Long-term dynamics in land resource use and the driving forces in the Beressa watershed, highlands of Ethiopia

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Abstract

Land degradation in the Ethiopian highlands is considered to be one of the major problems threatening agricultural development and food security in the country. However, knowledge about the forces driving the long-term dynamics in land resources use is limited. This research integrates biophysical information with socio-economic processes and policy changes to examine the dynamics of land resource use and farmers’ livelihoods in the Beressa watershed for over 40 years during the second half of the 20th century. It was found that there have been substantial dynamics in land resource use in the area. The natural vegetation cover has been extensively cleared, although most of the cleared areas have since been replaced with plantations. Grazing land has expanded remarkably at the expense of cropland and bare land. However, the expansion of cropland was minimal over the 43-year period despite a quadrupling of the population density. Yields have not increased to compensate for the reduction in per capita cropland, and the soil quality appears to be not that good. Though the farmers perceived it otherwise, the long-term rainfall pattern has improved. In response to soil degradation, water shortage, socio-economic and policy changes, farmers have tended to gradually change from annual cropping to tree planting and livestock production to cope with the problems of soil degradation, water scarcity and smaller farms. Income diversification through the sale of wood and cattle dung is becoming a major livelihood strategy. Apparently, however, little attention has been paid to investments in soil and water conservation (SWC) and local soil fertility amendments. In particular, increased erosion and related high nutrient losses in sediments, as well as the removal of potentially available soil nutrients through the sale of manure threatens to damage agricultural sustainability in the area.

Introduction

Land resources constitute the most important natural resources for countries like Ethiopia where agriculture is the mainstay of the national economy. Agricultural production is highly dependent on smallholder rainfed farming in the highlands, and it has been practiced for several thousands of years. Endowed with ‘13 months1 of sunshine’, good rainfall and fertile soils for rainfed farming, the highlands (>1500 m a.s.l.) have long supported the livelihood of a great proportion of the country's population. Ethiopia still relies greatly on the agricultural sector. About 90% of the population lives by cultivating the land and more than 50% of the export earnings derive from the sale of farm produce. However, natural resource degradation resulting from population pressure and inappropriate land use is considered to be one of the major problems threatening agricultural development and food security in the country (Hurni, 1993; Omiti et al., 1999; Taddese, 2001; Sonneveld and Keyzer, 2003; Holden and Shiferaw, 2004).

Several studies have shown that there were significant land use changes in the Ethiopian highlands during the second half of the 20th century (Abate, 1994; Tekle and Hedlund, 2000; Zeleke and Hurni, 2000; Taddese, 2001; Feoli et al., 2002; Bewket, 2003; Kidanu, 2004). Most of these studies pointed out that deforestation and expansion of cultivation into marginal areas were the principal causes of land degradation. For instance, Zeleke and Hurni (2000) reported a serious trend of land degradation resulting from the expansion of cultivation on steep slopes at the expense of natural forests in the north-western highlands. Bewket (2003) noted the problem of downstream sedimentation caused by upstream degradation resulting from land use/cover changes in the Chemoga watershed, north-western highlands, in which the problem created extensive flooding and damage on important agricultural lands. Increases in open areas and settlements at the expense of shrub land and forests have been observed in south Welo, north-central highlands (Tekle and Hedlund, 2000). Lemenih et al. (2005) found declining soil quality attributes following deforestation and subsequent cultivation at Lapis, southern highlands. These studies have highlighted that the present land use system in highland Ethiopia is not sustainable and thus that if existing practices persist, future land resource use will be at risk.

Although previous studies provide important information, our understanding of the forces driving land use changes in Ethiopia is far from complete (Reid et al., 2000; Feoli et al., 2002). In particular, integrated analysis of the role of biophysical factors, socio-economic processes and policy changes on the dynamics of the use of land resources is limited. According to Veldkamp and Verburg (2004), land use changes are often driven by the interaction in space and time between biophysical and human dimensions. A more profound understanding of the changes that involve situation-specific interactions among various factors at different spatial and temporal scales is therefore needed (Lambin et al., 2003; Stoorvogel et al., 2004). Such a comprehensive assessment would be useful to better understand the interrelationships between people and their management of land resources, and for the development of more appropriate and sustainable land use systems.

The objective of the research described here was to examine the forces driving the long-term dynamics in land resource use in the Beressa watershed of the Ethiopian central highlands in terms of biophysical and socio-economic processes, policy changes and farmers’ livelihoods. The specific objectives were to: (1) determine the extent and patterns of land use changes from 1957 to 2000; (2) assess the complex role of biophysical and socio-economic processes, policy changes and farmers’ livelihoods on the changes and (3) to highlight the implications of the changes for future land use.

Section snippets

Site description

Covering an area of 215 km2, the Beressa watershed is located in the Ethiopian central highlands (9°40′N, 39°37′E) approximately 140 km north-east of Addis Ababa, the capital city. Administratively, the watershed lies within the North Shewa zone of the Amhara Regional State adjacent to the east of the town Debre Birhan, and encompasses three village areas: Debele, Wushawushign and Faji (Fig. 1).

The watershed is characterized by a mountainous topography that forms part of the headstream of the

Land use developments since the 1950s

Land use in the Beressa watershed has undergone substantial changes since the 1950s. Table 1 and Fig. 2 present the proportion of land area under various uses and the changes observed for the years monitored (1957, 1984 and 2000). The transition between the major land use types is shown in Table 2, and Fig. 3 depicts the relationship between the land use types and slope during the study period.

Conclusions

This research, which set out to examine the long-term dynamics in land resource use and the forces driving the changes in the Beressa watershed, has revealed that there were substantial land use changes in the area during the second half of the 20th century. The most important changes were destruction of the natural vegetation, increased plantations, expansion of grazing land and a decline in bare land. Cropland increased slightly over the 43 years period despite a quadrupling in the density of

Acknowledgments

Financial support for this research was obtained from AAU/ISS/SAIL project. We would like to thank the Ethiopian Mapping Authority for processing and producing the land use maps. The support obtained from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies of the Addis Ababa University is also gratefully acknowledged. We thank J. Burrough for advising on the English.

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