Societal Challenges and Suitability Mapping of Resilient Nature-Based Water Solutions: Evidence from Case Studies in White Nile, El Gedaref, and Kassala, Sudan
This study focuses on three refugee-hosting areas in Sudan—Kassala, El Gedaref, and White Nile—with three main aims: to assess key societal and environmental challenges in each state; to identify Resilient Nature-based Water Solution (RNBWS) suited to local socio-ecological conditions; and to map areas most suitable for implementing these solutions to enhance environmental sustainability and livelihood resilience. The study combined a review of published and grey literature with multi-temporal satellite imagery and geographic information system (GIS)-based analysis. These methods were used to assess societal challenges, land-use and land-cover change, land degradation neutrality, and site characteristics such as slope and soil type. Spatial analysis, guided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Standards for Nature-based Solutions and the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM), was used to identify and prioritize suitable areas for RNBWS. Results show that economic hardship, conflict, weak governance, natural disasters, and climate change are key drivers of displacement and migration across the three states. Over the last two decades, forestlands, shrublands, grasslands, and water bodies have declined, while agricultural land, settlements, and degraded areas have expanded. Socio-economic and governance constraints—including insecure land tenure, dependence on rainfed agriculture, food insecurity, competition over land, water, grazing, and fuelwood, and weak institutional coordination—shape both vulnerability and implementation feasibility. At the same time, the analysis identified extensive areas suitable for multiple RNBWS, including tree-based solutions, rainwater harvesting, soil and water conservation, and ecological restoration. The findings provide spatially explicit evidence to guide humanitarian programming, state-level planning, climate adaptation, and investment decisions in Sudan’s displacement-affected landscapes.
Authors
Mekuria, Wolde; Girma, Rediet; Moges, Awdenegest; Balana, Bedru; Kirui, Oliver K.; Khalifa, Muhammad; Ruckstuhl, Sandra
Citation
Mekuria, Wolde, Rediet Girma, Awdenegest Moges, et al. 2026. Societal Challenges and Suitability Mapping of Resilient Nature-Based Water Solutions: Evidence from Case Studies in White Nile, El Gedaref, and Kassala, Sudan. International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
Keywords
Nature-based Solutions; Refugees; Land Degradation; Rainwater Harvesting; Environmental Restoration; Soil Conservation; Water Conservation; Case Studies
