Our Projects · Disaster Risk Management & Ecosystem Restoration

The Forest of the Sea

A kop ale no maag ole – La forêt de la mer

Villages of the Sine Saloum estuary replanted mangroves, retained rainwater and grew trees to slow the spread of salty land.

CompletedDisaster Risk Management & Ecosystem Restoration2021–2024

WhereSenegal, Sine Saloum estuary (Fatick region), communes of Djilasse and Diofior

When2021–2024

WithOcéanium Dakar and APAF Senegal

Rainfall≈ 686 mm a year in Senegalnational average, World Bank; local figure to add

Results

1,144direct beneficiaries
3retention ponds restored, adding about 500 m³ of rainwater storage
66.3hectares of mangrove restored

The Challenge

In the Sine Saloum, salty bare land (tannes) is advancing. It shrinks mangroves and inland vegetation, degrades soils and contaminates aquifers. Droughts in the 1970s and 1980s and population growth increased pressure on the mangroves, and the process has accelerated since 2015. Natural ponds dry up four to five months after the rains, forcing herders and their animals to move in search of water.

Rain in Senegal: about 686 mm a year, mostly June to October. Source: World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal (observed 1991–2020) and World Bank average precipitation.

What We Did

Restored mangroves with village mangrove committees, supported by mangrove nurseries.
Rebuilt three boulis (retention ponds) in 2023 with community work, and planted vegetation around them to reduce evaporation.
Installed anti-erosion measures in fields hit by run-off, and trained farmers to apply them.
Created agroforestry plots that give families wood and fodder and help restore soils.
Ran water-cycle murals, a nursery visit and a film debate in Djilasse schools.
Held a community festival in Faoye in December 2023 on protecting the mangrove and local resources.

Results

1,144 direct and about 10,374 indirect beneficiaries in the intervention villages.
About 500 m³ of extra rainwater storage from the three boulis, which filled with the first rains of 2023.
66.3 hectares of mangrove restored.
2 village mangrove committees trained, and 44 heads of family farms supported to create vegetated cordons against erosion.
2,000 to 3,000 people took part in community awareness sessions.
2,500 schoolchildren made aware of the water cycle and mangrove protection.
Farmers have started using the anti-erosion techniques in other fields of their village.

“The training given by the Océanium and IRHA field workers has been very useful and has enabled us to apply the techniques taught to other fields in the village affected by run-off problems.”
Elhadji Faye, Faoye village, member of the village mangrove committee (IRHA blog, June 2023)