The Barwaaqo Project focuses primarily on:-
I: Improving access to multiple-use water resources (for human consumption, livestock and small-scale irrigation) in dry lands of Somalia.
II: Strengthening capacity of communities and local, state and national-level institutions.
III: Supporting community-led investments in sustainable land management; iv) promoting the uptake of productivity-enhancing innovations among target rural communities.
V: Strengthening the adaptive capacity of rural communities in Somalia and their resilience to the impacts of Climate Change.
This component aims to improve water availability for domestic use, farming, and livestock, and to address the effects of climate change–exacerbated droughts and floods by developing a slew of water supply infrastructure that provides reliable supply, including small sand and subsurface dams in dry riverbeds (wadis) and surface water storage infrastructure (for example, berkads and hafir dams).
This component will be implemented by the Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock in Somaliland . It will support interventions aimed at creating and strengthening sustainable and productive livelihoods for communities around water points, ensuring that access to water translates into improved livelihoods while addressing vulnerabilities to flood and drought. It will scale up agriculture support services in the existing approximately 100 sites targeted by Biyoole where water infrastructure has already been installed and Community Investment Plans (CIPs) are available. In the 150 communities targeted in the proposed Barwaaqo project, once the water points are constructed, the priority agricultural services as identified by the CIPs developed under Component 4.2 will be implemented. The agricultural activities supported by the project will improve food security and reduce the gender gap in agricultural and livestock productivity, as well as assets, through several measures targeted towards women and women-owned businesses and collectives. This component will provide the foundation for possible future support to Somali agriculture under the Regional Food Systems Resilience Program.
This component will be implemented by the Ministries of Environment in Somaliland. It aims to address vulnerabilities to extreme climate events and enhance the benefits from the sustainable management of catchments in project areas. It includes the promotion of rangelands restoration—thus contributing to land degradation neutrality (LDN) and introduction of appropriate practices for sustainable land management (SLM), thereby reinforcing national climate mitigation measures to increase forest cover and soil organic carbon (SOC). More specifically, increased vegetation cover, riverbank protection, and promotion of water storage will contribute to mitigate the impacts of flooding, while soil and water conservation techniques reduce soil loss and increase soil moisture content and thus help to reduce vulnerability to droughts. The project will invest in efforts to restore ecosystems and mitigate, as well as adapt to, climate change. This will not only improve livelihoods and contribute to poverty reduction, but also help to mitigate the effects of Somaliland’s variable climate. It will increase much needed water harvesting opportunities—key to increasing water security and, thus, communities’ resilience to droughts. It will further strengthen the capacity of the different government and community institutions to develop and implement environmental activities and regulations. The Ministry of Environment in Somaliland will implement this component. This component will complement the Somaliland Climate Change Program ,which aims to strengthen and mainstream climate change actions in rural water and agricultural projects, and urban and infrastructure investments.
This component will finance the operational costs of the project management units in Somaliland and the National Project Implementation Unit (NPIU). It will be implemented by the Ministry of Planning and National Development in Somaliland.
