Challenges · Landscape Restoration · Water
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Tropical Wet & Dry
Chickpea, Livestock, Sorghum, Teff
The Ergi Integrated Watershed is located in the Awash basin at the boundary of the rift valley and upstream of Cheffa wetland in Amhara Regional State, Oromia Administration Zone at Dawa Cheffa Woreda. The landscape consists of degraded shrub hills and agricultural lands in the upstream and wetlands in the downstream. The farming is dominantly sorghum-based crop-livestock farming system. Major crops include sorghum, teff, chickpea and livestock including cattle, goat and sheep.
Previously I was a development agent worker’s at kebele level but now I am a natural recourse team leader at district level. My educational background is first degree in soil and water recourse management. I participate in micro watershed management especially in planning, organizing the watershed committee, providing training for both district and kebele experts, and also farmers in both practical and theoretical ways. I have around 12 years of work experience. I have two reasons to work in the landscape: the first one is to improve the micro climate of the landscape; and the second one is to improve the productivity of the land and to reduce the negative environmental impact of the landscape.
Fasika Hailu BeshahThe landscape activities are focused on natural resources management and agricultural production in addition to income generating activities for youths. Some of the natural resource management activities include rehabilitation of degraded hills by controlling animal and human interference, constructing integrated biological and physical conservation of both soil and water on gullies and cultivated lands, and the constructing of ex-situ water harvesting ponds. Agriculture related interventions have been carried out with the introduction and promotion of improved crop and fodder varieties and fruit production, poultry production, and rearing and fattening of animals. To ensure the environmental safety of the integrated activities, environmental impact assessment is carried out prior to implementation.
Community participation and collaboration of different sectors are facilitated at grass root level through the Watershed Planning Committee, a platform composed of representatives from elders, youths, women, and public institutions at Kebele administration unit. This platform is in charge of integrated watershed planning and management. It is governed by the community agreed bylaws. In addition to the platform at community level, different sectors are collaborating for the integrated landscape management through a Technical Committee and a Steering Committee at district level. These platforms help to support planning and implementation and supervise the overall sectoral plans and their integrity.
This workshop report includes summaries of each session that took place during the two-day event, plus information gathered from participants in a follow-up workshop evaluation.
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