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Land Degradation Causes, Consequences and Sustainability of the Restoration Efforts: The Case of Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Received: 21 February 2023     Accepted: 15 May 2023     Published: 25 May 2023
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Abstract

Land degradation is a global issue and it is more severe in developing countries like Ethiopia. To address the problems of land degradation in Ethiopia, many efforts have been made since 1970s. From then onwards many attempts have been made and integrated watershed management in one among these. The study was undertaken in Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, and SNNPR with the objective of examining land degradation causes, consequences and sustainability of the restoration efforts. In order to achieve the stated objectives, both primary and secondary data were generated by employing qualitative and quantitative methods. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 97 representative households from three kebeles. The quantitative data was analyzed by using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The qualitative data was analyzed through narration. The findings of the study showed that gully formation, stoniness of land, absence of grasses and vegetation cover, decline in crop productivity and change in soil color are the main symptoms of land degradation. The major extent of land degradation as perceived by the local people was severe. Only very few of the households opted that highly severe regarding the extent of land degradation. The major causes of land degradation in the study were soil erosion, deforestation and over cultivation. In addition, topography, overgrazing, lack of conservation methods and cultivation of marginal land were the other important causes with the certain degree of variation. The core impacts of land degradation were the declining of yield year after year, food insecurity| poverty and drought and famine. The remaining increases of inputs, malnutrition, desertification and displacement of people ranked two up to five followed by the above mentioned impacts. It is very difficult to restore the degraded land without the full participation of relevant stakeholders. The main stakeholders that participate in the restoration process include government, NGOs, farmers and DAs and each of these stakeholders have its own roles. Adopting of the participatory approach, promoting the awareness of rural communities as well as other stakeholders, management of restored land, and combining of the restoration efforts with local knowledge are core issues to the sustainability of the restoration process. In order to run the restoration efforts in sustainable way strengthening of community participation, capacity building of stakeholders, providing of incentives for those achieve the restoration process and scale up of the best practices are needed.

Published in International Journal of Sustainable Development Research (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20230902.11
Page(s) 18-27
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Restoration Efforts, Land Degradation, Causes, Consequences, Sustainability, Stakeholders

References
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[3] Assefa. D. (2009), Assessment of upland Erosion Process and Farmers Perception of Land Conservation in Debre-Mewi watershed, Near Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Cornell University.
[4] Bai. ZG, Dent, DL, O. L and Schaepman, ME. (2008). Global assessment of land degradation and improvement. 1. Identification by remote sensing. Report 2008|01, ISRIC –World Information, Wageningen.
[5] Bekele. S, H. A. Freeman & S. M. Swinton.(Eds). (2005). Natural Resource Management in Agriculture Methods for Assessing Economic and Environmental Impacts, Andhra Pradesh, India: ICRISAT.
[6] Bizoza. A. R, de Graaf. J. (2012). Financial cost-benefit analysis of bench terraces in Rwanda. Land Degradation and Development, 23, 103-115.
[7] Central Agricultural Census Commission. (2003). Statistical Report on Socio- Economic Characteristics of the Population in Agricultural Households: SNNPR, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
[8] Desalegn, A. (2011). Factors Influencing Job Performance of Development Agents: The Case of Soro Woreda of Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia.
[9] ESMF for the Sustainable Land Management Project II. (2013). Addis Ababa. Ethiopia.
[10] Ethiopian Economic Association |Ethiopian Economic Policy and Research Institute (EEA|EEPRI). (2002). A Research Report on Land Tenure and Agricultural Development in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Ethiopia.
[11] Fikru. A. (2009). Assessment of Adoption Behavior of Soil and Water Conservation Practices in the Koga Watershed, Highlands of Ethiopia. Cornell University.
[12] Getachew. A. (2005). Determinants of Land Degradation in the Lake Tana Basin and its Implications for Sustainable Land Management: The Case of Angereb and Gish Abbay Watersheds. (M.Sc Thesis), Ethiopia.
[13] Gete. Z. (2002). Resource use and poverty in the Ethiopia Highlands. In: Tilahun Amede (Ed) proceeding of a Conference on Natural Resource Degradation and Environmental Concerns in the Amhara National Regional State: Impact on Food Security, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
[14] Israel. D. G. (2012). Determining Sample Size, University of Florida, USA. Pd006. http://edis.Uf/.edu/ Accessed on September 2, 2012.
[15] Kaba. U, Tena. G and Zerihun. K, (2013). Coffee Based Rehabilitation of Degraded Land: the case of Haru Disrtict, West Oromia, Ethiopia. American-Eurasian J. Agric-& Environ –Sci., 13 (7): 907-913.
[16] Kibemo. D. (2011). Farmers Perception on Soil Erosion and Their use of Structural Soil Conservation Measures in Soro District, Southern Ethiopia (MA Thesis), Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
[17] Kiflemariam. (2008). Farmers Perspectives of land degradation and (padets) contribution to Sustainable Management. The case of Gozamen Woreda, Amhara Regional State (MA Thesis). Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa.
[18] Mesfin. D. (2010). Challenges and Prospects of Land Rehabilitation Practices: A Case of Angacha Woreda, Kambata Tambaro Zone, SNNPR, (MA. Thesis). Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa.
[19] MOARD & WB. (2007). Thematic Papers on Land Degradation in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
[20] Shibru. T (2010). Land Degradation and Farmers perception: The Case of Limo Woreda, Hadiya Zone of SNNPR, Ethiopia. (MSc Thesis), Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa.
[21] Soro Wereda Finance and Economic Development Office. (2014). Total Household sizes in each Kebele Administration of Soro Wereada.
[22] Tagese. H. (2010). Changing the Spiral: Restoration Effort of degraded land in Ethiopia, challenges and prospects, the case of Hadiya Zone (MA. Thesis), The Hague, the Netherlands.
[23] Tesfa. W and S. K. Tripathi, (2015). An Evaluation of Watershed Management Practice in Ethiopia: A preliminary Review. International Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol. 4 No. 1. 2015. pp. 24-30.
[24] Tesfaye. H. (2011). Assessment of Sustainable Watershed Management Approach: Case Study Lenche Dima, Tsegur Eyesus and Dijjil Watershed. Cornell University.
[25] Woldeamlak. B. (2003). Towards Integrated Watershed Management in Highland Ethiopia the Chemoga Watershed case Study. Tropical Resource Management. Paper, No 44|2003.
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    Eyasu Estefanos Shanko. (2023). Land Degradation Causes, Consequences and Sustainability of the Restoration Efforts: The Case of Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia. International Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 9(2), 18-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20230902.11

