while yes a dam can ...
Published by Arshad Haroon, Strengthening Participatory Organisation - Regional Head Khyber Pukhtunkhwa
while yes a dam can effectively manage water , in some countries like Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and in central Pakistan, farmer communities have organised themselves around hill torrents where they store water in farms and preserve moisture to grow crops by building mud dams before the rainy season begins , they have well developed byelaws for access to rain water from torrents and for distribution. for further study please follow the links i am pasting bellow:
http://www.ais.unwater.org/ais/mod/page/view.php?id=215
In Most of the Pakistan a well developed barrage system on rivers also divert water into canals to provide irrigation water for farming. please remember that these barrages are not dams , having limited capacity to store water and are built on rivers not hill torrents.