History of soil and water conservation in ethiopia pdf

It presents swc practices and estimates the level of swc investments in different regions. Indigenous knowledge practices in soil conservation at konso. Abstract this paper provides details of soil and water conservation swc investments in ethiopia over the past 20 years. Soil is variable, on slopes it is brown coloured loam, and many places are badlands. Box 2003, addis ababa, ethiopia 1world agroforestry centre, p. Slmp, one of the conservation initiatives launched in 2008 has managed to. Soil degradation is one of the crucial issues in mountainous areas of ethiopia which needs efforts to reduce it. Over the last three decades, different soil and water conservation activities have been undertaken. Population, household size and growth and affluence all affect how much water is used.

A history of soil and water 32 conservation in tigray r. Soil and water conservation in ethiopia springerlink. Neil munro, teweldeberhan woldegerima, berhane hailu, amanuel zenebe, zemichael gebremedhin, abrha hailemichael and jan nyssen in september 2017, the world future policy gold award deserti. Householdlevel determinants of soil and water conservation. Dec 08, 2015 soil and water conservation swc practices have been promoted in the highlands of ethiopia during the last four decades.

Spatial modeling of soil erosion risk and its implication. Various land rehabilitation and conservation measures are being employed soil and water conservation structures, reforestation, gully treatment, area enclosures along with water harvesting, rural water supply, and income diversication. Today these techniques of soil and water conservation are being prac ticed in many countries with much benefit to great numbers of people. The paper focuses on four principal agricultural regions. Although efforts at soil and water conservation are routinely viewed as instrumental in reducing vulnerability to climate. Farmers participation in soil and water conservation activities in the. Number of studies published on soil erosion and conservation in ethiopia, as documented in the web of sciencetm database accessed february 2015. The omission of such ecosystem functions in this analysis, is likely to underestimate the benefits of sustainable land management interventions. Primary and secondary data were collected for the analysis. In september 2017, the world future policy gold award desertification was given to the people of tigray for restoring land on a massive scale. Perception of farmers toward physical soil and water. However, the performance of s oil and water conservation structures has not been well studied. The main objective of the soil conservation research project scrp is to support, through research, experimentation, and training, soil and water conservation development activities in ethiopia, especially those of the community forests and soil conservation development. Slashandburn and other unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are practiced in some lesser developed areas.

Land degradation is a major concern in ethiopia since it leads to declining agricultural productivity, poverty and food insecurity. Determination of conservation benefits and carbon sequestration potential of the simien mountains national park, ethiopia population, health and environment ethiopia consortium pheec by habtamu assaye. Mowo1 and kidist hilemichael ethiopian institute of agricultural research, p. Rest took over the soil and water conservation programs in the previously government. This paper examines the drivers of different stages of adoption of. The severity of soil erosion in the tigray region and in ethiopia in general, is the result of the. Soil and water conservation effects on soil properties in the. Farmers perceptions of erosion hazards and attitudes towards soil conservation in gunono, wolayita, southern ethiopia. Dppb disaster preparedness and prevention bureau swc soil and water conservation eaf emergency. Scientists from the international water management institute iwmi, which leads the cgiar research program on water, land and ecosystems, have developed a set of.

Conservation techniques conserve water within the biomass and the soil by reducing runoff and keeping the water where it falls, as much as possible. Article information, pdf download for soil erosion and conservation in. This investigation has also demonstrated on the effects of different methods of soil and water conservations applied on the physical and chemical properties of soil in the middle silluh valley, northern ethiopia. The soil and water resources conservation act of 1977 p. Impact of physical soil and water conservation structure on. Although efforts at soil and water conservation are routinely viewed as instrumental in reducing vulnerability to climate change, their impact has rarely been quantified. The effects of fanya juu soil conservation structure on. Pdf 32 a history of soil and water conservation in tigray. Since then, physical and biological soil and water conservation swc measures have been introduced in more than 3,000 watersheds that are managed by local communities. The article contains information about the traditional soil conservation practices, the reasons for intervention with traditional soil conservation technologies, the historical background of instutionalized soil conservation activities, the institutional. In addition to improving soil fertility, water harvesting, enhancing the soil water retention capacity and reducing soil erosion are measures that could significantly improve agricultural productivity in rainfed marginal environments. Keywords drylands, climate variability, soil and water conservation, carbon. Solved examples with detailed answer description, explanation are given and it.

Factors influencing the adoption of soil and water. Pdf effects of integrated soil and water conservation. One third of the worlds agricultural soils, or roughly 2 billion hectares of land, was reported as being affected by soil. Assessment of integrated soil and water conservation. Construction of soil conservation structures for improvement of crops and soil productivity in the southern ethiopia abay ayalew email. Soil science multiple choice questions and answers mcq. However enclosure and afforestation were also widely practiced. Economic values and incentives affecting soil and water conservation in developing countries. In the last two decades, various soil and water conservation interventions had been introduced in to different parts of ethiopia. Hence, soil erosion is an important problem, which results in low crop yields and biomass production. Long history of land use with severe erosion damage.

