Excellent! - excellentdevelopment.com

The release of the government commissioned Stern Report has renewed attention on the impacts of climate change in Africa, and the measures that can be taken at a grassroots level to mitigate the risks. Sir Nicholas Stern’s strong call for action reinforces the validity of Excellent’s use of sand dams as an effective and necessary small-scale approach to strengthening communities’ long-term sustainability.

The Stern report highlights the fact that climate change impacts are unevenly distributed, with the poorest countries being most affected. The reasons for this include a reliance on farming, an industry which is very climate sensitive, and a “geographical disadvantage” in that southern countries are already warmer than northern regions and suffering from higher rainfall variability. This makes effective soil and water conservation essential in semi-arid areas.

Simon Maddrell, Excellent Development co-founder comments, "The development challenges in semi-arid Africa are completely different to the industrial nations. In semi-arid Africa it is conservation that can actually create sustainable development. Water and soil conservation provides farmers with the environment to create livelihoods by creating oases in semi-arid lands that can support water and food security. Arguably, the communities we are working with are doing far more to reverse the impacts of climate change than any of us in the West. They deserve our support, not just because they struggle to sustain their lives, but as global citizens concerned with the future of our planet."

Oxfam and the New Economics Foundation have also recently published a report entitled "Africa: Up In Smoke?" focusing on the particular problems faced by Africa, the world’s poorest region, and hence the most vulnerable to climate change. They say that in the future, continually rising temperatures will lower crop levels and put additional strain on water resources. In this environment, communities who come together to terrace their land to improve soil and water conservation stand a better chance of survival in the long-term.

The Oxfam/NEF report goes on to highlight the use of sand dams in Africa and their contribution towards environmentally sustainable water retention. They are credited with providing clean water, controlling erosion, improving water infiltration and allowing for plant re-growth.

Sand dams and terracing are two of the three key elements of Excellent’s model: the third is tree planting. Used together these methods can benefit livelihoods in a way which doesn’t compromise the environment, but strengthens it. The current pressure of climate change and threat of economic, social and environmental instability makes the implementation of such approaches to sustainability even more urgent.

Simon concludes, "We sometimes forget how much we depend on Africa for our own livelihoods. Whilst we may control the flow of raw materials and economically control much of Africa, we forget how much global climatic changes will change what we take for granted. Most of us feed ourselves, at one time or another, with fruit and vegetables imported from Africa, we drink their coffee and their tea, we eat their chocolate and we send flowers to family and friends - 70% of which come from Kenya. Even if we only want to protect our standard of living, helping Africa to conserve its environment is an imperative we choose to ignore at our peril."

Download Excellent Development's Report on Sand Dams and Climate Change

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