Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Water use · Sudan · 2013–2026

Wadi El Ku catchment project, North Darfur

Nature's voice · report
More than 700,000 people depended on my Wadi El Ku catchment near El Fasher for water and livelihoods in 2013, and UNEP described the result as "widespread deforestation, falling groundwater levels, and increasing environmental degradation".
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 not disclosed See the gaps

In August 2013 UNEP launched an EU-funded catchment management project of EUR 6.45 million in Wadi El Ku, North Darfur, where it said more than 700,000 people depend on the wadi for water and livelihoods. A second phase began in 2018.

EUR 6.45 millionEU funding for phase 1 of the Wadi El Ku catchment project (UNEP)
Launched on 25 August 2013 for a three-year period; the amount for the second phase from 2018 is not stated.

Status As of 19 October 2026 (UNEP page consulted): a second phase is listed from 2018; no results or post-April 2023 status are on record.

What?
UNEP launched an EU-funded catchment management project of EUR 6.45 million in Wadi El Ku, North Darfur, in August 2013, with a second phase from 2018. UNEP
Where?
Wadi El Ku near El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan. UNEP
When?
Launched on 25 August 2013 for three years; second phase from 2018. UNEP
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Wadi El Ku catchment — Widespread deforestation, falling groundwater levels and increasing environmental degradation, according to UNEP (2013) UNEP
Why?
UNEP said more than 700,000 people depend on the wadi for water supply and livelihoods, resulting in deforestation, falling groundwater levels and environmental degradation. UNEP
How?
EU funding of EUR 6.45 million for phase 1, implemented by UNEP with Practical Action. UNEP
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

UNEP launched the project on 25 August 2013 for a three-year period, implemented with Practical Action. It said that "well over 700,000 people depend on the Wadi for their water supply and livelihoods (agriculture and livestock)", resulting in "widespread deforestation, falling groundwater levels, and increasing environmental degradation". The EU contributed EUR 6.45 million to the first phase.

UNEP's Sudan page lists a second phase from 2018. The page lists projects up to 2024, including the Blue Nile project funded by the Peacebuilding Fund (2022–2024) and the FCDO's ADAPT! programme, and lists no assessment of the environmental impact of the war that began in 2023.

CEOBS described El Fasher as under siege by the RSF since the early stages of the war that began in 2023.

  1. 201325 Aug: UNEP launches the project for a three-year period
  2. 2018Second phase begins
  3. 2023El Fasher comes under RSF siege in the early stages of the war, according to CEOBS

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“The aim is to make a real contribution to the region's recovery from conflict”

UNEP Sudan's Senior Advisor · 2013-08-25 · UNEP

“strategic project for the state”

Governor of North Darfur · 2013-08-25 · UNEP

“well over 700,000 people depend on the Wadi for their water supply and livelihoods (agriculture and livestock)”

UNEP · 2013-08-25 · UNEP

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • The project would improve livelihoods of conflict-affected people in Wadi El Ku.
    UNEP, 25 August 2013 · UNEP

Recorded

  • EU funding of EUR 6.45 million for phase 1 (UNEP).
    UNEP
  • UNEP lists a second phase from 2018.
    UNEP
  • UNEP's Sudan page lists projects up to 2024 and no assessment of the environmental impact of the war that began in 2023.
    UNEP

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
EU funding of the Wadi El Ku catchment project, phase 1 (UNEP)€6.45m

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: EUR · Window: Phase 1, from 2013. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • UNEP (2013-08-25): Its Senior Advisor for Sudan said the aim was to make a real contribution to the region's recovery from conflict. · UNEP
  • Government of North Darfur (2013-08-25): The Governor called it a "strategic project for the state". · UNEP

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

People who depend on Wadi El Ku for water and livelihoods
Well over 700,000
UNEP, 2013
EU funding, phase 1
EUR 6.45 million
Launched 25 August 2013, three-year period

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No independent ecological evaluationKey earnings undisclosed

Record

  • None on record None on record: results of the project on groundwater levels or tree cover.
  • None on record None on record: the status of the project after April 2023, and in El Fasher after the RSF siege.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the amount of EU funding for the second phase from 2018, and the total EU spend.
  • None on record None on record: an assessment of the environmental impact of the war that began in 2023 on UNEP's Sudan page, which lists projects up to 2024.
  • None on record None on record: legal proceedings; insurance.

Did the harm stop?

None on record.

Who paid?

The EU funded phase 1 with EUR 6.45 million; the second-phase amount is not disclosed.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies

Communities and civil society

  1. The environmental costs of the war in Sudan
    Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) · 2025-05-21

International bodies

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Groundwater
Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.

Law and courts

Arbitration
A private dispute process in which an appointed arbitrator, instead of a court, decides the case.
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