Combining data on the timing and intensity of soil and water conserva tion interventions in select ethiopian watersheds from 2009. Indigenous soil and water conservation in africa introduction many parts of africa are experiencing annual population growth rates between 2 and 4 %, degradation of the natural resource base, recurrent droughts and a growing dependence on food aid as well as the import of cereals to cover food deficits. However, the level of adoption of swc practices varies greatly. Soil erosion is one of the major challenges of ethiopia deteriorating the productivity of land. Yet, in the 1960 tigray, soil and water conservation swc programmes were. Regarding the treatment of gullies, which are a serious environmental and social problem in the highlands of ethiopia, researchers recommend to give priority to gullies on the valley bottom, to start treatment before gullies become severe, to improve the design of diversion canals above gully heads, and to work with local communities to reclaim gullies. A participatory agroforestry approach for soil and water conservation in ethiopia. Since a one size ts all approach does not work, site specic watershed development solutions should be. By bringing a history of two centuries of dam development on the nile in relation with the drainage of a hill slope in ethiopia on the one hand and. Ethiopia has a history of watershed management initiatives. Soil erosion is the most dangerous ecological process observed in ethiopia, degrading.

Using satellite imagery to assess impacts of soil and. The guidelines for development agents on soil conservation in ethiopia has been in use for 30 years. This revised edition of the guidelines for development agents on soil and water conservation in ethiopia. Guidelines for development agents on soil and water conservation in ethiopia this introductory chapter describes the aim of this book and how it can be used in the field when you carry out soil and water conservation. The soils of ethiopia can be classified into five principal types.

Highlights of soil and water conservation investments in. The objectives of this study were to estimate the magnitude of soil loss rate, assess the change of erosion risk, and elucidate their implication for swc planning in the gobele watershed, east hararghe zone, ethiopia. The impact of soil and water conservation for improved agricultural production in ethiopia. Construction of soil conservation structures for improvement. Soil and water conservation is the only practice to reverse the threat and protect the land. The first type is composed of euritic nitosols and andosols and is found on portions of the western and eastern highlands.

Ethiopia ethiopia is a large country having 1 million hectares that is endowed with diverse climatic and physiographic condition, with a huge potential of water resource it accounts 122 bmc annual surface runoff and 2. Indigenous soil and water conservation in africa chris reij introduction many parts of africa are experiencing annual population growth rates between 2 and 4%, degradation of the natural resource base, recurrent droughts and a growing dependence on food aid as well as the import of cereals to cover food deficits. Thus, soil and water conservation practices are becoming increasingly important in the arid and semiarid. Soil conservation stores more of the runoff from excess rainfall in the reservoir of the soil for subsequent crop use.

A history of soil and water conservation in tigray springer. However, effects of iswc measures on soil aggregate stability sas and soil organic carbon stocks socs have been less studied. The impact of soil and water conservation for improved agricultural production in ethiopia semu arayaselassie abebe semu arayaselassie abebe. This revised edition of the guidelines for development agents on soil and water conservation in ethiopia is more than. Compared to other east african and developing countries, ethiopia is among countries with the highest soil erosion, with respect to the total available land area exposed to soil erosion by country. The case of watershed in gambela region, ethiopia gatbel chot1, awdenegest moges2 and amanuel shewa3 1department of natural resources management, college of agricultural sciences, arba minch university, ethiopia.

Determinants of adoption and continued use of stone terraces for soil and water conservation in an ethiopian highland watershed 67 6. Soil conservation an overview sciencedirect topics. Hence, the objective of the current research was to assess the perception of farmers towards physical soil and water conservation swc structures and current community mobilization in the study area. Main phase november, 2001 world bank country office in ethiopia country department 6. It is known that ethiopia is a nation regarded as the roof of eastern african countries and there by water tower of the region. Box 21118, code, addis ababa, ethiopia department of physical geography, faculty of geosciences, utrecht university, heidelberglaan 2. Land management, erosion problems and soil and water conservation in finchaa watershed, western ethiopia bezuayehu tefera a. Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand. These soils are formed from volcanic material and, with proper management, have medium to high potential for rainfed agriculture. Professionals, teachers, students and kids trivia quizzes to test your knowledge on the subject. Physical soil and water conservation measures learning. In the present day ethiopia soil and water conservation occupies a very important place, if not the most important. Construction of soil conservation structures for improvement of crops and soil productivity in the southern.

