Rain, Forest and People

Senegal, Fatick Region and bordering areas of Thiès
Intervention zone located approximately 150 km south east of Dakar

Disaster Risk Management & Ecosystem Restoration

2018–2020 · Completed

Landscape & Rainfall Context

Rural landscapes facing rapid deforestation, soil degradation, declining agricultural productivity, and increasing pressure on water resources. Rainfall variability linked to climate change has intensified droughts and heavy rainfall events, increasing erosion, runoff, and the salinisation of aquifers. The weakening of forests, hedgerows, and mangroves has reduced natural protection against major climatic hazards.

Project Focus

Strengthen food sovereignty and climate resilience of farming communities by restoring ecosystems, improving soil and water resource management, and reinforcing sustainable agroforestry based farming systems.

Key Solutions Implemented

Rainwater resource management | Agroforestry plot establishment | Soil restoration and land stabilisation | Groundwater recharge systems | Vegetated anti erosion barriers | Tree nurseries and reforestation | Capacity building for farmers and local actors | Exchange visits and community learning

Impact snapshot / Direct beneficiaries

9,112

direct beneficiaries

18,580

indirect beneficiaries

70

family farms supported

2,000

family farm leaders sensitized

14

village nursery managers trained

1

agroforestry technical advisers trained

14

village Agroforestry Committees formed

40,000

approx. trees planted in agroforestry systems

60-70

hectares degraded land restored

60-70

hectares of market garden sites restored with hedgerows and windbreaks

70

units of 5 m³ rainwater harvesting cisterns installed

7

km of vegetated anti erosion barriers installed

4

pilot demonstration plots implemented

5

masons trained

Local implementation partners

APAF Senegal | EPFL – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | De Gevulde Waterkruik

Donors and supporters

Fondation Audemars Piguet | City of Geneva

Sustainable Development Goals

Reduce economic vulnerability

Enable resilient rain-fed farming

Rain for WASH

Mitigation + adaptation at the grassroots level 

Reforestation & ecosystem regeneration

Networks and global-local cooperation

La Pluie, la Forêt et les Hommes Senegal – Project factsheet (PDF)

Factsheet_Rain_Forest_People