Challenges and prospects to sustain natural and working landscapes in the urban areas in Ethiopia

Abstract

Natural and Working Landscapes (NWL) provide physical, social and spiritual benefits to human beings, as a result, people have been engaging and modifying landscapes to meet their needs. However, there are side impacts, visible in urban areas as they are aggravated by the increase in human activities. In Ethiopia, one of the fastest-growing urbanization patterns is taking place in the capital city and other cities. The detriment involves the degradation and deterioration of agricultural and forest lands, the destruction of cultural and historical places, and the destruction of natural scenery and contamination of rivers. Thus, in this paper we looked at the problems that hamper the sustainability of the NWL in urban areas in Ethiopia and suggested a way forward. For that we applied predefined questionnaires and interviews to key experts (n = 17) on urban planning, and the findings contrasted with, urban planning manuals, standards and policies for verification means. Arc GIS was used as a tool to map spatially related examples to validate the responses' of experts. The findings revealed that the detected challenges to NWL relate to urban planners themselves and their working environments, spontaneous development, unclear urban boundary setting, deficient landscape suitability, poor stakeholder engagement and focus on physical planning. Therefore, to keep the sustainability of the NWL, we recommend strengthening and promoting urban planning professionals, implementing urban land information system, increasing active participation of local communities, formulating criteria to set clear urban boundaries, and setting and applying proactive development options for emerging urban areas.