As a response to the strong degradation and thanks to the hard labour of many people in the villages, soil conservation has been carried out on a large scale since the 1980s and especially 1980s. Soil degradation in the highlands is caused primarily by soil erosion. Impacts of soil and water conservation practices on. It has been firmly established that in some parts of the country the problem of environmental degradation has gone beyond all limits of. Ethiopia is among the sub saharan belt countries with degradation problem. A history of soil and water conservation in tigray. Impacts of soil and water conservation practices on livelihood. By capturing more of the rainfall in the soil, water will be made available to crops during the critical dry periods and soil erosion reduced. Mcq quiz on soil science multiple choice questions and answers on soil science mcq questions quiz on soil science objectives questions with answer test pdf. Soil and water conservation in ethiopia researchgate. Principles of water harvesting and conservation in deciding which techniques to use to make more ef. Effect of soil and water conservation measures on land.

In the past ten years, intensive soil and water conservation works have been started, one of which was goromti watershed. The impact of soil and water conservation for improved. The article shows results of an international and interdisciplinary project with the title rainfall and its erosivity in ethiopia. This research was conducted in the koga watershed, near lake tana, in the catchment of a recently constructed dam. The data for this studywas collected via interviewees, key informants and field observations. Swc, land degradation, adaptation, climate, mitigatio n, ethiopia. The conserved landscape categories tfl and exa shown better clay content than the nonconserved landscape categories tfl and gl. Through proper management of 5 million ha of forests and woodlands, ethiopia hopes to achieve 50% of its total domestic greenhouse gas ghg emissions abatement potential by 2030 7. Slash and burn and other unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are practiced in some lesser developed areas. Dppb disaster preparedness and prevention bureau swc soil and water conservation eaf emergency hivaids fund tba traditional birth attendant ec ethiopian calendar tcc technical committee efy ethiopian fiscal year tor terms of reference egs employment generation schemes uncdf united nations capital development fund.

Degraded soils are also the major constraints to agricultural production. They should aim to increase the time of concentration of runoff, thereby allowing more of it to infiltrate into the soil. Impact of physical soil and water conservation structure. Methods for sustaining soil and water conservation measures. Water conservation day is celebrated on 22nd of march. To tackle the problem of soil erosion and moisture stress, the government of ethiopia introduced a yearly mass campaign where communities get together and implement various soil and water. Soil degradation is a global environmental problem which started since the innovation of agriculture by human kind. Physical soil and water conservation structures were given emphasis mainly fanya juu and soil bund with support of ngos and various government agencies.

Although indigenous swc techniques date back to 400 bc, institutionalized swc activity in ethiopia became significant only after the 1970s. Soil conservation is an important part of sustainable agriculture and food production, since it entails keeping soil from becoming a pollutant in the surface waters, and its ability to sieve and filter pollutants that would otherwise end up in drinking water. Soil conservation activities in tigray, ethiopia umb. Jason warren soil and water conservationmanagement extension specialist 273 ag hall stillwater, ok, 74078. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the farmers perception on soil erosion and their use of structural soil conservation measures. Since irrigation is not feasible, ethiopia s best hope for increasing food production is increasing the efficiency of rainfall harvesting. Therefore, soil and water conservation in ethiopia is not only related to improvement and conservation of the environment but also it is a key factor for sustainable development of the agriculture sector and the economy of the country at large. Pdf soil and water conservation in ethiopia guidelines. Yet, in the 1960 tigray, soil and water conservation swc programmes were essentially absent, and land degradation was rampant. Even though a number of soil and water conservation methods were introduced to combat land degradation, adoption of these practices remains below expectations. The article contains information about the traditional soil conservation practices, the reasons for intervention with traditional soil conservation technologies, the historical background of instutionalized soil conservation activities, the institutional frame work for soil conservation activities and their achievements, and the different departments and organisations for soil and water conservation as far as soil erosion in ethiopia. Different soil conservation technologies with different approaches have.

Physical measures are structures built for soil and water conservation. Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the top most layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. This revised edition of the guidelines for development agents on soil and water conservation in ethiopia is more than timely. Soil and water conservation swc measures such as stone bunds and trenches integrated with fodder species iswc have been implemented to tackle soil erosion in ethiopian highlands. Soil degradation in the highlands is caused primarily by soil. Farmers views of soil erosion problems and their conservation knowledge in beressa watershed, central highlands of ethiopia 51 5. Soil and water conservation in ethiopia hurni h, berhe wa, chadhokar p, daniel d, gete z, grunder m, kassaye g. Background agricultural research in ethiopia began in jimma and ambo in 1952 and was extended to the then college of agriculture at alemaya in 1957 and. History suggests that rising temperatures substantially reduce growth. Methods for sustaining soil and water conservation.