The return of the water - IUCN

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Foreword This book tells the story of times past, when wetlands were considered as wastelands and decisionmakers and managers were unaware of their benefits, a time when the adverse impacts of hydropower and irrigation schemes on ecosystems and people downstream seemed unimportant. This story has a happier ending in these more enlightened times when wetland ecosystems are viewed as essential elements in integrated river basin planning, which draws upon the most appropriate modern science and traditional knowledge. The hero of the story is one of the best-known floodplains of the Sahel - the Waza Logone floodplain in the Extreme-North Province of Cameroon. This book tells of the partial restoration of the wetland using lessons from the floodplain’s history to partially correct earlier mistakes. The Logone River in Cameroon is typical of many rivers in Africa. In the dry season, it may almost cease to flow, whereas during the wet season (August-September), with an average flow rate of 1,800 m3/sec, it may overflow its banks. Before the 1980s, when seasonal floods were unimpeded by engineering works, a vast area on the left bank, encompassing a substantial part of Waza National Park, was temporally flooded most years. Fishers, farmers and nomadic pastoralists used the floodplain, following the annual flood pattern in a well-established sequence which allowed all users to benefit from the inundated land before, during, and after the wet season. Thousands of elephants and giraffes, and a huge population of antelopes, roamed the floodplain in and around Waza National Park, providing a significant source of tourism-related income for local people and the government. However, in the late 1970s, a 30 km long dam was built to create a 400 km 2 reservoir (Lake Maga) needed for a series of rice projects (SEMRY 1 and SEMRY 2). This dam and the many kilometres of embankments on the left bank of the Logone River deprived the Waza Logone floodplain of much of its natural flood water and, therefore, of its ecological potential. From 1981until the mid-1990s, this sharp reduction in flooding led to major environmental degradation and severe social upheaval over an area covering 800,000 hectares downstream of Lake Maga. These dramatic changes had a serious impact on the many people who relied on the natural resources for their livelihoods. Income dropped due to smaller fish catches, reduced arable land available for floating rice or sorghum growing and for flood recession farming, and also because fuel wood, fruits, medicines and tradable products such as Arabic gum, were less plentiful. Dry season grazing lands for cattle and wildlife were also greatly reduced. Thus, the sudden and nearly total alteration of the water regime over several tens of thousands of hectares of floodplain had an immediate impact on ecosystem functions and services, resulting in large-scale emigration of local people, cattle and wildlife to other areas. In response to the droughts which affected the Sahel in the 1960s and 1970s, many countries opted for large-scale, intensive irrigation schemes to meet their food security needs and to provide export opportunities. Unfortunately, until the early 1990s, these schemes were premised on overly optimistic economic forecasts and, even worse, implemented without any assessment of their impacts on downstream ecosystems and livelihoods. Today, a wealth of evidence demonstrates that, in many instances, these engineering projects (SEMRY being one of them) have not delivered the food increases anticipated during pre-commissioning phases. It has therefore become apparent that full floodplain conversion to irrigated agriculture is economically risky because the traditional farming, herding and fishing activities which such projects replace require no capital investments and often generate higher and more regular (and thus safer) returns per unit of water used. From 1990-2003, the Government of Cameroon and IUCN - The World Conservation Union, with the support of the Government of the Netherlands, SEMRY, the provincial, local and traditional vii
authorities, the University of Leiden (CML), the Centre for Environment and Development in Cameroon (CEDC) and other technical institutions in Africa and Europe, have been working to rehabilitate the degraded Waza Logone floodplain. The project used the ecosystem approach as the guiding principle for establishing participatory planning and management procedures, carrying out numerous environmental, social and economic studies, as well as for training and communication activities. The aim of the Waza Logone project has never been to restore the floodplain to its pre-dam status. On the contrary, when seeking alternative water management options, much effort was devoted to ensuring that restoration would not jeopardise the SEMRY rice scheme. This illustrates the idea that the 1970s dam planning process could easily have been carried out in partnership with all stakeholders, giving due consideration to the viability of downstream resources. The outcome of the project is extremely heartening, with considerable positive impacts on the income and livelihoods of local communities, major increases in fish catches, traditional farming productivity and carrying capacity for livestock and wildlife in Waza National Park. Locally, the people have understood the need to protect their floodplain ecosystem. They have also become more familiar with planning, community-based resources management and sustainable use practices. Last, but certainly not least, through improved local-level management systems, local people have undertaken to pursue the work initiated by the project. We hope that the results achieved over the past decade will convince policy makers, engineers and donors that water management for irrigation should be an integral part of the overall endeavour to use ecological systems more equitably and sustainably. Sound environmental management for sustainable development is a key component of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Integrated water resources management which gives ample consideration to the environment and biodiversity will play an essential role in the fight against poverty in many African countries and will help to place these countries, both individually and collectively, on the path towards sustainable development. HE Ms Agnes van Ardenne Minister for Development Cooperation The Netherlands viii
