Eco-DRR project Fact Sheet Sudan
Publisher: UNEP and the European Commission
Date: 2015
Topics: Climate Change, Land, Livelihoods, Renewable Resources
Countries: Sudan
Only 30 years ago, during the rainy seasons in North Darfur, the wadis or seasonal rivers were once lush with vegetation. Forest reserves were part of the natural landscape, and the seasonal waters would give life to the drylands of Darfur. Today, the area is experiencing severe environmental degradation. Unsustainable farming, deforestation and overgrazing have undermined the capacity of these dryland ecosystems to support local livelihoods. Diminishing agricultural yields have forced farmers to cultivate larger areas of land. For pastoralists, expansion of crop production has meant less land available for grazing. With climate change, rainfall is expected to become less predictable, and droughts and flash-floods will increase. Our Eco-DRR strategy in Sudan applies Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) for achieving both food security and disaster risk reduction. It seeks to strengthen governance mechanisms, by involving different wadi users to gain shared responsibility for water and land management. Improving the availability and management of water and land resources in the community will in turn enhance food security and thus build resilience to waterrelated disasters.