Your search found 10 records
1 Kibret, K. S.; Haileslassie, Amare; Mekuria Bori, Wolde; Schmitter, Petra. 2022. Multicriteria decision-support system to assess the potential of exclosure-based conservation in Ethiopia. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 37(S1):S88-S102. (Special issue: Restoring Degraded Landscapes and Fragile Food Systems) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170520000034]
Soil conservation ; Land degradation ; Exclosures ; Decision support systems ; Land use planning ; Ecosystem services ; River basins ; Watersheds ; Lakes ; Water conservation ; Biomass ; Carbon sequestration ; Agroecology ; Erosion ; Models / Ethiopia / Abay River Basin / Rift Valley Lakes Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049536)
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/503FFF1F6BFB3F8140E97071961D2302/S1742170520000034a.pdf/multicriteria_decisionsupport_system_to_assess_the_potential_of_exclosurebased_conservation_in_ethiopia.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049536.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049536.pdf
(1.33 MB) (1.33 MB)
Land degradation is a global challenge that affects lives and livelihoods in many communities. Since 1950, about 65% of Africa’s cropland, on which millions of people depend, has been affected by land degradation caused by mining, poor farming practices and illegal logging. One-quarter of the land area of Ethiopia is severely degraded. As part of interventions to restore ecosystem services, exclosures have been implemented in Ethiopia since the 1980s. But the lack of tools to support prioritization and more efficient targeting of areas for large-scale exclosure-based interventions remains a challenge. Within that perspective, the overarching objectives of the current study were: (i) to develop a Geographic Information System-based multicriteria decision-support tool that would help in the identification of suitable areas for exclosure initiatives; (ii) to provide spatially explicit information, aggregated by river basin and agroecology, on potential areas for exclosure interventions and (iii) to conduct ex-ante analysis of the potential of exclosure areas for improving ecosystem services in terms of increase in above-ground biomass (AGB) production and carbon storage. The results of this study demonstrated that as much as 10% of Ethiopia’s land area is suitable for establishing exclosures. This amounts to 11 million hectares (ha) of land depending on the criteria used to define suitability for exclosure. Of this total, a significant proportion (0.5–0.6 million ha) is currently under agricultural land-use systems. In terms of propriety river basins, we found that the largest amount of suitable area for exclosures falls in the Abay (2.6 million ha) and Tekeze (2.2 million ha) river basins, which are hosts to water infrastructure such as hydropower dams and are threatened by siltation. Ex-ante analysis of ecosystem services indicated that about 418 million tons of carbon can be stored in the AGB through exclosure land use. Ethiopia has voluntarily committed to the Bonn Challenge to restore 15 million ha of degraded land by 2025. The decision-support tool developed by the current study and the information so generated go toward supporting the planning, implementation and monitoring of these kinds of local and regional initiatives.
2 Mekuria, Wolde; Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria; Lefore, Nicole. 2020. Exclosures for landscape restoration in Ethiopia: business model scenarios and suitability. Agricultural Water Management – Making a Business Case for Smallholders. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 62p. (IWMI Research Report 175) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2020.201]
Landscape conservation ; Exclosures ; Business models ; Land degradation ; Sustainable land management ; Natural resources management ; Ecosystem services ; Crop production ; Fruits ; Trees ; Apiculture ; Honey production ; Livestock production ; Fattening ; Feed production ; Forage yield ; Grazing lands ; Land use ; Land cover ; Horticulture ; Environmental sustainability ; Integrated systems ; Markets ; Supply chain ; Financing ; Income ; Incentives ; Cash flow ; Cost benefit analysis ; Economic viability ; Investment ; Institutions ; Strategies ; Regulations ; Policies ; Multi-stakeholder processes ; Private sector ; Government agencies ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Feasibility studies ; Rural areas ; Local communities ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Gender ; Women ; Living standards / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H049614)
(2.88 MB)
Land degradation is a critical problem around the world. Intensive rain-fed and irrigated crop and livestock systems have contributed to the degradation of land and natural resources. Numerous institutional and socioeconomic challenges complicate attempts to reverse land degradation, including the lack of short-term incentives for investment; low investment by communities in natural resources management that offers little immediate financial reward; failure of public sector institutions to invest sufficiently in natural resources management because of low, immediate political rewards; and sectoral fragmentation, among others. In poor communities, the incentive to extract short-term economic returns from land and natural resources often outweighs perceived benefits from investing in long-term environmental restoration, and related economic and ecosystem returns.
