Paper short abstract:

We explore the daily lives of social groups around a hydro-agricultural dam in Burkina Faso designed to ensure the continuity of agro-pastoral activities. We look at the invisible barriers that prevent women and men from benefiting equally from the resources they need to adapt to climate change.

Paper long abstract:

In response to droughts induced by climate changes, Burkina Faso has turned to hydro-agricultural dams as a key strategy in its adaptation mechanism. However, the implementation of this strategy requires environmental modifications that have an impact on the everyday practices of riverside communities. The aim of this research is to explore the socio-economic and health consequences of these changes on the daily lives of the women, men and young people living near the Soum dam. To achieve this, we conducted ethnographic research in communities around the Soum dam and conducted semi-structured interviews (individual and focus group) and informal conversations. We also followed a number of households over a long period. This research shows that new hydro-agricultural development projects are reinventing traditional rights of access to agricultural land, sometimes worsening the conditions of women and young people. Women no longer have access to plots of land that used to sustain their economy. They are further excluded by the new technological requirements of irrigated production. Furthermore, the destruction and non-reinstallation of pre-existing basic social infrastructure such as boreholes is making women's conditions even more precarious. In this context, their health and that of their children is severely tested. In view of these results, we conclude that the construction of hydro-agricultural dams like the Soum dam, without considering the needs of specific groups, cannot make adaptation to climate change effective. In the context of the Soum dam, we see a reinvention of the wheel, where women's living conditions are becoming even more precarious.