In the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, severe land degradation, population growth and immigration, and unsustainable agricultural practices and management have undermined food security and rural livelihoods. Increased and recurrent drought and unpredictable and variable rainfall since the 1970s have exacerbated these problems. Climate change is multiplying the threats.
The World Food Programme is working with the government of Ethiopia to restore and build resilience in these landscapes to achieve long-term food security and poverty alleviation for the people of the region. Management strategies at various landscape scales are directed towards reducing vulnerabilities and promoting adaptive capacities through the production and maintenance of agricultural, livelihood, and ecological diversity.
A farmer stands in his field in a previously degraded landscape in Tigray, Ethiopia. Photo by Raffaela Kozar/EcoAgriculture Partners.
Yesterday at a side event of COP18 in Doha, Qatar titled, “Lessons Learnt From Scaling-Up Actions On Food Security, Adaptation And Mitigation” Catherine Zanev, WFP Policy Officer for Climate Change in the Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Office, highlighted the successes and challenges of the MERET project (Managing Environmental Resources to Enable Transitions to more sustainable livelihoods), led by the Ethiopian Government with support of WFP. MERET utilizes a community-based participatory watershed approach for food security – in the program, water availability and food security are linked. On the ground this means that the program works with local people to plan and install small dams, shallow wells, catchment ponds, terraces, culverts and other erosion control and irrigation structures. Improved watershed management has helped rehabilitate more than 85,000 hectares of pasture and farmland in Ethiopia in less than a decade. These successes have translated directly to improved food security, livelihood benefits and enhancement of ecosystem goods and services.
The strengths of the MERET program’s approach are closely related to its participatory nature. As Zanev noted, MERET targets the whole community, not just the poorest or most vulnerable. This may seem counter-intuitive to organizations who have been drilled on “targeting,” but an inclusive approach enables the program to work in all of the involved landscape segments, rather than just in critically impoverished “islands.” Engaging those who are not experiencing urgent food shortages takes time and commitment, Zanev pointed out. But to build long-term food security of whole regions, involving stakeholders with healthier land, larger properties, and in other sectors is crucial. Weather-index insurance is also proving to be a key feature of the program, ensuring that successive droughts don’t decrease economic resilience over time.
Zanev noted that mainstreaming adaptation in African food security projects will depend on pan-African steering organizations like the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). She also noted the importance of building awareness within governments, that a long-term participatory approach can deliver immediate benefits as well as the long-term wins.
Landscapes Initiative co-organizer EcoAgriculture Partners is supporting WFP’s strategic planning for next steps for the MERET program in Ethiopia and other countries. Do you have a question about the program or want to chime in on potential expansion? Leave a comment below.
Photo credit: Raffaela Kozar
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