degraded land and regreened environments.
(Kind permission: Sand Dams Worldwide/Polly Braden)
Sand Dams Worldwide supports some of the world’s poorest people to transform their own lives through water and soil conservation in drylands.
The UK charity works with local in-country partners to help vulnerable rural dryland communities to build sand dams; a sustainable and cost-effective rainwater harvesting technology that can capture up to 40 million litres of water, replenishing every rainy season. That water is stored safe from disease and evaporation within the sand. It’s easily extractable via pipework connected to hand-pumps and taps, with one sand dam providing enough year-round water for over 1,000 people. For more information about how sand dams work, watch this short animation: https://www.sanddamsworldwide.org.uk/what-is-a-sand-dam
(Kind permission: Sand Dams Worldwide)
Sand Dams Worldwide currently has programmes in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia and two in Kenya (one in the southeast working with self-help community groups, and another in Tsavo National Park focusing on supporting local wildlife).
(Kind permission: Sand Dams Worldwide)
Since 2002, Sand Dams Worldwide has enabled the construction of over 1,000 sand dams across 10 countries, providing over 1 million people with lifelong access to clean water. The charity has also supported communities to dig over 1.8 million metres of terracing and plant over 1.1 million trees.
Click the icon below to download a summary pdf describing sand dams and the work of Sand Dams Worldwide.
About the Author
Dwain Lucktung
Head of Communications, Sand Dams Worldwide
Dwain Lucktung previously worked as freelance journalist and Digital Content Editor for Ctrl.Alt.Shift (Christian Aid's youth political and social issue magazine), writing reports from countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali, before joining Livity (youth engagement agency) as a Senior Content and Community Manager and youth mentor. His passion for international development brought him back to the third sector and he subsequently joined Sand Dams Worldwide in 2016. Since then, he has been leading on their communications strategy, as well as curating and creating both online and offline content for Sand Dams Worldwide.
Contribute
Our aim is to promote geography and geographical education in the South West of England. Geography SW is a collaborative project driven by a group of enthusiastic geographers who have volunteered their time to create a wide-ranging and dynamic resource to support the wider geographical community.