Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Rehabilitation in Tigray (SAERT) was a

parastatal A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

organisation in the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob, and Kunama people, Kunama people. Its ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

. It was established in 1995 for "policymaking, design and construction of dams and canals, and the maintenance of dams and water distribution systems". SAERT was funded jointly by the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; french: link=no, Commission économique pour l'Afrique, CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its ...

and

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

, with the Regional Government of Tigray sharing project financing in kind. Initially, SAERT planned on small-scale irrigation projects in the

Mekelle Mekelle ( ti, መቐለ, am, መቀሌ, mäqälle, mek’elē) or Mekele is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray. It is located around north of the Ethiopia ...

plateau through constructions of 500 earthen micro-dams. Realizing that goal was too large, they concentrated on a few of the nearby drought-prone districts of Atsbi Wenberta, Enderta, Hintalo Wajirat and Saharti Samre. By 2003, SAERT had only constructed 54 dams. Due to several factors, many of the ponds and reservoirs became inoperable; those that remain suffer from heavy siltation and seepage. In the Ilala and Kalamino Basins, SAERT constructed dams at Hashenge, Mai Serakit, Da Zeb'oy, Arato, Gereb Shegal, Sewhi Meda, Era Quhila, Gereb Awso and Addi Hilo. Also constructed was Addi Akhor, Addi Qenafiz, Gereb Segen (Hintalo) and

Ginda'i Ginda'i (also spelled Gindae) is a reservoir located in the Kilte Awula’ilo ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1998 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 19.5 metres * ...

. Other earthen dams and

reservoirs A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

constructed by SAERT include Addi Amharay, Addi Gela, Addi Shihu, Betqua, Dur Anbesa,

Era (reservoir) Era is a reservoir located in the Atsbi Wenberta ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1997 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 16.73 metres * Spillway width: 10 metres Capac ...

, Filiglig, Gereb Awso, Gereb Bi'ati, Gereb Mihiz, Imbagedo and Inda Zib'i.

References

{{reflist, 2 Agriculture in Ethiopia Tigray Region