A regional range development project has been established in southern and southeastern Ethiopia, and the planning area has been jointly studied by the Imperial Ethiopian Government and the United States Agency for International Development (JSAID). I have been associated with both the feasibility studies and the actual implementation of the program from 1965 to 1969, and this experience with the project provided data for this dissertation. The area is inhabited by different ethnic groups who are almost all nomadic and have a subsistence life based on production of various classes of livestock. They have great variability in customs, religions, social and cultural beliefs, and languages. Excellent beef cattle are indigenous to the region, but there are many current cattle production and management problems in southern and southeastern Ethiopia. Among the most critical problems are diseases, poor nutrition, and lack of organized marketing. Lack of water is also a limiting factor; it causes shortage of roughage, lack of proper nutrition, retarded reproduction, high mortality, especially among young individuals, lack of surplus animals for market, and no contribution to national revenue. To solve some of the existing problems, the Imperial Ethiopian Government initiated a water development program in the early 1960Is, but because of the type of planning, there was very little economic benefit from the investment for range water development. There were no real defined objectives other than the provision of water to cattle with no management and maintenance once the initial construction was done. Water development in combination with veterinary service to solve the water shortage and disease problems was analyzed in this dissertation. Objectives were: to describe the existing physical, social, and cultural conditions in southern and southeastern Ethiopia; to analyze the economics of veterinary services and water development with and without management; and to discuss management and social changes necessary to insure that water development accomplishes desirable economic and social changes. Three development alternatives were considered and analyzed. The three alternatives were: mobile veterinary service, mobile veterinary service plus water development, and mobile veterinary service plus water development and management. A rate-of-return analysis was used in evaluating the economics of the development alternatives. Each alternative was analyzed for four different grazing capacities and six different percentage increases in sales each 5 years in addition to the basic 37 annual sale that now exists. Thus, 72 different sets of rates of return data were obtained. Under no circumstance should the planning rangeland be exploited and mismanaged through overgrazing and other improper management practices. With capital resources in short supply and long planning periods, exploitation of available range resources was not considered as an appropriate alternative. Rates of return greater than the 47 to meet the Government's return on investment would indicate the presence of net income to achieve social, cultural, and economic changes among producers in the planning area. At 4%, the Government will recover the money invested for development, but the producers may not gain from the investment. Based on an economic analysis of each of the three development alternatives, the best alternative satisfying the objectives as outlined in this dissertation would be the development with management alternative. With 2560 animal units per year per management unit grazing capacity, and with a 47 increase in animal sales each 5 years, desired objectives would be met. Based on the economic analyses made in this dissertation and if specific livestock sale goals are met in the early years of a project, a suitable annual payment scheme to recover development and maintenance costs while still providing economic incentives to producers could be formulated.

The provision of an improved water supply service to the poor urban areas of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is essential, given that large numbers of people living in the city have problems of access to a reliable and adequate potable water supply. Only 62% of residents receive an adequate water supply in the City. Clearly, much still needs to be done in this regard. Additionally, water resources need to be managed far more efficiently. This study examines water resource management in Ethiopia using the political ecology framework focusing on issues of equity with regard to access to safe and clean water in the poor areas of the city of Addis Ababa. The key objectives of this study are: to evaluate existing water resource management practices in Ethiopia; assess access to drinking water and; propose sustainable and social justice based management strategies to water resources in Addis Ababa. Qualitative and quantitative research techniques within a purposive sampling methodology are used in this study. The study covers water use and consumption patterns; availability and reliability of water; gender; income; monthly water expenditure and time taken to fetch water from existing sources. The results indicated that more than 37% of the sample households use less than 20 litres per person per day. Most households pay a relatively high price for drinking water with the average cost of ETB 12.87/m3, or 9.19/m3 Rands for water. The majority of households are willing to pay for a new improved water supply. However, the initial connection fee has to be in small instalments linked to their level of income. An innovative financing and cost recovery mechanism is required to increase the coverage of a reliable and safe water supply at an affordable price. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This thesis examines the historical introduction and spatial expansion of modern water supply infrastructure in Amhara region across the three successive regimes: imperial, military, and EPRDF. It attempts to explore the institutional setup of the three governments together with their policies and strategies. The study also aims at giving an idea about the socio-economic changes registered because of improved access to safe water. Furthermore, it assesses the water consumption and conservation pattern of the society and the environmental impact of the water infrastructure development. Modern infrastructure development in Ethiopia traced its beginning back to the late 19th century. Safe drinking water supply had been one of those modern infrastructures introduced in Addis Ababa. Not long afterwards, it proliferated to the provinces. In Amhara region, drinking water supply infrastructure construction began in the early 20th century. However, this thesis inquired whether there was a programmed water supply infrastructure development before the mid-1950s or not. The water supply work started gaining momentum and became a state program in the late imperial period. However, it was affected by financial, technological and trained human resource constraints, lack of appropriate institution, defective management systems, and improper implementation methods. The military government had strengthened water supply institutions and improved workers' expertise. These developments helped the water supply infrastructure work to be executed in a programmed manner. Yet, financial restraints, the incessant political chaos of the time and the accompanied disruptive working environment had greatly impacted the temporal and spatial coverage of the water supply infrastructure development. The promising start of the Derg period did not continue with similar pace during the early years of the EPRDF rule. Despite the efforts made to set up water institutions at Regional, Zonal and Woreda (district) levels, no significant achievement was recorded in the field. The aftermath of the civil war together with internal and external challenges epitomized the transition period had impinged on the water supply work. This thesis testifies to the emergence of some socio-economic changes in the region. Yet, the slow progress of the water supply infrastructure work had stalled the socio-economic change that should have been registered through improved access to safe water supply. Despite the observable environmental degradation, the thesis argues that the retarded water supply work had nothing to do with the dearth of fresh water. While the trend shows steady growth of water consumption level across the three regimes, the conservation habit of the population remained low. / D.Litt. et Phil. (History)