Restoring degraded ecosystems through the establishment of exclosures – areas that are excluded from woodcutting, grazing and agricultural activities – is an increasingly common practice in the Ethiopian Highlands, and regional states are also following this practice. This report proposes and applies an adapted business model to explore the feasibility of exclosures for land restoration. It aims to identify short-term revenue streams from activities that can be carried out within exclosures, such as beekeeping, harvesting fodder for livestock fattening, and cultivating high-value plant species, including fruits and herbs. These are feasible, sustainable economic activities that could allow for the restoration of ecosystem services over the long term. Mobilization of financial resources, engagement of local communities, provision of training and continuous follow-up, as well as facilitation of market opportunities in the value chain for local communities and enterprises (e.g., creating market linkages and establishing innovation platform to engage with market actors) could support the sustainable implementation of the revenue streams.
Restoring degraded ecosystems through the establishment of exclosures – areas that are excluded from woodcutting, grazing and agricultural activities – is an increasingly common practice in the Ethiopian Highlands, and regional states are also following this practice. This report proposes and applies an adapted business model to explore the feasibility of exclosures for land restoration. It aims to identify short-term revenue streams from activities that can be carried out within exclosures, such as beekeeping, harvesting fodder for livestock fattening, and cultivating high-value plant species, including fruits and herbs. These are feasible, sustainable economic activities that could allow for the restoration of ecosystem services over the long term. Mobilization of financial resources, engagement of local communities, provision of training and continuous follow-up, as well as facilitation of market opportunities in the value chain for local communities and enterprises (e.g., creating market linkages and establishing innovation platform to engage with market actors) could support the sustainable implementation of the revenue streams.
3 Adem, A. A.; Mekuria, Wolde; Belay, Y.; Tilahun, S. A.; Steenhuis, T. S. 2020. Exclosures improve degraded landscapes in the sub-humid Ethiopian highlands: the Ferenj Wuha Watershed. Journal of Environmental Management, 270:110802. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110802]
Land degradation ; Exclosures ; Highlands ; Subhumid zones ; Watersheds ; Land management ; Water management ; Land restoration ; Carbon sequestration ; Ecosystem services ; Grazing lands ; Soil fertility ; Biomass ; Communities / Ethiopia / Ferenj Wuha watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049935)
(1.65 MB)
Land resources in developing countries are facing intense degradation due to deforestation and subsequent loss of organic matter from continuous tillage that causes soil erosion and gulley formation. The Ethiopian highlands are especially and severely affected. One of the land and water management practices to counteract this problem, fenced areas to prevent livestock access (called exclosures), has been in practice for the last few decades in the semi-arid highlands of Ethiopia but its effect on degraded landscapes has not been well researched – especially in the sub-humid and humid highlands. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of exclosures on improving degraded landscapes in the sub-humid highlands. The research was carried out in the Ferenj Wuha watershed, in the northwestern sub-humid Ethiopian highlands, where land and water management practices were implemented starting in 2011. Vegetation was inventoried and aboveground biomass, carbon and nutrient stock determined for communal grazing land, exclosures and for other uses. In addition, soil samples were collected for nutrient analysis. Our results show that exclosures have a richer and more diverse set of plant species compared to communal grazing land. Establishment of an exclosure also enhanced organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus. Over a six-year period, aboveground biomass increased by 54 Mg ha 1 (or 81%) at the watershed scale because of the conversion of communal grazing land to exclosures. The improvement in soil nutrients due to exclosures, in turn, increased carbon and nutrient stock. The results support regeneration of degraded landscapes by restoring vegetation, soil fertility, carbon and nutrient stocks in the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. However, additional research is required to more accurately quantify these improvements because current research efforts that sample only the surface soils seem to indicate that the capacity of exclosures to increase soil carbon storage is decreasing when annual rainfall is increasing.
