Wetlands International (https://www.wetlands.org/) received funding from the Dutch Embassy to conduct a comprehensive impact study on ecosystems and livelihoods in the Upper Niger Basin (UNB) with special focus on the Inner Niger Delta (IND) in Mali. The IND is one of the largest wetlands worldwide and is habitat to millions of migrating birds and provides around 1.5 million people with natural resources and livelihoods, such as fish, grasslands for cattle grazing, rice farming, and gardening.
The role of the PIK team involved in this phase of the project is the development of land and water management scenarios in the Upper Niger and Bani River basins in West Africa. This includes the parameterisation of four dams, where three dams exist and one is still in the planning phase. Moreover, there are ambitious plans to extend the areas used for irrigation. These plans are converted into prospective water withdrawals from the Niger and Bani Rivers considering crop rotations, water use efficiencies etc. The eco-hydrological model SWIM, developed at PIK, is calibrated and validated in the two river basins accounting for existing and planned water management infrastructure.
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