Half-Moon Bunds Initiative
A community-led and action-oriented landscape restoration approach that rehabilitates degraded land, restores vegetation cover and soil health, improves watershed restoration and fodder availability, and offers community income safety nets.
What is a Half-Moon Bunds?
It is a crescent-shaped earth embankments or a semi-circular soil-and-water harvesting structure, used mainly in dry and semi-arid areas to restore degraded land. It is also called a semi-circular bund.
They are constructed with the open side facing upslope and during rainfall events, runoff water is captured within the enclosed area, where it temporarily ponds and gradually infiltrates into the soil.
Structural Size of a Half-Moon Bund.
A typical half-moon bund has a radius of 2–3 meters, (approximately 4–6 meters in diameter), with a bund height of 30–50 cm, and a bund width of 50–75 cm on the dune wall. Half-moons are typically arranged in staggered rows, with approximately 4–6 meters of spacing from a bund to another, both within the same row and between successive rows, subject to site conditions and slope.
Degraded Land → Runoff → Lost Land Value
Over time, declining soil health and vegetation cover reduce the landscape’s ability to capture, retain and infiltrate rainfall. Instead of soaking into the ground, rainwater quickly runs off, carrying away valuable topsoil and nutrients.
The result is soil erosion, reduced groundwater recharge, declining vegetation and rangeland productivity, and further land degradation—reducing the land’s productive and economic value and threatening the livelihoods that depend on it.
Why use Half-Moon bunds for land restoration?
When it rains half-moon bunds are ideal for intercepting surface runoff, reducing runoff velocity, trapping sediments, and enhancing the infiltration of rainwater into the soil profile. By capturing and retaining water within the bunded areas, the structures will increase soil moisture retention, rebuild soil quality, reduce soil erosion, and improve groundwater recharge, regenerate vegetation thereby contributing to land restoration and recharge of underground water.
The Impact of Half-Moon Bunds
Half-moon bunds provide a practical nature-based solution for restoring degraded landscapes by capturing rainwater, reducing runoff and improving soil moisture while creating social, economic and environmental benefits.
1. Crop Production & Yields
Improves rainwater harvesting and soil moisture, supporting better crop growth and yields.
2. Grazing & Fodder
Supports regeneration of indigenous grasses, increasing fodder availability while stabilizing soils.
3. Natural Regeneration
Creates favorable conditions for native grasses, shrubs and trees to regenerate naturally, restoring biodiversity.
4. Tree Establishment
Concentrates rainwater around seedlings, improving soil moisture and supporting stronger tree establishment and survival.
5. Community Income & Safety Nets
Creates paid restoration work for local communities, particularly during dry seasons when livelihood opportunities are limited.
6. Livelihoods & Local Economy
Restored land can generate income through fodder, livestock, crops and high-value tree products, diversifying household livelihoods.
7. Ecosystem Services
Improves water infiltration, groundwater recharge, soil health and vegetation cover, strengthening the resilience of local ecosystems and communities.
How Half-Moon Bunds Support Fodder Growth.
So as to protect the wall of the bund from being eroded, indigenous pasture/fodder seeds are reseeded within and around the bunds to stabilize soils, vegetation recovery and improve forage availability. When half-moon dunes are established, farmers are encouraged to control grazing practices to prevent further land degradation and allow rehabilitated areas sufficient time to recover.
Climate Change Adaptation Benefits of Half-Moon Bunds
Half-moon bunds make a significant contribution to climate change adaptation. This is how they contribute to climate adaptation in local communities:
- As climate change continues to increase the frequency and intensity of droughts, erratic rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events, degraded rangelands and watersheds become increasingly vulnerable to water scarcity, soil erosion, and declining ecosystem productivity. Half-moon bunds increase the landscape's capacity to capture, store, and utilize rainfall more effectively.
- The increased soil moisture retained within the bunded areas creates favorable conditions for the establishment and growth of grasses, shrubs, and trees, thereby improving vegetation cover and strengthening ecosystem resilience to drought stress.
The result:
i. Vegetation cover further reduces evaporation losses, stabilizing soils, moderating surface temperatures, and protecting the land from the impacts of intense rainfall events.
ii. The restored vegetation also improves forage availability for livestock, helping pastoral and agro-pastoral communities maintain their livelihoods during periods of climatic stress.
- By reducing runoff velocity and increasing water retention, half-moon bunds help moderate hydrological extremes associated with climate change such as peak flows, decrease downstream flooding and sedimentation. During drought periods, improved groundwater recharge and soil moisture storage enhance the availability of water for ecosystems, wildlife, and communities, thereby increasing the adaptive capacity.
- The restoration of degraded rangelands and the establishment of indigenous grasses and trees further contribute to carbon sequestration through increased biomass production and soil organic carbon accumulation.