ESA’s Global Development Assistance (GDA) programme was recently featured at IFAD’s Innovation Day, with the “Water for Peace” initiative showcased in IFAD’s innovation marketplace. The project, implemented by IFAD in partnership with the Réseau Billital Maroobé (RBM), brings together Earth Observation (EO) data, and close stakeholder collaboration to address water-related conflict risks across the Sahel and West Africa. Through its GDA Water Resources activity, ESA is supporting this initiative by providing satellite-based groundwater monitoring tools to guide resources management and support RBM’s needs to inform pastoral and agropastoral households across eight countries. Read the full story below, originally published by IFAD.
The Sahel, which crosses 10 African countries south of the Sahara Desert, is one of the world’s most culturally rich, youthful and diverse regions. But its people face growing and interconnected challenges, ranging from political instability, insecurity and weak governance to climate issues like desertification, droughts and floods.
The combination of these threats has the potential to escalate instability, poverty and food insecurity in the region, in its border countries and beyond.
At the heart of many challenges confronting the Sahel is water. A major flashpoint for community conflict relates to the right to water between two groups: the farmers who cultivate fields in semi-arid environments, and the transhumance pastoralists who move seasonally from pasture to pasture with their livestock. As shifting rainfall patterns exacerbate the strain on water resources, conflict between these groups is rising. But innovation can ease these tensions.
Innovation for peace
Since the 1970s, IFAD has financed innovations that change lives and transform rural economies. Our innovations support sustainable livelihoods, food security and nutrition. We have also produced studies, using satellite imaging, that show how our approach to rural development can alleviate pressures on natural resources and thus reduce conflict risks.
Now, we are applying the lessons learned and partnering with communities to introduce innovative approaches that alleviate conflict risks in this fragile and resource-constrained context.
IFAD is working with Billital Maroobe Network (RBM), a network of African pastoralist organizations, on the US$1 million Water for Peace initiative. This project combines social dialogue and digital tools to improve the governance of water and natural resources, ultimately strengthening social cohesion.
Water for Peace will operate in seven countries of the Sahel and surrounding coastal countries in West Africa: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo.
Water is at the heart of many challenges confronting the Sahel. © RBM
Sharing innovation
One of this project’s innovations involves RBM’s proposed methods for negotiating social agreements between pastoralists and farmers about how to govern their shared natural resources, particularly in cross-border areas. Trained facilitators from RBM will map situations of tension and conflict and bring pastoralists and farmers into consultations.
These consultations will determine what natural resource management action plans and infrastructure could be developed to increase shared access to water, among other natural resource considerations, helping to secure livestock mobility and reduce potential conflicts.
Based on the discussions, the project will build wells, drinking troughs, solar-powered drainage systems and ponds to store available water along transhumance trails. These benefit both pastoralist movements and farming communities. The infrastructure will be managed based on agreements between communities, with oversight by community committees.
Digital solutions
The project will also introduce digital tools for pastoralists and policymakers to foster the conditions for peace.
The Transhumance Tracking Tool, developed by the International Organization for Migration in partnership with RBM, provides data on large-scale movements. This helps local policymakers, stakeholders and herders themselves understand pastoralist flows, meet challenges, such as a sudden influx of herds, and take measures to reduce conflict risks.
Similarly, the Betaclic application specializes in a digital chip that is implanted in each animal. This allows pastoralists to monitor an animal’s movements in case of theft and keep track of vaccinations. Herders will also be connected to veterinary and vaccination services, and receive support for obtaining civil registration documents.
These tools not only allow relevant stakeholders to monitor transhumance and reduce the risk of competition over scarce resources, but also ensure that pastoralists remain more secure and can keep their animals healthy and productive.
Finally, the European Space Agency’s Global Development Assistance programme is collaborating with IFAD and RBM to develop a tool that uses satellite Earth Observation to map groundwater levels and its recharge cycles.
This will help the project select exact zones for water infrastructure. Moreover, the technology will enable policymakers and organizations for pastoralists to monitor the availability of water and understand how it can be managed sustainably over entire landscapes.
Across the Sahel, communities are confronting multifaceted challenges with global roots and local implications. That’s why we need to invest in innovations that make a difference in fragile contexts – new technologies and ways of working that strengthen how limited resources are governed, create social cohesion and build prosperity.
