Restoring water, reviving communities

The Kunene-Cuvelai Landscape in northern Namibia and southern Angola is a vast, transboundary area facing a severe, multi-faceted water crisis driven by extreme climatic variability. Farmers in the landscape are predominantly subsistence agro-pastoralists whose livelihoods are vulnerable as the region experiences recurrent climatic crises, including severe drought and damaging floods (efundjas). They rely on traditional farming systems that are increasingly stressed by climate change and land degradation.

In the water-scarce of Kunene-Cuvelai landscape, the Okatikaawa water point in the Ruacana Constituency is a vital piece of water infrastructure, providing safe drinking  water to village residents and over 35 cattle posts, and is essential for sustaining livestock such as cattle and goats, reflecting the predominantly agro-pastoralists livelihoods of the community. Wildlife including elephants is also common in the area and depend on the water point, where dedicated water troughs have been installed. 

Limited access to water forced farmers to transport it from distant villages for domestic use and livestock, creating a costly burden that few households could sustain. With a view to maintaining and improving the farming operations of the Oshikondailongo village, the Dryland Sustainable Landscapes Impact Program (DSL-IP) has helped local farmers to revive the Okatikaawa waterpoint. 

In partnership with the Namibia Ministry of Agriculture Water and Land Reform’s Department of Rural Water Supply, and following extensive field assessments, the DSL-IP project has provided technical support to rehabilitate earth dams and boreholes across the Kunene-Cuvelai Landscape, with the primary goal of ensuring water availability for both human consumption and livestock. Project activities have also included the installation of three new solar panels and a submersible pump at the Okatikaawa water point, which was the first site to be rehabilitated. 

“Uncontrolled access to water sources often leads to overgrazing and soil compaction in surrounding areas, which are major drivers of land degradation. Managed access helps advance land degradation neutrality targets. By providing a designated, managed water source, the project can effectively address this challenge” remarks Salom Shoomeya, the Kunene-Cuvelai Regional Project Implementation Officer for the DSL-IP project. 

Author: Nelao Sheila Haimbodi, Knowledge Management Stakeholders Engagement and Outreach Expert, DSL-IP Namibia country project

===
The GEF 7-Dryland Sustainable Landscapes Impact Program (DSL-IP) Namibia Child Project, supported by FAO and executed by the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform  actively works to address the problem of increasing land degradation in the Miombo-Mopane dry forest belt of northern Namibia, specifically targeting three landscapes spanning across the Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto and Kavango East regions.