This research was conducted in one of the districts in the Oromia region located in the Central Rift Valley to assess the problem of soil erosion and deforestation and to determine how these drivers of land degradation affect the livelihoods of farmers. The research was a case study undertaken in an identified micro-watershed making use of the questionnaire interview method. A household sample was obtained using a simple random sampling technique; Information interviews were conducted with community representatives, district level experts and development agents who worked in the community. The objective of the research was to assess the levels of soil erosion and deforestation and the impact on the livelihoods of the community. Research methods were questionnaire and direct observation. The results of the study indicated that the effects of soil erosion and deforestation on land productively, agriculture and livestock production at large, had a negative effect on livelihoods of the community members. Recommendations based on the research affirm the necessity to undertake large-scale natural resource management starting with community-based watershed management thereby reducing the impact of land degradation on livelihoods of farmers and ensuring food security and sustainable land management. / Agriculture, Animal Health & Human Ecology / M.A. (Human Ecology)

This research was conducted in one of the districts in the Oromia region located in the Central Rift Valley to assess the problem of soil erosion and deforestation and to determine how these drivers of land degradation affect the livelihoods of farmers. The research was a case study undertaken in an identified micro-watershed making use of the questionnaire interview method. A household sample was obtained using a simple random sampling technique; Information interviews were conducted with community representatives, district level experts and development agents who worked in the community. The objective of the research was to assess the levels of soil erosion and deforestation and the impact on the livelihoods of the community. Research methods were questionnaire and direct observation. The results of the study indicated that the effects of soil erosion and deforestation on land productively, agriculture and livestock production at large, had a negative effect on livelihoods of the community members. Recommendations based on the research affirm the necessity to undertake large-scale natural resource management starting with community-based watershed management thereby reducing the impact of land degradation on livelihoods of farmers and ensuring food security and sustainable land management. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M.A. (Human Ecology)

Land degradation is a great threat to the Beshlo Catchment in Blue Nile Basisn, not merely as an environmental issue, but also a social and economic problem. In Gedalas Watershed (one of the micro catchments of Beshelo), land degradation, mediated by both biophysical and socio-economic drivers, is among the major environmental sustainability and social-economic development threats in the area. The threat is manifested in depletion of natural vegetations, water, soil and other natural resources; disruption of ecosystem functions, processes, integrity, and services. Given its particular vulnerability, watershed management activities have been in operation since the mid-1970s. Recently, the idea of Sustainable land management through integrated watershed development program has been initiated with the objective of reducing land degradation risks and ensuring food security at both the nationwide and family circle. Despite these investments and efforts, real evidences of success and failures of such efforts were not satisfactory explored. The objectives of this study were, therefore, to analyze the existing status and future prospects of sustainable land management and evaluates its implication on the environmental integrities and the local livelihoods specific to Gedalas watershed. For this effect, the study investigated the dynamics, deriving forces and implications of LULC, soil erosion and soil fertility status of the watershed, current status of watershed management practices, pertinent challenges and opportunities for practicing land management technologies and approaches that might help meet the sustainability requirements of SLM practices. In addition, the study explored factors that determine the willingness of farming households to undertake SLM practice. As the study carried in the coupled human-environment system of rural landscapes, interdisciplinary geographical approaches which integrats social and natural science methodologies were employed to deal with issues of land degradation-and-rehabilitation status comprehensively. The general findings of the study show that though it would be dificult to measure all the composite aspects of land degradation, some of the parameters considered in this study revealed that land degradation is a perpetuating challenge in the watershed. It is evidenced from the overall undesirable land use/cover changes i.e transition of 21.25% of Afro/sub alpine landscapes, 17.59% of the grasslands and 8% of shrub lands to either to cultivated land or settlement areas over the 1973–2017 period, which have unintended negative socio-ecological repercussions on the watershed; high annual mean soil loss value (which range from 37t/ha/year average values to 393 t/ha/yr soil loss rates on water courses) that exceed threshold level and a wide gap between the need for SLM and the actual achievement of SLM practices,including limited adherence to the idea behind contemporary land management policies and implementation principles and approaches. The study further revealed the presence of opportunities as well as a myriad of challenges that need to be tackled in order to achieve sustainable land management goals. The study colcludes that, though, some encouraging progresses have been observed in the SLM project sites; land degradation has remained a problem in the watershed. This calls for strenuous efforts to promote and assist wide scale adoption of SLM practices that address the pervasive land degradation problem and achieve land degradation neutrality as highlighted in sustainable development goals. / Department of Geography / Ph. D. (Geography)