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Finger ponds use innovative techniques to enhance the natural productivity of wetlands and floodplains. The ponds (body of water smaller than a lake) consist of stretched artificial ponds 5 to 12 m long, extending into the wetland like fingers, hence the name. Finger ponds are excavated at the upstream edge of naturally occurring wetlands or floodplains and are lined with PVC plastic to prevent the water running out. They fill up during the flood cycle, and trap fish within them as the flooding recedes.

Fish are grown in the ponds during the dry season and can be caught to provide additional protein for local communities. The ponds can be enriched with manure. Meanwhile the land between the ponds is cultivated with seasonal crops. Pilot projects with finger ponds are being undertaken to assess their potential productivity, suitability and sustainability, taking into account natural and socio-economic aspects. Water that otherwise would run off or evaporate is now stored in these finger ponds during the dry periods. The annual inundation provides opportunities for aquaculture, fish cultivation and small-scale crop cultivation through irrigation.

*Wetlands or floodplains where water collects naturally.

*The local morphological situation dictates the specific requirements, costs and time needed for excavating the ponds.

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agricultural area when water levels are still low. Drawing: INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS.]]

*Maintenance consists of cleaning or desilting the ponds by swabbing the pond bottom.

Depending on local situation and size of the ponds.

In 2005, a study of finger ponds by The Riparian people of East Africa aimed to:

* Addition of manure and

* Associated seasonal raised-bed agriculture for food production is cost-beneficial.

In terms of livelihoods benefits, Fingerponds in Kusa, Kenya contributed to the natural, physical, human and social assets of the community. During the project, the financial benefits of Fingerponds to the communities were limited because most fish was consumed by the household, but in terms of income and return to labour Fingerponds were comparable to other agricultural activities undertaken by the households such as cultivation of vegetables. Based on the experimental yields achieved and the assumption that one household owns one pond, Fingerponds potentially contribute about 3 kg fish per capita per year to the household diet (equivalent to 38 % of current consumption in Africa).