Senegal

SENEGAL

The main topic here is the environmental and health impact of urban agriculture and waste repositories in the Dakar area.

Project 1 : Use of waste water in urban agriculture

The project aims to assess two widespread practices used in irrigated agriculture in developing countries: (1) the use of untreated or poorly treated wastewater or mixtures of wastewater with groundwater water in order to supply for the lack of fresh water (during the dry seasons) and (2) the massive use of pesticides. The area to be studied is the costal area of Dakar, whose urban agriculture provides more than 60% of the vegetable production for the 2.3 million inhabitants living there. By studying the current agronomic practices, testing low cost extensive wastewater treatment methods and by studying in detail the current interaction between water contaminants (micro-organisms, macro-and micro-pollutants), farm products, soils and groundwater, we do a complete environmental and socio-economic assessment.

This project is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, grant. no. 207021-109689/1 (Research Partnerships with Developing Countries)

Swiss partners :

- Hans-Rudolf Pfeifer, IMG-Centre d'Analyse Minérale, Faculté de Géosciences et de l'Environnement, Université de Lausanne.

- Ronald Jaubert, Institut de Géographie, Faculté de Géosciences et de l'Environnement, Université de Lausanne.

- Fabienne Favre Boivin, ENAC-Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale, Lausanne

- Raffaele Peduzzi, Istituto Cantonale di Microbiologia, Bellinzona and Université de Genève

Partners in Senegal :

- Seydou Niang, Laboratoire de traitement des eaux usées, Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire, Université C.A. Diop, Dakar

- M. Lamine Gaye, Département de Chimie, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université C.A. Diop, Dakar

- Yemou Dieng, Department of Parasitology-Mycology, Faculty of Medecine, University C.A. Diop, Dakarl

- Karamoko Diarra, Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Département de Biologie Animale, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université C.A. Diop, Dakar

- Assize TOURE et Amadou SALL, Centre de Suivi Ecologique.

- Malick GAYE et Mohamed DIAGNE, Environnement et Développement du Tiers-Monde, Relais Urbain Participé (Enda-RUP).

- Youga NIANG, Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles.

- Nita CHAUDHURI, Université de Toronto.

Ph.D. students:

- Mme Anne Gueye-Girardet, IMG-Centre d'Analyse Minérale, Université de Lausanne

- M. Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye, LATEU-IFAN, Université de Dakar

Detailed description of the project (pdf).

Publications and reports :

- Gueye, A., 2005. Assessment of environmental impacts due to reuse of untreated wastewater in periurban agriculture of Dakar, Senegal. Final report for the grant "young scientists" 2003. Poster.
- Ndiaye, M.L. 2005: Impacts des eaux usées sur l'évolution chimique et microbiologique des sols: étude de cas à Pikine (Dakar - Sénégal). Diplôma thesis, Sciences naturelles de l'Environnement, Univ. of Lausanne and Univ. of Geneva. Abstract.
- Balde, D., Chaudhuri, N., Dieng, Y., Fall. A., Gueye-Girardet, A., Félix, J., Niang, Y., Niang, S., Thiam, A. et Traore, O.K., 2005. Providing the city on fresh vegetables from urban and peri-urban spaces. Social and economical benefits and constraints, impacts on public health : the case of Patte d'Oie (Commune of Dakar, Senegal) juin 2004-juin 2005. Ministère de la santé et de la prévention médicale : Direction de l'hygiène publique et CRDI, rapport provisoire, 91p. Abstract.
- Felix, J. 2006 : Caractérisation eaux d'arrosage, de leurs impacts sur l'environnement et techniques d'épuration extensive par lagunage (Dakar,Sénégal). Diplôma thesis, Sciences naturelles de l'Environnement, Univ. of Lausanne and Univ. of Geneva. Abstract.
- Dieng, N. & Henzi, J. , 2006 : in progress.