Year 2024 Madagascar

Purpose

Improve drinking and irrigation water supply for three villages in Ambaro Bay, Madagascar by constructing water supply infrastructure, rehabilitating existing water channels for irrigation, and reforesting degraded inland zones that influence the area’s natural water supply and its quality.

Climate Impacts

The following impacts were reported by community members in Siranana, Angodorofo, and Ankazomahity:

• Increased cyclones which affect access to water and water quality

• Decreased availability of freshwater for drinking

• Loss of crops due to decreased rainfall and drought

• Forest and mangrove degradation

Madagascar-Ambaro Bay-01
Madagascar-Ambaro Bay-02

Activities

Rehabilitation of water supply infrastructure

In 2000, an NGO built water supply infrastructure in the village of Ankazomahity. Since 2012, it has been damaged. To improve Ankazomahity’s access to water, this infrastructure will be repaired.

Construction of water reservoirs or wells

Depending on the communities’ needs, either a water reservoir or a well will be built in each village.

Construction of drinking fountains

For the villages with water reservoirs, drinking fountains will be built so the community can easily access the water for drinking and cooking.

Rehabilitation of irrigation channels

Since the villages already have irrigation channels, these channels will be rehabilitated to improve and better manage water for agriculture and local fish farming.

Reforestation of inland forest areas

To maintain and improve the water in the irrigation channels, communities will reforest degraded inland forest areas that influence water quantity and quality. This will also reduce runoff that causes sedimentation in the nearby mangroves and reduce siltation in agricultural fields.

project outcomes

100 households with access to irrigation for fish farming

5,900 individuals with improved access to drinking water

Increased conservation of inland forests and mangroves

3 water reservoirs and associate drinking fountains or wells constructed in three villages

450 hectares of agricultural land with new or improved access to irrigation water

project design

In the Siranana, Angodorofo, and Ankazomahity villages in northern Madagascar’s Ambaro Bay, residents have been facing issues related to water supply due to changes in weather and climate. Currently, community members access water from wells and natural water sources. During the dry season, the wells have very low water levels that cannot cover the community’s basic needs and throughout the year, the wells have water quality issues. The natural water sources are often polluted by solid waste and runoff during the rainy season which brings heavy precipitation and cyclones. Additionally, some of these water sources are far away from the villages, with residents—primarily women and girls—trekking 600 to 2,000 meters.

To alleviate some of these issues, WWF Madagascar is rehabilitating existing water infrastructure, constructing new water infrastructure, and helping to reforest inland areas that influence natural water supply and quality. Existing drinking water supply infrastructure in Ankazomahity will be fixed, which has not been operational since 2012. In the other villages, wells or reservoirs with drinking fountains will be built, increasing the communities’ water security throughout the year.

Many households in these three villages rely on agriculture for sustenance and income and are dependent on irrigation water as consistent rainfall has decreased in recent years. To improve crop yields, irrigation channels will be restored, culminating in 300 additional hectares of agricultural land with new or improved access to irrigation. As part of a different WWF initiative, these communities are also being introduced to freshwater fish farming as a sustainable and nature-friendly income source. The increase in access to irrigation water will also benefit this new livelihood. To sustain access to irrigation water, communities will work to reforest inland forest zones that affect natural water supplies. By improving the degraded forest ecosystem, runoff from storms that cause sedimentation and pollution will be reduced along with conditions that cause siltation in agricultural fields.

Existing wells and water supply infrastructure in Siranana, Angodorofo, and Ankazomahity.

Left: Aerial view of the village of Siranana. Right: A rice field impacted by a recent cyclone.