africa

Overview This article is part of a series of articles about Sustainable Water Management in Arid Regions of Africa. Proper water management facilitates rural development and is the first stap of a roadmap towards realizing a region rich in biodiversity, with a sustainable, prosperous economy.  Summary Digging trenches can increase vegetation, even in the African desert. This proven concept is cheap, scalable and very effective, even for regions with annual rainfall of less than 100 mm.  Problem Arid regions tend to form a hydrophobic soil, which hinders surface water from seeping into the soil, especially after heavy rainfall. As a result, terrestrial runoff create superficial streams of water, that rapidly evolve into fast-flowing rivers, causing both loss of precious water and soil erosion. Solution: Contour Trenching Method Digging trenches stops terrestrial runoff. For the trenches to be effective, they can be just 1 to over 3 feet deep.  Trenches capture rainwater, so rainwater has time to slowly seep into the soil, thereby raising groundwater levels.At the same time, soil erosion is prevented, preserving the top layer of soil (which contains most of the nutrients) for vegetation. In addition, trenches create a better microclimate for plant growth. In time, a robust ecosystem can be developed with potential for agriculture / polyculture. This could include multiple crops, such as annuals, perennials (incl. bulbs), shrubs and even trees.  On flat land a pattern of straight trenches (each of limited length) is applied. For hilly areas parallel C-shaped trenches are used, about 4 meter in diameter. For mountaineous areas continuous trenches are used (perpendicular to the slope of the hill).  The contour trenching technique was invented by the Peter Westerveld (The Netherlands). The contour trenching method is being promoted by non-profit organization Naga Foundation. Ambitions are to use contour trenching to combat desert formation and even to regreen existing deserts in Africa.  Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCli0gyNwL0 Contour trenching in Africa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDjW8WvFcGQ contour trenching on a large scale in Israel and Australia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M6d1BntE6w Continuous contour trenching in practice in Asia All articles about Water Management for Reforestation and Agriculture in Africa

The waterboxx is a kind of a plastic bucket with a planting hole for a tree in the middle. The design of the lid causes water to condense during the night and drains the water in the bucket reservoir. Also occasional rainwater is collected by the lid and stored in the bucket. A peace of rope slowly releases the water from the bucket to the root system of the tree. Ambitions are to use the water boxx to turn deserts into green oasis. In theory the waterboxx has the potential to solve the problem of CO2 emission. The waterboxx was developed by Pieter Hoff. Distribution of the product is taken care of by Aqua Pro. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRF2bUBPA90A tiny version of the giant water pyramid is the German Water Cone, (watch video) producing about 6 glasses of drinking water per day. Other articles about Water Management