4 Mekuria, Wolde; Getnet, Kindie; Yami, M.; Langan, Simon; Amare, D. 2021. Perception of communities when managing exclosures as common pool resources in northwestern Ethiopia. Land Degradation and Development, 32(1):35-48. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3689]
Exclosures ; Natural resources management ; Land degradation ; Erosion ; Local communities ; Public opinion ; Watersheds ; Ecosystem services ; Common lands ; Grazing lands ; Vegetation ; Sustainability ; Government agencies ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Gender ; Women ; Decision making ; Living standards ; Households / Ethiopia / Gomit Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049938)
(1.25 MB)
Understanding the different perceptions of the local community regarding the use and management of common pool resources, such as exclosures, could better support targeted interventions by government and development partners. Here, we report on a study conducted in the Gomit watershed, northwestern Ethiopia, using a survey and key informant interviews, to examine community perceptions on (a) the biophysical condition (i.e., challenge of land degradation and restoration), (b) the action situations (user's access to and control over resources and decision-making processes involved in taking actions in managing the exclosure), (c) actors' interactions (formal and informal institutions involved in the management of exclosures), and (d) perceived outcomes (benefits and tradeoffs of managing exclosures). Many people in the Gomit watershed recognize land degradation as a serious problem and believe that exclosures support restoration of degraded landscapes and improve ecosystem services. Informal institutions play a key role in managing exclosures by improving benefit sharing and mobilizing the local community for collective action. However, some community members have concerns about recent expansion of exclosures because of (a) limited short-term derived benefits, (b) reductions in fuelwood availability, (c) increased degradation of remaining communal grazing lands, and (d) poor participation of marginalized groups in decision making. Addressing such concerns through the promotion of short-term benefits of exclosures and increasing community participation in decision-making and benefit sharing is crucial. The study provides evidence to support government and development partners on the establishment and management of exclosures through identifying the benefits and drawbacks as perceived by different sectors of the community.
5 Haileslassie, Amare; Mekuria, Wolde; Schmitter, Petra; Uhlenbrook, Stefan; Ludi, Eva. 2020. Changing agricultural landscapes in Ethiopia: examining application of adaptive management approach. Sustainability, 12(21):8939. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218939]
Agricultural landscape ; Land management ; Water management ; Ecosystem services ; Land use ; Land cover ; Land degradation ; Land restoration ; Exclosures ; Farmland ; Soil conservation ; Water conservation ; Water harvesting ; Carbon sequestration ; Biodiversity ; Livelihoods ; Decision making ; Indicators ; Foreign investment ; Socioeconomic aspects / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050044)
(0.64 MB) (657 KB)
Ethiopia has decades of experience in implementing land and water management interventions. The overarching objectives of this review were to synthesize evidences on the impact of implementation of land and water management practices on agricultural landscapes in Ethiopia and to evaluate the use of adaptive management (AM) approaches as a tool to manage uncertainties. We explored how elements of the structures and functions of landscapes have been transformed, and how the components of AM, such as structured decision-making and learning processes, have been applied. Despite numerous environmental and economic benefits of land and water management interventions in Ethiopia, this review revealed gaps in AM approaches. These include: (i) inadequate evidence-based contextualization of interventions, (ii) lack of monitoring of bio-physical and socioeconomic processes and changes post implementation, (iii) lack of trade-off analyses, and (iv) inadequacy of local community engagement and provision of feedback. Given the many uncertainties we must deal with, future investment in AM approaches tailored to the needs and context would help to achieve the goals of sustainable agricultural landscape transformation. The success depends, among other things, on the ability to learn from the knowledge generated and apply the learning as implementation evolves.
6 Kefale, T.; Hagos, Fitsum; van Rooijen, Daniel; Haileslassie, Amare. 2021. Farmers’ willingness to pay for alternative resource management practices in the Bale Eco-Region, Ethiopia: an application of choice experiment. Heliyon, 7(10):E08159. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08159]
Farmers ; Willingness to pay ; Resource management ; Ecosystem services ; Reforestation ; Exclosures ; Socioeconomic environment ; Communities ; Households / Ethiopia / Bale Eco-Region
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050730)
https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2405-8440%2821%2902262-3
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050730.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050730.pdf
(1.07 MB) (1.07 MB)
The purpose of this study is to investigate the preferences of people in the Bale Eco-Region (BER) for better ecosystem services and to calculate their mean Willingness to Pay (WTP) for selected attributes of conservation practices to maintain watershed's ecosystem functions, using a choice modeling approach. Results from reforestation attributes revealed that the average WTP for reforestation characteristics were 3,053 ($145.38), 2,516 ($119.83), and 1,827 ($87) Ethiopian Birr (ETB)/year for higher, medium, and low impact improvement scenarios respectively, to midland communities. Lowland respondents' mean WTP for exclosure attributes were estimated at 882 ($42), 1,558 ($74.19), and 2,383 ($113) ETB yearly for low, medium, and high impact improvement scenarios respectively. This indicates that respondents from both lowland and midland communities are willing to spend a substantial amount of resource and time (measured in terms of money) on to improve ES in the BER. The study provides valuable input to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of possible interventions conserving natural resources in the BER. Moreover, using this study was an important step for initiating the process of Payment for Ecosystem Services in the BER where local communities, in Ethiopia and beyond could contribute to rehabilitating Ecosystem Services.
