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

parastatal A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

organisation in the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; 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. I ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. 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) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; , CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (the nations of the Africa, African contin ...

and

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates t ...

, with the Regional Government of Tigray sharing project financing in kind. It started as a project but it was later established as a commission (co-SAERT). The first project manager was Leul Kahsay who later became deputy commissioner. Abay Tsehaye was the first commissioner appointed by the Regional government. Initially, SAERT planned on small-scale irrigation projects in the Region through constructions of 500 earthen micro-dams in ten years. In the first year construction work started at four sites: Gum Selasa dam near Adi Gudem, Korir dam near Wukro, Dura dam near Aksum and Meskebet dam near Adi Daero. After evaluating the resources required for the construction of each dam and realizing that the goal was too large, the plan was changed to concentrate on drought-prone districts of Atsbi Wenberta, Enderta,

Hintalo Wajirat Hintalo Wajirat () is one of the Districts of Ethiopia or ''woredas'' in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is named after its largest town, Hintalo, and the Wajirat Mountains in the southern part of the woreda. Located in the Debub Misraqawi (Sou ...

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 Arato is a reservoir located in the Inderta woreda of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1997 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 20 metres * Dam crest length: 443 metres * Spillway wi ...

, Gereb Shegal, Sewhi Meda, Era Quhila, Gereb Awso and

Addi Hilo Addi Hilo is a reservoir located in the Inderta ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1998 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 11.4 metres * Dam crest length: 171 metres * S ...

. Also constructed was Addi Akhor,

Addi Qenafiz Addi Qenafiz is a reservoir located in the Hintalo Wajirat ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1998 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 15.5 metres * Dam crest length: 514 m ...

Gereb Segen (Hintalo) Gereb Segen is a reservoir located in the Hintalo Wajirat ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 2000 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 14.86 metres * Dam crest length ...

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 (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrup ...

constructed by SAERT include

Addi Amharay Addi Amharay is a reservoir located in the Inderta ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1997 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 14.7 metres * Dam crest length: 128 metres * ...

Addi Gela Addi Gela is a reservoir located in the Hintalo Wajirat ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1998 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 22 metres * Dam crest length: 424 metres ...

Addi Shihu Addi Shihu 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: 10.8 metres * Dam crest length: 301 met ...

Betqua Betqua is a reservoir located in the Hintalo Wajirat ''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 metres * Dam crest length: 284 metres * S ...

Dur Anbesa Dur Anbesa is a reservoir located in the Hintalo Wajirat ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 2001 by SAERT. The catchment of the reservoir is 10 km2 large. The reservoir suffers from ra ...

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 Capa ...

Filiglig Filiglig is a reservoir located in the Hintalo Wajirat ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1998 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 14 metres * Dam crest length: 325&nbs ...

, Gereb Awso,

Gereb Bi'ati Gereb Bi’ati is a reservoir located near Mekelle in the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 2000 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 17 metres * Dam crest length: 578 metres * Spil ...

, Gereb Mihiz, Imbagedo and Inda Zib'i.

References

{{reflist, 2 History of agriculture in Ethiopia History of the Tigray Region 1995 establishments in Ethiopia Organizations established in 1995 Ethiopia and the United Nations Agriculture companies of Ethiopia