{"id":283,"date":"2022-09-27T13:26:50","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T13:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.soazara.org\/?page_id=283"},"modified":"2022-10-26T08:52:09","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T08:52:09","slug":"what-we-do-water-bodies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.soazara.org\/en\/what-we-do-water-bodies\/","title":{"rendered":"What we do – Water bodies"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ranohira, Isalo is located in the Ihorombe\u00a0region in the dry south central part of Madagascar. The region is hot, with a dry climate and 2 seasons. Temperatures range from 15-32 \u00b0C. The least rainfall occurs from May to September with an average of 2 mm, and the most rainfall occurs from December to February, with an average of 199 millimetres in January. The annual rainfall averages 791 millimetres.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Due to the long dry season, the newly grown trees on the deforested land die. In the rainy season, the abundant rainfall washes away valuable unprotected soil, creating deep furrows that drain water even faster. What remains is a heavily eroded landscape that can hardly store any water. As a result, the flowing waters swell up mightily in the rainy season, only to turn into a trickle in the dry season.<\/p>\n

The employees of Soa Zara therefore primarily build small water retention dams, which save resources and are easier to construct. These projects have been very successful after only one year. The adjacent land is now much greener. Insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals that havent been seen for a long time\u00a0are revitalising the banks. Larger projects are also possible in the future. To improve the nutrition of the population, small reservoirs would be suitable for breeding fish.<\/p>\n

The rivers and streams are used by the villagers for bathing and washing clothes. Every day, large amounts of soap and packaging end up in the rivers, further damaging the fragile ecosystem. When the water level is low, the waters contain so many chemicals that animals can hardly survive in them. Since drinking water is often also taken from the streams, the already low hygiene and nutrition standards drop even further. By creating laundry stations in the village, Soa Zara wants to ease the women’s work and stop the pollution of the rivers with soaps and packaging materials. The water for the laundry will come from an onsite well and the wastewater from the laundry station is filtered before returning into the soil.<\/p>\n<\/div>