Agricultural land is a scarce resource in Ethiopian highlands. Contrary to this fact, Its sustainabilityis highly threatened by many intertwined problems. Amongst are Tenure insecurity, landdegradation, and food insecurity. These problems are the result of many interdependentenvironmental, social, institutional and economic factors. Comprising 16 woredas, Beshilo sub basin is found in Amhara regional state of Ethiopia. It is one of the sub-basins of the Blue Nile basinknown for high prevalence of land degradation and food insecurity. In the sub-basin, a hugevolume of soil, water, and forest resource will be degraded annually, resulting in soil nutrientdepletion, poor agricultural productivity and thus food insecurity. Land tenure security is entirelyhurdled by poor certification program, and it is now at a preliminary stage. The problems haveexposed a large number of people to famine, migration, and destitution. Considering these deep-rooted problems, the Ethiopia government has intervened with the Sustainable LandManagement (SLM) project to reduce the negative consequences of the above-mentionedproblems. This research intends to study how this intervention has contributed rural householdsto overcome these problems. The study has four specific objectives oriented towards addressing;i) SWC technologies commonly implemented by farmers ii) contribution of successful landcertification to tenure security and agricultural productivity iii) land use and land cover changesthat come as a result of the intervention, and iv) food security status of people engaged in SLMactivities. It will make use of a case study approach in general and exploratory case study inparticular, where a combination of qualitative and quantitative data will be used from bothprimary and secondary sources. Data will be interpreted and analysed using different statistical,econometrics & ArcGIS software and relevant food security tools, models & measurements. Theresult of the study provides policy-related information and technically feasible remedies that helpto prioritize in overcoming food security, land management, and tenure security problems. Morespecifically, it will develop common language and currency that should be functional amongpolicymakers, donor organizations, academia and development practitioners in the area ofsustainable development.Keywords: Land degradation, tenure insecurity, food insecurity, sustainable land management,Land use land cover, Beshilo sub basin.
- Ethiopia: Understanding Sustainability and Constraints of Soil and Water Conservation Uptakes in the Erosion Prone Areas of the Northeastern Escarpments
Date: 2022-01-19
Date Submitted: 2022-03-08
