Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands and its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile (original) (raw)
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Integrated rainwater management strategies in the Blue Nile Basin of the Ethiopian highlands
2011
Basin Development Challenge (NBDC). The objective of the NBDC is to increase understanding of how to plan successful rainwater management strategies (RMS) and identify how these can be effectively implemented in the Ethiopian highlands of the Blue Nile Basin. The project focuses on integrated rainwater management strategiestechnologies, institutions and policies but the work described in this paper relates solely to the biophysical components of the study. Three districts, Jeldu, Fogera and Diga, have been identified for the study. These were selected because they represent farming systems that are common in the Ethiopian Highlands. Within each, nested sites have been identified for learning and research at a variety of physical scales. In this paper we describe the "action research catchments" that have been identified in the three districts. These catchments are small representative catchments that are to be monitored to provide insights into hydrological processes and water fluxes at different scales. The objective of this monitoring is to provide baseline data for evaluating RMS, and water-use and water productivity in different landscape components. The baseline status of the three study sites and critical constraints for adoption of integrated RMS are included in this paper. The paper also provides a justification for the research being conducted in Ethiopia and describes common practices and lessons learned from experience in India. Differences in the socio-economic and biophysical context mean that care is needed in transferring approaches between countries. Nevertheless, it is believed that knowledge gained from the extensive Indian experience can usefully inform practices in Ethiopia.
Impacts of improving water management of smallholder agriculture in the Upper Blue Nile Basin
2009
With its total area of about 200,000 square kilometers (km 2 ), which is 20% of the country's land mass, and accommodating 25% of the population, the Upper Blue Nile Basin (Abbay) is one of the most important river basins in Ethiopia. About 40% of agricultural products and 45% of the surface water of the country are contributed by this basin. However, the characteristic-intensive biophysical variation, rapid population growth, land degradation, climatic fluctuation and resultant low agricultural productivity and poverty are posing daunting challenges to sustainability of agricultural production systems in the basin. This calls for technological interventions that not only enhance productivity and livelihoods in the basin, but also bring about positive spillover effects on downstream water users. In this study, the farming systems in the basin have been stratified and characterized; and promising agricultural water management technologies, which may upgrade the productivity of smallholder rainfed agriculture while improving downstream water quality, have been identified. As a consequence, supplementary and full irrigation using rainwater and drainage of waterlogged soils are recognized as being among the promising agricultural water management technologies that can be easily scaled-up in the basin. The magnitude of the impacts of these technologies on the productivity of the upstream farming systems and the concomitant effects on the downstream water flow and quality are under investigation, assuming an assortment of scenarios.
A review of hydrology, sediment and water resource use in the Blue Nile Basin
2014
This working paper has been prepared as one of the outputs of the 'Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian Highlands and its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile' project, supported by the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). It provides a comprehensive literature review; identifies types, sources and provides geo-referencing of data in the basin; compiles information of hydrology, sediment, and water resources and its uses. It also provides a review of applicable models for watershed and water allocation simulation, research methods, past studies and published material related to the Blue Nile. Extensive reference material and previous studies are compiled
Digging, damming or diverting? Small-scale irrigation in the Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia
2012
The diversity of small-scale irrigation in the Ethiopian Blue Nile basin comprises small dams, wells, ponds and river diversion. The diversity of irrigation infrastructure is partly a consequence of the topographic heterogeneity of the Fogera plains. Despite similar social-political conditions and the same administrative framework, irrigation facilities are established, used and managed differently, ranging from informal arrangements of households and 'water fathers' to water user associations, as well as from open access to irrigation schedules. Fogera belongs to Ethiopian landscapes that will soon transform as a consequence of large dams and huge irrigation schemes. Property rights to land and water are negotiated among a variety of old and new actors. This study, based on ethnographic, hydrological and survey data, synthesises four case studies to analyse the current state of small-scale irrigation. It argues that all water storage options have not only certain comparative advantages but also social constraints, and supports a policy of extending water storage 'systems' that combine and build on complementarities of different storage types instead of fully replacing diversity by large dams.
2009
Land and water institutions play a vital role in managing and sustaining land and water resources as well as enhancing economic development and poverty alleviation efforts. While a lot has been done in terms of understanding the micro-determinants of farmers' decisions in land and water conservation, there is little attempt to understand the broad macro-institutional and organizational issues that influence land and water management decisions. The objective of the study was to assess institutional arrangements and challenges for improved land and water management in the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile Basin (Tana and Beles subbasins). Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were held in Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz regions with important stakeholders such as the bureaus of Agriculture and Rural Development, Water Resources Development, Environmental Protection and Land Use Administration (EPLUA), National Agricultural Research Systems, and important NGOs, operating in the area of land and water management, and selected community members. As the major findings in this study, we outlined major land and water-related institutional arrangements that are currently in place and their design features, in order to identify those institutions related to superior performance. We highlighted major institutional and policy gaps and actions that are required to respond to emerging issues of environmental degradation, upstream/downstream linkages and climate change. Such analysis of institutions and their design features provides useful insights and contributes to the debate on institutional reform for improved land and water management in the Blue Nile Basin, in general. By doing so, it identifies the gaps in institutional arrangements and policies and potential remedies.