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 regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is ...

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 ...

. 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 List of zones of Ethiopia, special zone and capital city, capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta province, Enderta Awrajj ...

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 Atsbi Wemberta () is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or ''woredas'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi Zone at the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands, Atsbi Wenberta is bordered on the south by the Debub Misraqawi Z ...

, 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 Saharti Samre () is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or ''woredas'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone, Samre is bordered on the south by the Amhara Region, on the west and north by the Mehakelegn ...

. 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 Gereb Shegal 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: 20 metres * Dam crest length: 363 ...

, Sewhi Meda,

Era Quhila Era Quhila 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 the Tigray Bureau of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Dam characteristics * Dam crest ...

Gereb Awso Gereb Awso 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: 10.5 metres * Dam crest length: 196 ...

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 Akhor is a reservoir located in the Enderta district of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1998 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 18 metres * Dam crest length: 210 metres * Spillw ...

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 ...

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 (; 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 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 metre ...

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. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 18 metres * Dam crest length: 605 metres ...

, Era (reservoir),

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&nb ...

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 Gereb Mihiz 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: 17.5 metres * Dam crest length: ...

Imbagedo Imbagedo 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: 20 metres * Dam crest length: 328 metres * Spillw ...

and

Inda Zib'i Inda Zib'i is a reservoir located in the Enderta (woreda), Inderta ''woreda'' of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1999 by SAERT. Dam characteristics * Dam height: 12.34 metres * Dam crest lengt ...

References

{{reflist, 2 Agriculture in Ethiopia Tigray Region