Last weekend a Dutch Risk Reduction (DRR) team traveled to West Africa on request of the government of Guinea.
The island of Kaback in Guinea is severely affected by the floods caused by dike breakthroughs and land erosion.
This resulted into loss of agricultural land, siltation, water, and food security problems. These problems are increased due to the effects of climate change and the overexploitation of mangrove forests that protect the island.
Last February experts from the Ministry of Agriculture of Guinea and RVO inspected the dike. They have concluded that there is a high probability that the dike will fail in the near future. For this reason, RVO is currently setting up the D2B project for draft design specifications for a renewal of the 9,510-meter-long dike.
Besides a long-term advice, the current situation calls for urgent solutions to be implemented in the short term to protect the island. For this purpose, the government of Guinea has asked for support from the DRR Team.