The Barwaaqo project will expand services in Somaliland,
Puntland, Galmudug, and the South West States while expanding to include
two additional federal member states—Hirshabelle and Jubbaland—where
the project will focus on the areas situated away from the floodplains
of the Shabelle and the Jubba rivers. This project will provide water to
500,000 people, representing approximately 15% of the rural population,
who currently only have access to limited services and unimproved or
surface water.
“The Barwaaqo project supports communities to
build resilience and adapt to climate change by improving access to
water resources in a dryland environment,” said Kristina Svensson, World Bank Country Manager for Somalia. “Increasing access to water will help improve human health and well-being, particularly in the face of the current drought.”
Environmental
challenges, exacerbated by climate change over the years, have
contributed to degrading over a quarter of Somalia’s territory, and
coupled with deforestation and loss of soil, rural livelihoods are under
threat. These challenges, along with droughts, also cause pastoralists
to lose their livestock (their main source of wealth and income) while
farmers and agro-pastoralists lose their harvest (which is their main
source of food). Given that pastoralism and agriculture are important to
the economy, land degradation leads to reduction in income and food
security and affects rural livelihoods, with a direct knock-on effect on
the urban economy. It is estimated that approximately 54%
of Somalia’s population live in urban areas and a shift to urban hubs
has increased pressure on existing water infrastructure. Scarce water resources must be shared between rural communities and growing urban centers.
“To
increase the sustainability of investments, the Barwaaqo project will
integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation measures which will
support the strengthening of natural resources management. This includes
water harvesting and storage, soil conservation, afforestation, and
rangelands restoration around water points to slowly ‘green’ the
drylands,” said Chantal Richey, World Bank Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist.
For better water storage across Somalia’s drylands, opportunities exist within the Barwaaqo project
to deploy low-cost, small-scale water harvesting and storage
technologies. For example, sand dams can protect communities, livestock,
and crops from flash floods. They can also promote water storage, as
demonstrated by the Rabaable dam which was completely filled by one
single 20-minute rain shower in early May and was able to provide water
for the entire duration of the dry season.
These, combined with
soil improvement techniques, can reduce run-off and erosion, promote
infiltration, reduce evaporation losses, and contribute towards
restoring the soil. This will promote sustainable use of natural
resources which will improve the availability of water for longer
periods, thus reducing water-related displacement and reducing the
drivers of resource-based conflicts.
*The World Bank’s
International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps
the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to
zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic
growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of
the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 74 poorest countries,
39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to
the 1.3 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has
provided $496 billion to 114 countries. Annual commitments have
increased steadily and averaged about $34.7 billion over the last three
years (FY20-FY22), with about 70 percent going to Africa. Learn more
online: IDA.worldbank.org. #IDAworks
