« Water Management, Somali-style »
Paolo Mastrocola is an environmental engineer, partner, and founder at Hydro Nova, a consulting company based in Italy, that specializes in water resources management projects in developing countries. He has been involved in surface water and groundwater development projects in the Balkans, Middle East, and Subsaharan Africa.
Rural water supply in Somalia’s drylands is challenging and inspirational at the same time. Identifying approaches for the improvement of rural communities’ water management means understanding their lifestyle, the local way of dealing with climate difficulties, and the strong connection existing between sand and water. Somalia’s water management in rural areas relies mainly on localized investments and small dams: can it be a model to be exported to other areas of the world?