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    ACS Style

    Eyasu Estefanos Shanko. Land Degradation Causes, Consequences and Sustainability of the Restoration Efforts: The Case of Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. Res. 2023, 9(2), 18-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20230902.11

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    AMA Style

    Eyasu Estefanos Shanko. Land Degradation Causes, Consequences and Sustainability of the Restoration Efforts: The Case of Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Int J Sustain Dev Res. 2023;9(2):18-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20230902.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsdr.20230902.11,
      author = {Eyasu Estefanos Shanko},
      title = {Land Degradation Causes, Consequences and Sustainability of the Restoration Efforts: The Case of Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia},
      journal = {International Journal of Sustainable Development Research},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {18-27},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsdr.20230902.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20230902.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsdr.20230902.11},
      abstract = {Land degradation is a global issue and it is more severe in developing countries like Ethiopia. To address the problems of land degradation in Ethiopia, many efforts have been made since 1970s. From then onwards many attempts have been made and integrated watershed management in one among these. The study was undertaken in Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, and SNNPR with the objective of examining land degradation causes, consequences and sustainability of the restoration efforts. In order to achieve the stated objectives, both primary and secondary data were generated by employing qualitative and quantitative methods. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 97 representative households from three kebeles. The quantitative data was analyzed by using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The qualitative data was analyzed through narration. The findings of the study showed that gully formation, stoniness of land, absence of grasses and vegetation cover, decline in crop productivity and change in soil color are the main symptoms of land degradation. The major extent of land degradation as perceived by the local people was severe. Only very few of the households opted that highly severe regarding the extent of land degradation. The major causes of land degradation in the study were soil erosion, deforestation and over cultivation. In addition, topography, overgrazing, lack of conservation methods and cultivation of marginal land were the other important causes with the certain degree of variation. The core impacts of land degradation were the declining of yield year after year, food insecurity| poverty and drought and famine. The remaining increases of inputs, malnutrition, desertification and displacement of people ranked two up to five followed by the above mentioned impacts. It is very difficult to restore the degraded land without the full participation of relevant stakeholders. The main stakeholders that participate in the restoration process include government, NGOs, farmers and DAs and each of these stakeholders have its own roles. Adopting of the participatory approach, promoting the awareness of rural communities as well as other stakeholders, management of restored land, and combining of the restoration efforts with local knowledge are core issues to the sustainability of the restoration process. In order to run the restoration efforts in sustainable way strengthening of community participation, capacity building of stakeholders, providing of incentives for those achieve the restoration process and scale up of the best practices are needed.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    T1  - Land Degradation Causes, Consequences and Sustainability of the Restoration Efforts: The Case of Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia
    AU  - Eyasu Estefanos Shanko
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    T2  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    JF  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    JO  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1832
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20230902.11
    AB  - Land degradation is a global issue and it is more severe in developing countries like Ethiopia. To address the problems of land degradation in Ethiopia, many efforts have been made since 1970s. From then onwards many attempts have been made and integrated watershed management in one among these. The study was undertaken in Soro Wereda, Hadiya Zone, and SNNPR with the objective of examining land degradation causes, consequences and sustainability of the restoration efforts. In order to achieve the stated objectives, both primary and secondary data were generated by employing qualitative and quantitative methods. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 97 representative households from three kebeles. The quantitative data was analyzed by using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The qualitative data was analyzed through narration. The findings of the study showed that gully formation, stoniness of land, absence of grasses and vegetation cover, decline in crop productivity and change in soil color are the main symptoms of land degradation. The major extent of land degradation as perceived by the local people was severe. Only very few of the households opted that highly severe regarding the extent of land degradation. The major causes of land degradation in the study were soil erosion, deforestation and over cultivation. In addition, topography, overgrazing, lack of conservation methods and cultivation of marginal land were the other important causes with the certain degree of variation. The core impacts of land degradation were the declining of yield year after year, food insecurity| poverty and drought and famine. The remaining increases of inputs, malnutrition, desertification and displacement of people ranked two up to five followed by the above mentioned impacts. It is very difficult to restore the degraded land without the full participation of relevant stakeholders. The main stakeholders that participate in the restoration process include government, NGOs, farmers and DAs and each of these stakeholders have its own roles. Adopting of the participatory approach, promoting the awareness of rural communities as well as other stakeholders, management of restored land, and combining of the restoration efforts with local knowledge are core issues to the sustainability of the restoration process. In order to run the restoration efforts in sustainable way strengthening of community participation, capacity building of stakeholders, providing of incentives for those achieve the restoration process and scale up of the best practices are needed.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Oda Bultum University, Chiro, Ethiopia

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