Regreening Ethiopia's Highlands: A New Hope for Africa

a remarkable transformation is taking place in Ethiopia's Highlands the rolling hills are gradually turning from degraded watersheds back to healthy productive lands once again and people's lives have been transformed to hide a column item am i opening the benefits we have caught up for our community our cattle our soil and our environment element easy don't die many still think of Ethiopia as a land of famine but times have changed this is a country hailing her landscapes a nation whose people are leading themselves to prosperity and on to economic development over the last decade the ambitious sustainable land management program has been a key driver of change and the principles behind the program are embedded in Ethiopia's new constitution the farmers and the community are benefiting from it are giving their own testimony how that is also supporting the environment and how that is also supporting their household income so redundant thermograph the strategy of using sustainable land management to eradicate poverty has been very effective planning starts from communities who share a common interest in their own micro watersheds experts support them with options and know-how so the planning is both ways framework planning is developed by the region by the top government but as a right the final plan endorsement is coming from the bottom at the end of the day it's the communities who decide and implement the solutions of their choice let's now look at how the people are transforming their land from a Romeo and snnpr in the south to cam baler varnish angle gluts and on to an Hara and Tigre in the north in ham hara lake tana is the source of the Blue Nile but is under threat by sediment washed down from its heavily populated watershed erosion from over grazed lands is one course gill mouth is a zoo explains a new livestock management system that improves the pastures in ham hara just as in other regions would echo that no meat culpa grass you see growing is the result of our work we now cut and carry the panels to our animals no longer are the cattle allowed to roam freely fed at home they produce more milk and the grasslands get the chance to recover tangey gala appreciates how the environment is improving the wider world a girl gonna be choose to be exposed to aggression but now has become fertile like a flower in Tigre the rocky landscape shapes the way that the people live however it has been badly scarred by erosion yet the recovery here is equally dramatic Gorgas give romário describes the drastic change in his own attitude what we wanna have to have miss garden before this work it was a place unsuitable for cattle let alone men we were even considering living at first I opposed the conservation one but now I am the main defender of the program Aloha lariviere Kahaluu traditional stone craftsmanship is a proud cultural heritage in Ethiopia it's reflected in historical monuments stone buildings and ancient terraces but indigenous technology is now combined with innovation one example is wider bench terracing inspired by a visit to China's rehabilitated les plateau the benches are wider than the traditional ones capturing more moisture and opening up opportunities for cash crops like onions and fruit trees aronia is known as the land of forests but deforestation and soil erosion have threatened even the food producing areas now there's better news integrated areas communities use conservation measures such as earth bugs with grass planted to stabilize them trenches above the buns capture water which sinks into the soil and community-based forest management has preserved the remaining indigenous woodlands and stimulated natural regeneration together these conservation measures have opened up new livelihood opportunities Mezger boot Edessa is among those who found new income sources that their ancestors could not have dreamed of I'll get a little Dominica died and that an expert came to me and the distant fish farming and that is what I have done fish add protein to the diet and cash to the pocket to conservation measures have allowed farming to become more diversified more resilient to risks from climate change and other shocks but what are the keys to this extraordinary turnaround first enduring commitment at the highest level addressing degradation and managing land sustainably is allocated top priority the program spends all administrative levels from the very top down to the lowest administrative level the village or capella the Saltalamacchia government's asset answer Academy feedback in Manila my little if we have one capella that as good experience to share we take the feedback on violet send it to all other district and cappellas the information reaches about 3,000 cappellas in bahir dar within just two or three days either side in addition the government and development partners are united in their support for the program and its approach second its demand driven embracing everyone men and women the young and the old communities plan their own micro watersheds simultaneously the government launched a program of land certification which gives farmers increased security and an incentive to invest in conservation third planning based on watersheds moving to a landscape approach blood of the upwards that we identified and found to be suitable for the European landscape is that watershed approach and the landscape approach in this example the landscape can be divided into four sections irrigated land on the valley bottom rain-fed croplands grazing areas higher up and the eroded upper slopes initially efforts focused on rain-fed croplands by building terraces and other soil and water conservation measures gradually the rehabilitation works were extended to degraded over crazed communal areas people realized that land could not be restored without managing livestock so areas were enclosed mostly by community agreement or social fencing land enclosure leads to better vegetative growth indigenous biodiversity returns and carbon is captured in the soil and trees the land becomes healthier in turn the improved vegetation can be cut and carried to feed the livestock this helps in producing more milk and fattening cattle farmers then have more productive livestock reducing the need for free grazing a virtuous cycle is established encouraged by these experiences in recent years efforts have expanded on to the upper slopes by treating gullies and planting trees now rainfall is captured over large areas and the level of water in wells is rising seasonal rivers have begun to flow all year too opening opportunities irrigation and diversification of crops yields and income have increased as a result the animals are insulated or fat that way the farmers used to produce only eight quintals of grain per hectare before but now they can produce from 20 to 32 quintals in less than 10 years 10 million hectares have been improved through enclosure 15 million hectares have been treated with conservation measures and at least 30 million people have benefited from the program the environment is profited to biodiversity is back once more it's a living landscape the state Minister sees the approach is integral to a new national strategy this climate resilient green economy strategy helped us the country and also there is a sign that it is helping to ensure greening the country this will help ensure food security of the country and the poverty reduction Ethiopia has a clear roadmap for the future and there's a buzz of excitement and a feeling of pride on this journey into a greener and better fed future

Channel: TerrAfrica

Views: 506,550

Rating: 4.8873501 out of 5

Keywords: Ethiopia (Country), Sustainable Land and Water Management, World Bank, TerrAfrica, Green Growth, Africa (Continent)

Id: nak-UUZnvPI

Length: 13min 9sec (789 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 21 2014

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[u/Cynark]

Follow Prince Sebe Maloba on facebook. He is working on Uganda permaculture and posts details stories about where donation money goes.

[u/teepeeformypeepee]

I am always so impressed and awe-struck by the strides permaculture has taken to improve the lives of people all over the planet, does anybody have good resources on more permaculture in the middle east?