Problems, Efforts and Future Directions of Natural Resources Management in Western Amhara Region of the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia: Review

Abstract

Natural resources degradation is a serious problem in Western Amhara Region of the Blue Nile basin. To generate information on problems, extension efforts and future directions in natural resources management of the Amhara Region of the Nile basin, literatures from various sources were consulted and compiled. The prevalence of huge natural resources degradation are manifested in the form of soil loss , soil fertility deterioration, organic matter depletion, water resources degradation, siltation of dams, reservoirs and agricultural lands, forest resources exhaustion, environmental pollution and climate change were main once. About half of the highland’s land area (about 27 million ha) is significantly eroded and over one-fourth (14 million ha) are seriously eroded. Over 2 million ha of land are permanently degraded that the land is no longer able to support cultivation. Some estimates indicate that the average annual soil loss from arable land was 100 tons ha−1 and the average productivity loss on cropland was 1.8%. Others provided estimates of soil loss rates of 42, 8, 5, 70, and 5 tons ha−1 yr−1 from cropland land under perennial crops , grazing and browsing land, productive land, currently uncultivable land, and wood and bush land, respectively. The main causes of these problems were identified to be natural factors (rugged nature of the topography and high and erratic rainfall); political and economic history of the highland areas; livelihood, backward farming practices , socio-economic problems & poor land use policy enforcement . Moreover, it was identified that there are limited but encouraging efforts in research, technology dissemination and policy formulation in the region to solve the problems. It is possible to conclude that even though there are tremendous amounts of natural resources degradation in the Nile basin, the efforts being done in the region to mitigate the problems are encouraging. Therefore, scaling up successful practices can enhance the endeavor towards sustainable natural resources management.