7 Yakob, G.; Smith, J. U.; Nayak, D. R.; Hallett, P. D.; Phimister, E.; Mekuria, Wolde. 2022. Changes in soil properties following the establishment of exclosures in Ethiopia: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10:823026. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.823026]
Exclosures ; Soil properties ; Agroecological zones ; Soil organic carbon ; Nitrogen ; Grazing lands ; Degraded land ; Land restoration ; Farmland ; Soil types ; Eucalyptus ; Meta-analysis / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050965)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.823026/pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050965.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050965.pdf
(7.11 MB) (7.11 MB)
Community-led watershed development activities, including the establishment of exclosures (areas where both livestock and farming activities are excluded) on degraded communal grazing land, have become a common practice in Ethiopia since the 1990s. However, it is not yet fully understood how these exclosures change soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen in different soil types and under different agroecologies. A meta-analysis using data gathered from the most relevant peer reviewed articles from Ethiopian exclosure systems was conducted to assess the variation in the effects of exclosures on soil carbon and nitrogen and to investigate the factors controlling change. The results demonstrate that after 16 years, exclosures can increase soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen up to an effect size greater than two. This is moderated by soil type, exclosure age, landscape position and agroecology. More effective restoration of soil carbon was observed in less developed Leptosols and Cambisols than in more developed Luvisols, and in drier than more humid agroecologies. The results suggest that soil type and agroecology should be taken into consideration when planning and implementing exclosures on degraded communal grazing land. The findings of this study provide base line information for the future expansion of exclosures, and guide where to focus implementation. They also provide criteria to be used when planning and establishing exclosures to restore soil carbon and nitrogen. In addition, the results generated through this meta-analysis provide better understanding of the spatial and temporal variation of the effectiveness of exclosures to restore soil carbon and nitrogen.
8 Degefa, H.; Tolera, M.; Kim, D.-G.; Mekuria, Wolde. 2023. Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia. Land Degradation and Development, 34(7):2073-2087. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4590]
Exclosures ; Carbon stock assessments ; Degraded forest land ; Grazing lands ; Soil organic carbon ; Woody plants ; Ecosystems ; Vegetation ; Total nitrogen ; Watersheds ; Biomass / Ethiopia / Central Rift Valley / Abine Germama-Gallo Hiraphe Watershed / Kolla Nurena Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051667)
(2.30 MB)
Effects of exclosures on restoring degraded lands may vary with soil type, exclosure age, and conditions before the establishment of exclosures. Yet, studies investigating the effectiveness of exclosures in restoring degraded lands under different environmental conditions are lacking. This study aims at investigating the changes in woody species richness and diversity, and ecosystem carbon stocks after implementing exclosures in the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia. Vegetation and soil data were gathered from 120 nested plots established in exclosures of eight and 30-years-old and adjacent grazing lands. Results showed that exclosures contained a higher number of economically important woody species compared to their respective adjacent grazing lands. However, the exclosures and respective adjacent grazing lands did not differ significantly in the diversity of tree and shrub species, and both the exclosures and adjacent grazing lands were dominated by few tree and shrub species. The older exclosure (30 years old) displayed significantly (p < 0.01) higher soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen content and stocks than the adjacent grazing land, whereas the youngest exclosure (8 years old) did not show a significant difference in these variables. The results suggest that a longer time (e.g., =10 years) is needed to detect significant differences in soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen. However, exclosures could bring considerable changes in woody species density in a relatively shorter period (e.g., =10 years) and support to restore degraded native woody species.
