During le last two decades, German cooperation made very good experiences in the rehabilitation and agricultural valorisation of degraded dry valleys in the Sahelian countries Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. The Water-spreading weirs reduce the run-off velocity of periodic rain waters, facilitate its infiltration and generate agricultural production areas of high profitability in marginal areas.

In the context of highly variable precipitation with recurrent periods of drought, this measure strengthens the resilience of the local population against food insecurity. The process of construction and rehabilitation / agricultural valorisation needs technical and organisational expertise: Land tenure and access questions are of high priority and are negotiated and solved within local conventions; municipalities have to coordinate the process, agricultural extension is necessary to use in an optimal way the new potentials.

The study “Water-spreading weirs for the development of degraded dry river valleys” describes this approach in its systemic dimension based on the experiences of three programmes of the German cooperation.

The study was coordinated and financed by the KfW and GIZ.

• Water-spreading weirs for the development of degraded dry river valleys
  giz2012-de-talschwellen-sahel.pdf, 1.70 MB (German)
  giz2012-en-water-spreading-weirs-sahel.pdf, 2.34 MB (English)
  giz2012-fr-seuils-depandage-sahel.pdf, 1.87 MB (French)