Published in August 2018

Sand Dams Worldwide Chairman David Jordan's latest blog explores the potential impact sand dams could have on wildlife in drylands, and our plans to link with the Kenyan Wildlife Service.

These days hardly a week goes by without more distressing news of the decline of nature across the globe. Sadly this is nothing new. In my lifetime I have seen first hand the disappearance of precious places where I played as a child. Things that were once common are now rare. And there are new species ‘on the block’ pushing out animals and plants that were once familiar. Africa is thought to be particularly vulnerable to future wildlife decline with some bird and mammal species facing further declines of up to 50%.

Habitat loss is one of the main reasons for the decline in global biodiversity but it’s not the only one. Changes to the global climate and land degradation have joined the destruction of natural environments as major players in the decline of plants and animals. All three are interrelated. Habitat loss can contribute to land degradation which, in turn, releases carbon stored in the soil accelerating climate change. That’s why from the peat uplands of the UK to the rainforests of the Amazon conservationists have set up projects that protect the land, conserve nature and support local people.

"Sand Dams Worldwide is playing its part in conserving threatened wild animal populations by providing water for wildlife as well as for local communities in some of the driest parts of Africa."

Sand Dams Worldwide is playing its part in conserving threatened wild animal populations by providing water for wildlife as well as for local communities in some of the driest parts of Africa. The Lekurruki Conservancy in Northern Kenya is home to Mukogodo Maasai and their herds of livestock. They share this part of Kenya with a quarter of the country’s wildlife including populations of endangered mammals such as the African elephant and Grévy's zebra. When water is scarce there is conflict between local people needing water for drinking and cooking and herds of wild animals that also need water to survive in arid conditions. By providing enough water for all we are seeing that people and animals can live side by side.

That’s why at some of our dams you can spot elephants, as well as people using the new watering holes. Building more sand dams in this part of the world would mean local communities can live in harmony with nature and we can play our part in halting the decline of some of the world’s most iconic species. So we are linking up with the Kenya Wildlife Service to see what sand dams can do for wildlife in Kenya’s driest national parks; an initiative which could ultimately have worldwide significance.

Please consider making a donation today to enable more pastoralist communities to extend the network of sand dams in the Northern Rangelands, providing their families, neighbours, livestock as well as wildlife in the region with clean water for life.