Page 1 and 2: IUCN - The World Conservation Union
Page 3 and 4: The designation of geographical ent
Page 6 and 7: Table of Contents Foreword vii Cont
Page 10 and 11: Contributors Dr. Mike Acreman, Head
Page 12 and 13: from the Atlas de la Province de l
Page 14 and 15: List of Tables 1.1 Major floodplain
Page 16: List of Plates 1.1 Different views
Page 20 and 21: 1 1.1 Floodplains Introduction By P
Page 22 and 23: Introduction Rainfall in the Sahel
Page 24 and 25: species of ungulates, such as korri
Page 26 and 27: From its inception, the Waza Logone
Page 28: Part II The Receding Water
Page 31 and 32: The Return of the Water tonnes to 4
Page 33 and 34: The Return of the Water that the re
Page 36 and 37: 3 Consequences of the Dam and the D
Page 38 and 39: eduction in flooding (Drijver and M
Page 40: 3.3 Socio-economic consequences Con
Page 44 and 45: 4 The Wider Context By Sun Yan Evan
Page 46 and 47: Africa. A third migration route to
Page 48 and 49: The Wider Context The geographical
Page 50 and 51: 5 Hydrology of the Waza Logone Area
Page 52 and 53: variable, the extent, depth, durati
Page 54: Hydrology of the Waza Logone Area C
Page 57 and 58: The Return of the Water brought to
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The Return of the Water 1997). The
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The Return of the Water dam, the pe
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The Return of the Water 1948; Ngog
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The Return of the Water into the bu
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Part IV Living with the Seasons
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The Return of the Water While the f
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The Return of the Water Most of the
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The Return of the Water which the f
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The Return of the Water from € 0.
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The Return of the Water The Musgum
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The Return of the Water check their
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Plate 1.2 Kob antelopes at the Mahe
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Plate 7.2 Seasonal movements of pas
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Plate 7.4 Fishing cannals in the Lo
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Plate 7.7 Big fish are only caught
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The Return of the Water staple food
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8 Conflicts and Conflict Management
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Conflicts and Conflict Management i
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Conflicts and Conflict Management i
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Part V The Intervention
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The Return of the Water for the Exi
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The Return of the Water both techni
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The Return of the Water (IUCN 2000a
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The Return of the Water 9.5 The Waz
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The Return of the Water of the part
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10 The Waza Logone Project in Actio
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The Waza Logone Project in Action F
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The Waza Logone Project in Action F
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The Waza Logone Project in Action f
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follow to obtain permits, and also,
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started by painting in red trees or
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The Waza Logone Project in Action
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The project maintained relations wi
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11 11.1 Introduction Economic Justi
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Although it is impossible to effect
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Economic Justification of Additiona
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Figure 11.5 Composition of incremen
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12 Tools and Practices for Floodpla
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of the 1994 and 1997 pilot flood re
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Tools and Practices for Floodplain
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A major output from the study was a
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Step 10. Monitor, evaluate and adap
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5. Assess the impacts of options.
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Introduction 137
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Introduction From this premise the
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Introduction One of the most promis
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Introduction reorganisation of the
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Introduction Improving the effectiv
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Map 6.1 Satellite images showing se
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Map 6.3 Positions of two elephants
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Introduction Beauvilain, A. 1981.
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Introduction Gash, J.H.C., C.A. Nob
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Introduction Moritz, M., P. Scholte
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Introduction communities’ and ind
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