Management

• Diguettes (Magic stones) solution: Lines of stones laid along the contours of gently sloping land. Allows water to seep into soil instead of run-off the land. Reduces soil erosion and increases crop yield
• Diguettes effectiveness: Can be completed as a community project at little cost (funded by charity (oxfam)). Mali and Burkina Faso have seen a 50% crop yield increase
• Managing grazing areas solution: Grasses can re-establish themselves from grazing if they are undisturbed for 1-2 years. One area gets fenced off for this period of time and livestock are moved to another area. This reduces over grazing and trampling to soil
• Managing grazing areas effectiveness: Fencing and land costs are a disadvantage especially in places such as Korr in northern Kenya where poverty is high. Collection of wood for livestock enclosures has destroyed woodland
• Education solution: Farmers are educated to use more appropriate techniques such as: Terracing and drip irrigation. This helps to avoid salinisation and loss of soil nutrients
• Education effectiveness: Expensive unless charity funded, farmers unwilling to change their practice. If successful farmers can pass on this information to the next generation which costs nothing and prevents them from using harmful farming techniques
• Local projects solution: Various attempts to improve water supply and increase irrigation, through both local schemes and large scale projects. (e.g. in Burkina Faso three dams and reservoirs have been constructed)
• Local projects effectiveness: Methods which involve local people are successful if the locals see the improvements such as less flooding and soil loss. More likely to continue the solution if they see the benefits
• Fuel efficient stoves solution: Ripple Africa is a charity which provides households with a fuel efficient stove (e.g. Jiko stove)
• Fuel efficient stoves effectiveness: Is particularly effective in areas where costs of alternative fuels (e.g. karosene) are too expensive for local people. Reduces deforestation as they use less wood for cooking
• Reduction of herd sizes: Reduces the effects of trampling and compaction of already fragile soils
• Reduction of herd sizes: Farmers are not always keen to do this as they lose valuable cash source. Also a culturally sensitive issue as herd size is a measure of a farmers status within the community so farmers may resist change
• Afforestation solution: Planting new trees so that the trees roots can bind the soil together and prevent soil erosion. Trees also act as a wind break which prevents wind erosion
• Afforestation effectiveness: Certain trees provide fruits or nuts for humans to eat reducing malnutrition. However trees take a long time to grow.
• Zai (microbasins, or planting pits) solution: Hollows dug to retain moisture and nutrients which increases infiltration/reduces run-off.
• Zai effectiveness: This ensures year-round plant coverage which protects the soil. Is free as no equipment needed other than what is on the land, therefore easily increases the amount of land available for growing crops
• Fanya juu terraces solution: Have been made by digging a drainage channel and throwing soil uphill to make a ridge to increase infiltration
• Fanyu juu terraces effectiveness: Maintaining these is very labour intensive