Land Rehabilitation and Improved Management: The case of Tigray, northern

Ethiopia.

Kiros Meles Hadgu (PhD),Mekelle University

Presented at ICRAF, Nairobi, 3 March 2011

LocationNorthern Ethiopia

Size Tigray covers an areaOf 80,000 square kilometers

Population4.3 Million

1. Successes in Land Rehabilitation and Management

1. Successes in Land (Cont…)

-Possible to reverse land degradation in Tigray (once was one of the most world’s degraded highlands) through exclosures and physical SWC structures,

1975Photo ©NeilMunro

2006 Photo © Jan Nyssen

1. Successes in Land (Cont…)-Improved land management has become an inherent part of farming systems,

- The ‘More People Less Erosion’ Paradigm (Tiffen et al., 1994) is also valid in Tigray (Between the 1984 and 2011 population increased from 40 to 80 million)

2006 Photo © Jan Nyssen1975 Photo © Neil Munro

2. Roles of Trees in Reversal of Land Degradation and Management

Trees in combination with SWC structures provide:

- decrease sediment deposition,

- reduce down stream flooding

- reduce sheet and rill erosion

- increase water infiltration- enhance developmentof new springs

2. Roles of Trees in Reversal of Land Degradation and Management (Cont…)

- improve land stabilization

- improve fertility of the soil

- firewood and construction material

- production of grasses

for livestock and

roof building

3. Roles of Livestock in Reversal of Land Degradation and Improved Management

Exclosure: Livestock are forbidden

Cut and Carry Systems are allowed

Cut and Carry livestock feeding

4. Investments in land rehabilitation and improved management

-Free community labour (40 free days/year from each HH) for land rehabilitation)

4. Investments land rehabilitation (Cont…)-Local government and NGO’s involvement (e.g., Food-for-work and Safety Net Programmes)

5. Period of the Land Rehabilitation and Improved Management

- It started after the 1980’s drought but was

with top-down approach

(not effective)

- After the 1990’s, rehabilitation

has become priority agenda in

Tigray (local government in

consultation with community:

In participatory way)

1980’s

1990’s

6. Area covered under the Land Rehabilitation and Improved Management

- Roughly 20 to 30 % of Tigray is rehabilitated.

7. People benefited from Land Rehabilitation and Improved Management

- More than 1 million people have benefited from the land rehabilitation and improved management in Tigray.

7. Data on Land Rehabilitation and Improved Management

Source: Nyssen et al., 2007

8. Data on Land Rehabilitation and Improved Management

Source: Nyssen et al., 2007

More than 83% improved in land rehabiliation as well as land management

Land rehabilitation Land management

10. Main Drivers for Success- Land degradation caused by deforestation and subsequent soil erosion which led to drought and crop failure,

10. Main Drivers for Successes (Cont…)

-Extreme weather events (changes in rainfall patterns/ shortage of rain water).

National average of standardized annual rainfall anomaly compated to 1971-2000 normal

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

1951

1954

1957

1960

1963

1966

1969

1972

1975

1978

1981

1984

1987

1990

1993

1996

1999

2002

2005

National average annual minimum temprature differnce compared to 1971-2000 normal

y = 0.0372x - 1.2835

-2-1.5

-1-0.5

00.5

11.5

1951

1954

1957

1960

1963

1966

1969

1972

1975

1978

1981

1984

1987

1990

1993

1996

1999

2002

2005

Average Annual Rainfall anomaly (1951-2005) Average Annual minimum temperature difference (1951-2005)

10. Main Drivers for Success (Cont…)-Land resources pushed to their limits, ruptures in fragile equilibrium and contributed the drought of the 1980’s,

-To end the desertification in Tigray, local government and communities fully involved in rehabilitation of degraded lands,

11. Main Obstacles to progress (biophysical, socio-economic and institutional)

-Highly degraded steep slope areas,

-Financial limitation to implement the rehabilitation of the degraded areas,

- Top-down approach during the 1980’s

1975 Photo © Neil Munro

12. How obstacles were overcome?-Biophysical: stone terraces, tree planting, trenches

12. How obstacles overcome (Cont…)

-Socio-economic: 40 days free labor/year and food-for-work (Safety Net Program)

- Community leads land rehabilitation and management

13. Remaining obstacles

-More pressure on existing grazing lands (unprotected lands)

-Increasing demand of firewood and construction material

14. Need for Research or knowledge gap

Biophysical research:

-understanding of seed ecology, functional ecology and seed dispersal

- appropriate and rapid propagation techniques, and

- woodland management

Policy development for:

-sustainable energy consumption

- stall feeding of livestock

-on farm tree planting

15. Failure in land rehabilitation

No failure but the successes are not throughout.

16. Potential for scaling up the successes

- Awareness raising: policy makers, researchers, CBO’s

and farmers,

- Experience sharing: best practices

- Full involvement of community

THANK YOU!