Findings

The vegetation, water and demographic data compiled in Earth Map can show the direct consequences of the construction of a dam and the expansion of irrigation systems, such as the production of improved rice seed  in the Bagré area which  is helping local rice-producing smallholders in Bagré become self-sufficient in rice production as well as providing  new employment opportunities.

1. Looking at the satellite images in December 2019 (Figure 1) we can observe that different land covers such as water, savanna and agricultural plantations can be easily differentiated with the satellite image colours. Big infrastructures such as damns are clearly spotted in the image;

2. The agriculture expansion can be identified from images in 1984, 1998, 2002 and 2018 (Figure 2) as a direct consequence of the construction of the dam in 1994. In 2019, the extension of irrigated agriculture is approximately 5,000 ha;

3. New permanent (7,782 ha) and new seasonal (13,685 ha) flooded areas (Figure 3) have been identified within the timeframe between 1984 and 2018 due to the building of the dam;

4. Population in the area (Figure 4) has more than doubled in 15 years (from 65,711 inhabitants in 2000 to 15,8402 inhabitants in 2015) which most likely is related to local small-hold farmers producing their own rice and their households becoming more resilient.