- Type of project
- ORIO – Infrastructural project
- Location
- Saint Louis, Senegal (Senegal)
- Continent
- Africa
- Company
- DHV Group
- Client
- OMVS (Organisation la Mise en Valeur du fleuve Sénégal)
- Period
- 15 months, December 2011 up to May 2013
- Contract value
- ± M € 1.5
- Objective
The overall objective of the project is the sustainable rehabilitation of the flood plains in the Senegal delta between Diama and Richard Toll in order to restore the livelihood of the people living in the delta and to protect the natural environment.
Project information
The livelihood of about 400,000 people living in the Senegal River Delta is severely affected by aquatic weed pests covering the flood plains.
Two dams built in the second half of the 1980’s determine the river conditions in the Senegal Delta. Stagnant fresh water in the flood plains have caused infestation of aquatic weed pasts (particularly typha australis). This situation causes water related health problems (bilharzia, malaria), degradation of food production (irrigated farming and fishing), wetland degradation by monoculture endangering the habitat for migratory birds and water quality for intake points for major capitals Dakar and Nouakchott.
Description of project
The problem grew beyond control in the late 1990’s. The River Basin Management Organisation OMVS has been seeking solutions for more than a decade now, without finding a viable sustainable solution.This project aims at rehabilitation of the flood plains, taking away the favourable habitat for typha. The project will reduce the aquatic weed pests by construction of polders in the flood plains. Thus an area with negative impact on the livelihood of the riparian communities will be replaced by 3100 ha of arable land with a potential for further economic development.
Short-term objectives of the project:
- Design and realise a polder system in the river flood plains with polder dikes along the main river channel and drainage of the flood plains to regulate the physical conditions for controlling over 3000 hectares of aquatic weed infestation between Rosso and Richard Toll.
- Create the basic conditions in the polder for profitable land use.
- Set-up of a sustainable institutional structure for polder operation and maintainance.
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