Causes and consequences of land degradation in ethiopia pdf

The major causes of land degradation in ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and. Land degradation results primarily from incorrect land use and bad land management practices. The causes of dry land degradation are complex, and may be the product of. Land degradation is an important problem in ethiopia, with more than 85 % of the land degraded to various degrees. Lack of viable land use policy and corresponding law also aggravated the rate of deforestation. Degraded soil diminishes food production and leads to soil erosion, which in turn contributes to desertification. Soil mapping and process modeling for sustainable land use management, 2017. In addition, land degradation directly affected the type. The major causes of land degradation in ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and livestock production. Effect of soil and water conservation measures on land. This agricultural problem could detrimentally impact our food and water supplies as well as the general sustenance of life.

Soil degradation, including erosion and loss of fertility, is considered the most significant environmental problem in developing countries fig. Watershed degradation is the loss of value over time, including the productive potential of land and water, accompanied by marked changes in the hydrological behaviour of a river system resulting in inferior quality, quantity and timing of waterflow the protection, improvement and rehabilitation of mountain andor upland watersheds are of critical importance in the achievement of. The perception that forest sector is a single sector with limited contribution to the. Causes and features of watershed degradation related to mhp. Pollution of water resources from the contamination of. The reasons for this low productivity are many and complex. Land use change and inappropriate land management practices major causes of soil degradation, soc reduction and ghg emissions. Ethiopia is among the poorest of countries and poverty and land and resource degradation appear to feed off each other. Deforestation and land degradation on the ethiopian highlands.

Drivers of defforestation and forest degradation in ethiopia. Land use changes and unsustainable land management are direct human causes of land degradation very high confidence, with agriculture being a dominant sector driving degradation 14 very high confidence. Land degradation here mainly refers to the loss of lifesupporting land resource through soil erosion, desertification, salinization, acidification, etc. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend 4 in land condition, caused by direct or indirect humaninduced processes. Polluti on introduces contaminants into the environment that can maim or even kill plant and animal species.

Economics of land degradation and improvement in ethiopia. Nature and causes of land degradation in the oromiya region core. Soil degradation is a consequence of intensive land use management, which is assumed to be caused by human impact, poverty, and a response to economic opportunities at the global level lambin et al. Ethiopians are threatened with food insecurity and famine. Fao land use map of 1984 identifies only two types of wetlands. This is particularly worrisome since, according to the uns food and agriculture organization, some 83% of subsaharan african people depend on the land for their livelihood, and food production in africa will have to increase almost 100. Inappropriate landuse systems and landtenure policies enhance desertification and loss of. Identification of the cause of land degradation is important in return influence the sustainability of the life and helps to take appropriate measurement to halt it. This study was aimed at examining land usecover changes over 48 years and its causative factors in. In addition, ethiopias evergrowing livestock population has led to overgrazing in much of the country. In the third section, a conceptual framework of the environmental degradationpoverty nexus is provided. The paper suggests some rules of thumb for identifying the priority areas for government and donor intervention, including the need for targeted research on the productivity. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management.

Overview on degradation of land due to overgrazing in ethiopia. Penny environmental and developmental consultantpractitioner, cape town, south africa keywords. Land degradation is the common environmental problem in ethiopia. Causes, impacts and rehabilitation techniques article pdf available november 2017 with 28,666 reads how we measure reads. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. The underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation in ethiopia are described as follows. This study therefore seeks to identify the main impact of land degradation on. Federal democratic republic of ethiopia ethiopia land.

As discussed in detail in the above sections, the underlying causes of wetland degradation and loss are multidimensional and interwoven. The high lands of south west ethiopia illubabur and swamps of awash valley are good examples on where the. Land degradation is a great threat for the future and it requires great effort and resources to ameliorate. Various socioeconomic as well as political causes can lead to land degradation. It leads to various consequences of high cost to the society and the environment. This paper aims to give emphasis on the causes and consequences of land degradation in. Causes, effects and control strategies 5 deforestation are maintained. It is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity and continuing food insecurity and rural poverty. To determine the major causes of soil erosion and deforestation through interviews with both farmers and experts, as well as through observation and expert judgment. Causes and efforts to control soil erosion in africa. Burundi and rwanda face a serious threat of land degradation followed by eritrea, uganda, kenya and ethiopia. The major causes of deforestation is rapid population growth, which leads to an increase in the demand for crop and grazing land, wood for fuel and construction 2. These key drivers are also mentioned as the main causes of land degradation in the nap to combat desertification document of ethiopia. Land degradation and rehabilitation in ethiopia world bank.

The irony is that ethiopia is a country with high biodiversity and. Soil degradation is the inability of soil to support the growth of crops. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of. Degradation, primarily in form of salinization, occurs in this case due to a bias between water inflow and outflow or the use of salty water.

Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. The direct causes of land degradaton are apparent and genelly agreed. Abu sayeed during the last few years the agriculture sector is facing danger in many ways. Conversion of agricultural land in nonagricultural uses is one of the main reasons to follow. Boahene african society for environmental management, po box 2205, 3500 ge utrecht, the netherlands. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. Land degradation degradation of arable lands became the major constraint of production in east african highlands. Causes, consequences and coping strategies of land degradation. Land degradation and its consequences is one of the more serious and complex problems in the developing country particularly in ethiopia. Potential environmental consequences span from famine and water pollution to reductions in biodiversity and ecosystem efficiency. Air pollution is unf ortunately the common causes of environmental degradation. In addition, land degradation directly affected the type of plant grown on the area, reduced availability of potable water, lessened volumes of surface water, depletion of aquifers and biodiversity loss. Cost of land degradation in ethiopia efd initiative.

