TRENDS OF COMMUNITY-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON SUSTAINABLE WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT IN THE ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS, THE GUMARA WATERSHED

Abstract

Soil erosion is the driver of food insecurity and environmental\ndegradation affecting the lives of smallholder farmers. To tackle soil\nand water degradation government-led large-scale soil and water\nmanagement programs have been introduced at a watershed scale. The\nlong-term viability of those practices in the Gumara watershed remains a\nmajor challenge. The objective of the study was to better understand the\ngeneral approaches used to implement and design watershed management\npractices so that soil and nutrient transport to downstream water bodies\ncould be managed. Sub watersheds from the large Gumara watershed were\nidentified for detailed study based on erosion hotspots using the SWAT\nmodel. These sub-watersheds represent communities organized for\nconservation works in the absence of food assistance programs. The data\nwere collected from four focus groups of fifty participants each, field\nobservation, and desk-level meetings with experts. A structured\nquestionnaire was used to get relevant information to the participating\nfarmers. According to the findings, each of the selected watersheds used\nsimilar approaches to implement conservation activities. The community\nwithdrew from conservation efforts, even on their farm fields, since the\nsuccess rate was below the expectation. At this spot realizing the\nlong-term benefits of watershed development activities stayed\nchallenging. The smallholder farmer, on the other hand, clearly relies\non rain-fed agriculture and hopes to see immediate results to feed his\nfamily. In conclusion, government-led development programs have not been\nevaluated, technically supported, lack trusted in the community and\nhence development efforts were put in jeopardy.