Abstract
In Ethiopia erosion and land degradation on the livelihood resource had become a key issue, resulted for food insecurity and difficult to break through the poverty gap using subsistence farming. Previously implemented soil and water conservation practice were not halted the threat, because it was mass mobilization without detailed study of real situation and without convicting farmers. Over sighting the past experience, community based watershed management practice was recommended as a possible option against the ongoing problem. Therefore, this paper analyzed farmer’s perception on soil erosion and degradation problems and their management practice. From 92 randomly selected households using survey, formal and informal discussion with farmers and field observation were employed to generate the data. The result indicated that farmers were acknowledged the prevalence of soil erosion and land degradation in their watershed (93.5%) and affecting their livelihoods. However, mostly they noticed erosion and degradation when it forms gullies. They identified many prominent causes for natural resource degradation such as improper conservation practice, traditional farming practice, continuous cultivation without fallow periods, deforestation and over population. To tackle the ongoing problems, many ranges of conservation technologies were used by farmers. Following the intervention and rehabilitation practice, the rate of erosion and degradation overtime moderately reduced (58.7%). Though the practice was not demand driven and site specific management practice. Finally, this study concluded important points which needs immediate consideration for community based watershed management practice effort not only for the study area but also for the country at large are: Identifying and integrating technical as well as efficiency of indigenous and site specific and demand driven technology help to cope erosion and degradation hazard –hence increase short and long term benefit obtained from the practice.
Highlights
In Ethiopia, deforestation, rapid rate of soil erosion and degradation of land are a serious environmental problem resulting food in insecurity and reducing agricultural productivity
The result of the study revealed that farmers recognized the prevailing natural resource degradation hazard cause for the decline for productivity
Even though most farmers were perceived prevalence of erosion and degradation hazard, all the asked respondents were considered the problem to be severe when gullies form of erosion and degradation appeared in their watershed
Summary
In Ethiopia, deforestation, rapid rate of soil erosion and degradation of land are a serious environmental problem resulting food in insecurity and reducing agricultural productivity. Deforestation and natural resource degradation, are severely reducing the capacity of natural resource to contribute for food security, and other benefits, such as fodder and fuelwood in Ethiopia [2, 7, 8, 9]. Alarming rate of population growth, more demand for food and expansion of settlement resulting deforestation for expansion of agriculture, construction materials, fuelwood, and overgrazing [10, 11]. As of natural resource degradation is the major environmental problems resulting for decline of agricultural productivity [7]. The severity is much higher in agriculture land, in which 85% of the total population depends on it to get their survival [5]
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