9 Mekuria, Wolde; Gedle, A.; Tesfaye, Y.; Phimister, E. 2023. Implications of changes in land use for ecosystem service values of two highly eroded watersheds in Lake Abaya Chamo Sub-basin, Ethiopia. Ecosystem Services, 64:101564. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2023.101564]
Land use ; Land cover ; Ecosystem services ; Watershed management ; Farmland ; Grazing lands ; Gully erosion ; Livelihoods ; Land degradation ; Exclosures ; Shrublands ; Landscape conservation / Ethiopia / Lake Abaya Chamo Sub-Basin / Aba-Bora Watershed / Guder Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052329)
(11.60 MB)
Ecosystems provide a variety of ecosystem services and functions for mankind, and their sustainable use plays an important role in livelihoods. However, the resulting land degradation due to land use and land cover changes leads to loss of valuable ecosystems and associated ecosystem functions and services. This study takes two highly degraded watersheds, Aba-Bora and Guder, in Ethiopia and uses the value transfer valuation method to estimate changes in ecosystem service values. The study shows how loss of cropland and grazing lands can significantly affect ecosystem services even when plantations and shrubland increase. The results suggest that over a period of 41 years, the ecosystem service value of exclosures/shrublands and plantations increased, whereas that of crop and grazing lands decreased. The loss of ecosystem service values due to the decrease in cropland and grazing lands outweigh the gains due to the expansion of plantations and exclosures and resulted in a total loss of ecosystem service values of US$ 1.6 million in Aba-Bora watershed and US$ 24.4 million in Guder. In both watersheds, the greatest contributor to ecosystem service loss was a decline in supporting services, while the increase in plantation and shrublands (mainly through establishment of exclosures) meant that regulating ecosystem services suffered the smallest loss. Given their importance to livelihoods in these areas, the loss in crop and grazing lands significantly increase the vulnerability to shocks and narrow future livelihood options for many households. Given that severe gully erosion is the major contributor to the reduction in crop and grazing lands, catchment management that integrates the conservation of upstream areas using diverse sustainable land management practices, and gully rehabilitation measures in downstream areas could be an important option to reducing the expansion of big gullies, and conserving crop and grazing lands and ecosystem service values. However, the results suggest that the risks to livelihoods may be underestimated while the effectiveness of current actions to address land degradation over-estimated by communities.
10 Adem, A. A.; Wassie, T. M.; Gashaw, T.; Tilahun, Seifu A. 2024. Evaluation of exclosures in restoring degraded landscapes in the semi-arid highlands of northwestern Ethiopia. Catena, 237:107826. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2024.107826]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052560)
(9.38 MB)
Land degradation is a severe environmental problem in the northern and northwestern Ethiopian highlands. As a response to increasing land degradation, rehabilitation of degraded grazing lands through exclosures (exclusion of farmers and domestic animals) has been undertaken. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of 11 and 8-year exclosures in improving degraded landscapes in the Karita-Wuha and Dengora watersheds. It was assumed that the conditions on communal grazing lands at the time of the investigation corresponded to those at the establishment of exclosures. Vegetation was inventoried, and soil samples were collected and analyzed in 14 and 21 sampling sites selected from exclosures and communal grazing lands in Dengora and Karita-Wuha watersheds, respectively. Sampling plots (20 × 20 m) were established for soil sampling. In the two land uses, 10x10 m and 5x5 m sub-plots were used to survey trees and bushes/shrubs, respectively. Richness, diversity, evenness, and aboveground biomass (AGB) were evaluated using measurements from the vegetation inventory. Organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), and available phosphorus (AP) and their stocks were used as soil nutrient indicators. The result showed that exclosures aided in restoring vegetation in both watersheds and soil nutrient parameters in the Dengora watershed compared with communal grazing lands. In the Karita-Wuha watershed, there was significantly higher OC, TN, and their stocks in communal grazing land than exclosures (t-test, p < 0.05). These results are generally attributed to the fact that communal grazing lands were significantly degraded before exclosure and have yet to recover. As a result, exclosures of Dengora and Karita-Wuha watersheds were limited in restoring degraded landscapes. There have been differences in the effectiveness of < 11- and > 11-year exclosures in restoring degraded landscapes in the literature. The effectiveness of various aged exclosures in restoring degraded landscapes is likely variable and dependent on local biophysical parameters and land use systems.
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