World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

The wetland surrounding the town of Dori in the northern tip of Burkina Faso is a vital resource for the population of the town and surrounding areas. It is an important source of water and pasture. However, over the years, the marsh has suffered – its capacity to hold water has shrunk as it is being silted up by sand and soil from erosion in the surrounding areas.

In June 2013, WFP Country Director Angelline Rudakubana and the Mayor of Dori Albert Diallo visited the wetland and its surroundings to discuss how WFP could collaborate with the municipality of Dori on a project designed to rehabilitate the wetland. In addition to losing its water source, if the swamp cannot retain water, the town is at high risk of flooding from the heavy rains that come once a year, such as those that occurred in 2012.

The canal that drains the city is in need of repair. WFP is working with the local population; some 600 people from the surrounding communities will work on rehabilitating the five kilometer canal through WFP’s cash for assets activities.

The canal will reduce flooding in Dori town, where silting up of the wetland has reduced its  water capacity. Participants receive 1,200 CFA (US$ 2.40) for each day of work.

The German ambassador Christian Germann discusses the project with the WFP Country Director and one of the project’s technicians from the mayor’s office, Sebogo Yaya.

Each participant brings one large rock to work every day and then together the participants work to turn the stones into the walls of the canal.

Women participants remove the earth that has been excavated to make the canal.

Three of the participants on the leadership committee of the project.

The participants’ belongings are set aside as they work. The leaves in the bowls come from trees and are used to make sauce to eat with millet, the staple food in this area.

The project’s participants cheer. Three other phases follow the initial, highly labour-intensive emergency phase with longer-term activities, including environmental protection, the reforestation of the areas around the wetland as well as anti-erosion techniques such as low stone walls. WFP was able to support this project through generous contributions from the UK and Italy.