In the case of ethiopia, many view this issue as the countrys prmary enviromental problem. The consequences of deforestation in terms of soil erosion, land degradation, nutrient loss, and the disruption of the delicate equilibrium among soil, plants and atmosphere can be seen in the vast tracts of barren and unproductive land where lush green forest once grew. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss peoples attitudes, perceptions and knowledge, actions or inactions by government agencies, and inappropriate government policies. A considerable volume of information has been produced since the mid1980s regarding soil erosion in ethiopia barbier 1989. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss above.

The major causes of land degradation in ethiopia are rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and. In the third section, a conceptual framework of the environmental degradation poverty nexus is provided. Deforestation and land degradation on the ethiopian. Inappropriate land use systems and land tenure policies enhance desertification and loss of. The government and farmers are in need of converting the wetlands in order to gain more products at a time. While, gebreyesus and kirubel 2009 reported that the heavy reliance of some 85 percent of ethiopias growing. Land degradation in the ethiopian highlands royal museum for. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods. Patterns, causes and consequences of land usecover.

In ethiopia, the debate is between consequences on one side and the government and the farmers on the other side. Deforestation accounts for the major land degradation problem as it results in severe soil erosion, flood, and loss of fertile soil. The high soil erosion rates in the ethiopian highlands find their causes in the. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Causes and consequences article pdf available in european researcher 8182. Causes and features of watershed degradation related to. Recent estimates using satellite imagery show that land degradation hotspots over the last three decades cover about 23 % of the land area in the country. The study proposes agroforestry and social forestry practices, plantation forestry, and conservation of the remaining natural forests as a strategy for physical recovery in ethiopia. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. Patterns, causes and consequences of land usecover dynamics. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to give an overview on the causes and impacts of land degradation in ethiopia, and to present rehabilitative measures to restore degraded lands.

The causes of dry land degradation are complex, and may be the product of anthropogenic or climatic factors, such as the impact of drought and desiccation on ecosystems, the overgrazing of these rangelands, unsustainable landtenure rights, the undervaluation of land resources, and pricing failures, and numerous other social and economic. Root causes of these problems include historical and changing patterns of land ownership and government control, low levels of investment in agriculture and. Despite all those and other indispensable values, these wetlands are under severe pressure and degradation. Increased erosion, particularly related to strong rains and runoff, causes turbidity with several consequences for lake and reservoir water quality, including. Ihe result is a dastic revision of previous land degrdation cost estimates in two respects. Review of the study indicated that causes for land degradation were. Land degradation has negative consequences on agriculture. Indeed some 31 countries do not even make the list because they have already removed most of their forests and even if that remain are seriously fragmented and degraded. Yigezu atnafe, international livestock research institute ilri, addis ababa, ethiopia.

As a result of the expansion of land degradation over time, agricultural productivity has decreased and worsened food insecurity shortages and poverty in the ethiopian crv. The most common form of land degradation in ethiopia is soil erosion by water. Ethiopia land degradation neutrality national report degraded land under pressure in hintalowajirat district, south eastern zone, tigray region, ethiopia 2015 photo by yared shumete this report summarizes the key outcomes of the national efforts carried out in 2014 and 2015 towards putting in practice the land degradation neutrality concept. The changes in area of forest by region and subregion are shown in table 1. Eastern africa including ethiopia has experienced moderate to severe land degradation problems as shown in. Low policy priorityprofile of the forest sector due to low level of national awareness on significance of forestry for sustainable national development. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. This study therefore seeks to identify the main impact of land degradation on livelihoods of the study area in direct and.

Soil erosion is indeed considered the most significant environmental challenge to the food security of the population and future development prospects of the country wagayehu 2003. A considerable volume of information has been produced since the mid1980s regarding soil erosion in ethiopia barbier 1989, 2000. Yigezu atnafe, international livestock research institute ilri, addis ababa. Patterns, causes and consequences of land usecover dynamics in the gumara watershed of lake tana basin, northwestern ethiopia mesfin anteneh wubie 1, mohammed assen2 and melanie d. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of humaninduced processes acting upon the land. Because there is more than three times as much organic carbon in the soil as there is carbon in the atmosphere lal 2004, small changes in soc levels can have a large impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide. There are many causes of tropical deforestationcommercial logging, largescale agriculture e. Thus, arthur and jeanette conacher defined land degradation as alterations to all aspects of the biophysical environment by human actions to the. Unesco eolss sample chapters water resources management vol. Ethiopia owns more than 58 different types of wetlands which provide enormous socioeconomic and environmental values.

Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Deforestation is part of the process that leads to land degradation, and the main causes are a number of complex socioeconomic factors. A case study on keyain village of munshigonj district. Land degradation and rehabilitation in ethiopia society at large is also suffering from uncertain information about the rates of land use change and land degradation. Causes, consequences and remedies hagos gebresllassie, temesgen gashaw and abraham mehari.