Kifle Woldearegay

Shallow Groundwater Irrigation in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: Practices and Issues

The Tigray region in Northern Ethiopia has been among the drought prone areas of the country. To enhance food security at household level, a number of efforts have been implemented in the Tigray region including construction of micro-dams, river diversion weirs and ponds as well as extensive soil and water conservation (SWC) measures (like deep trenches, stone or earth bunds and mulching). The rainfall in the region varies from about 500 mm (in eastern part) to 1200 mm (in western part); most of it rains in the month of June–September. In the last 5 years shallow groundwater irrigation has been also extensively implemented. In this context a research study was carried out to assess: (a) the practice of shallow groundwater irrigation, (b) the advantages of soil and water conservation on groundwater recharge, and (c) possible challenges associated with shallow groundwater development, and management. Results revealed that thousands of shallow groundwater wells (with depths not exceeding 30 m) have been developed in Tigray region; shallow groundwater irrigation has increased from less than 20 ha in the year 1994 to over 40,000 ha in the year 2012. Due to the implementation of SWC measures, most of the valley floors of the region have become potential areas for shallow groundwater development; an opportunity for the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater. Possible challenges related to shallow groundwater irrigation include: (a) well design and construction problems as open excavation is made upto 9 m diameter, (b) high costs of pumps and oil, (c) depletion of groundwater due to excessive withdrawal, (d) the emergence of conflicts due to competition for resources, and (e) lack of awareness of the farmers on the benefits of shallow groundwater irrigation.

Roads for water: the unused potential

Roads are generally perceived as infrastructure to deliver transport services, but they are more than that. They are major interventions in the hydrology of areas where they are constructed – concentrating runoff and altering subsurface flows. At present, water-related damage constitutes a major cost factor in road maintenance. Using ongoing research from Ethiopia, this article argues to reverse this and turn water from a foe into a friend and integrate water harvesting with road development. Optimized road designs are required – better planning of alignments, making use of road drainage, road surfaces, and river crossings, but also capturing freshly opened springs and systematically including developing storage and enhanced recharge facilities in road-building programmes. Equally important are inclusive planning processes that are sensitive to the multi-functionality of roads but also to the potentially uneven distribution of benefits and the diverse livelihood impacts. There is a need for closer integration of watershed and road-building programmes. With 5.5 million kilometres of roads in sub-Saharan Africa alone, and road building continuing to be one of the largest public investments, the potential of roads for water harvesting is great.

Multifunctional Roads The Potential Effects of Combined Roads and Water Harvesting Infrastructure on Livelihoods and Poverty in Ethiopia

Rural roads are built to improve people’s mobility and to enhance access to markets, administrative centres, schools and health posts, and are credited with important socio-economic changes. A less studied aspect is the impact of roads on hydrological resources, as roads interact with existing surface and groundwater flows, redistributing water-related hazards and resources across space with significant consequences on people and their livelihoods. In Ethiopia, the government has embarked on a massive road construction programme over the last decade, mainly to serve the needs of an essentially rural population and agrarian economy. In parallel, the government has also been investing significantly in water harvesting and conservation measures and irrigation to serve the needs of a population whose livelihoods depend heavily on rain-fed agriculture. Based on fieldwork conducted in 2014 in the semi-arid region of Tigray, Ethiopia, this article explores the opportunities and potential for multifunctional infrastructures. We argue that the two distinctive objectives of improving road connectivity and water availability for irrigation are interlinked and can be served by the same infrastructure, which we call multifunctional roads.

Roads: Instruments for Rainwater Harvesting, Food Security and Climate Resilience in Arid and Semi-arid Areas

With an investment of 7–10 billion USD in sub-Saharan Africa, the development of roads is a major factor in the change of landscapes and the drainage patterns. Thus, roads often act as conveyance systems, but the impact is often negative, leading to erosion, waterlogging and flooding. These impacts come down hardest on the more vulnerable and least resilient, such as poor female-headed households. Yet these negative effects can be turned around and roads can be made into instruments for rainwater harvesting, food security and climate resilience. In this regard, there is a variety of techniques that can be used—ranging from simple interventions in the area surrounding the roads to modified designs of road bodies. What drives the transformation of roads is a change in governance too—better coordination between road builders and water resource and agricultural departments and closer interaction with roadside communities. This chapter provides evidence from Yemen and Tigray region in Ethiopia, where road water harvesting has systematically been introduced in all districts since 2014. The chapter describes the process of promoting road water harvesting, the techniques used, the potential of road water harvesting to increase resilience and the hydrological and socio-economic effects.

Fostering Food Security and Climate Resilience Through Integrated Landscape Restoration Practices and Rainwater Harvesting/Management in Arid and Semi-arid Areas of Ethiopia

Land degradation and rainfall variability are severe problems affecting sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia is one of the countries in the region which is hugely impacted by these processes. To circumvent the impacts of these problems, the country has been involved in implementing various landscape restoration and water harvesting (LRWH) practices since the 1970s. However, the success of these efforts has been limited especially at the earlier periods. The major reasons include the top-down approach followed to implementation of the LRWH practices, mismatch between landscape characteristics and recommended LRWH options, lack of appropriate monitoring and maintenance of schemes, and low adoption rate by communities due to limited economic return from the interventions. Despite these bottlenecks, however, various achievements have been recorded in some parts of the country. In those areas, the interventions have significantly changed the environmental and socio-economic conditions of the areas. Understanding the key drivers that promoted successful restoration of landscapes and water resources could help in designing appropriate technologies and their implementation mechanisms. This study aims to assess the biophysical and socio-economic conditions that need to be fulfilled for LRWH technologies to be adopted and be effective and to enhance resilience to climate/rainfall variability. We critically reviewed five successful cases in Tigray region to understand the critical elements to be considered when identifying, introducing and managing LRWH options. The results show that promotion of integrated management practices considering the whole landscape continuum is essential for LRWH options to succeed and create resilience to climate variability. It is also observed that interventions should be designed considering both agro-ecological, land use/cover, soil, geomorphological, hydrogeological, socio-economic and institutional conditions of specific landscapes/watersheds.