Programme for the Mobilisation of Surface Water and Sustainable Land Management

This programme’s overall goal is to improve the living conditions of pastoral communities by promoting integrated management of natural resources. The two specific objectives are:

• To implement a programme for the mobilization of surface water, improving access to water for the pastoral communities and their livestock and increasing agricultural production
• To strengthen organizational and management capacity at the institutional, technical and community levels.

The programme will benefit, either directly or indirectly, 6,000 pastoral households living in the regions of Tadjourah, Dikhil and Arta. The targeted communities are located in the Day Forest and its environs in Tadjourah, the Gobaad and As Eyla zones in Dikhil, and Petit Bara and Grand Bara in Arta. These mainly pastoral households rely on herding, non-agricultural income-generating activities (especially the sale of salt and charcoal) and remittances from relatives in urban areas. About a third of the households depend on food aid from the World Food Programme in the form of general food distribution and food-for-work programmes.

The Government of Djibouti has reaffirmed access to water and combating water shortages as critical elements for improving livelihoods and reducing poverty in rural areas. These elements are identified in the government’s poverty reduction strategy paper, the national initiative for social development and the three-year action plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Marine Resources. The programme will serve as an instrument to implement this strategic orientation by:

• Developing the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture and of local communities for integrated management of natural resources
• Making available tested technical guidelines to replicate investments in the mobilization of surface water and sustainable land management in other geographical areas.

Source: IFAD