3.1 Biophysical suitability
After applying the filters of the multivariate analysis to the total river sections, we obtained 2106 suitable points in the whole Namibe province (Figure 4, left). This number goes down to 121 points if we only consider the ones located within the territory of the 10 communities (Figure 4, right). This is the final set of points used as a guidance in the participatory phase. It is important to notice that, given the small number of conditions included in the analysis, many of these points might not present all of the specific site conditions required for a dam construction; for example strong rocky riverbanks. Moreover, many of these points are likely to be located in remote areas that would not be useful in providing water to local communities, such as in the large Namibe desert covering the southern part of the province, bordering Namibia. For this reason, integrating this analysis with local communities knowledge and socio-economic constrains and requirements is a fundamental integration to the final siting of sand dams in this case.