These are Our Water Pipes—Sand Dams, Women and Donkeys: Dealing with Water Scarcity in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands

Abstract

The uncertainty and intensity of rainfall, and the high evaporation rates in Africa’s arid and semi-arid lands are making traditional water sources undependable. Sand Dams represent a development and adaptation strategy that is increasingly being used to combat this growing water insecurity. When operationalized, these small-scale structures increase the size of the riverbed reservoir, thereby allowing more water to be captured and stored during the rainy season. Additionally, a developed Sand Dam is argued to improve the quality of water and build resilience through enabling ecological restoration, diversified livelihoods and the creation of socioeconomic capital. The first section of this paper focuses on how the Sand Dam strategy brings added advantages by reviewing the literature and evaluating the effectiveness of Sand Dams as a development and adaptation strategy. The second section presents findings from five Sand Dam projects in Kenya and explores which social factors and processes are contributing to the success of projects. The case studies emphasize the importance of community cohesion and drive, capacity building and follow-up from the implementing institutions. It has been noticed that these social factors are equal in importance to the proper construction and technical considerations of the concrete structure and are in fact the key factors ensuring that a Dam matures into a proper functioning Sand Dam.KeywordsAdaptation StrategyUnited Nations Environment ProgrammeCommunity CohesionCommunity VulnerabilitySocioeconomic VulnerabilityThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.