The diploma thesis titled Barriers of Development in Ethiopia: Structural Conditions and Strategies for Adaptation is focused on analysis of environmental risk factors and their impact on economic development of Ethiopia. It further evaluates the effectiveness of concrete adaptation measures on both official policy level and community level. The thesis departs from refined version of Jared Diamond's five point framework for analysis of collapse of complex societies. Contemporary scholarly discourse of rapid population growth, deforestation & land degradation and climate variability is formalized into causal schemes and supported by current statistical data. The thesis concludes that adopted measures have had only limited effect on elimination of the respective risk factors. Thus, Ethiopia remains a long-term recipient of foreign humanitarian assistance, without which it would fall into state of economic collapse. To overcome this situation Ethiopia needs to transform its subsistence agricultural production system.

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)