Trends of community-based interventions on sustainable watershed development in the Ethiopian highlands, the Gumara watershed

Abstract

Natural resources degradation impacts sustainable agricultural productivity and the lives of the smallholder farmers. A government-led large-scale watershed management program has been started to curb the degraded areas. The long-term viability of interventions has remained a major challenge. We aim to understand the challenges and approaches of community-based interventions on sustainable natural resource management. Sub-watersheds were identified for a detail study based on erosion hotspots using the SWAT model. A cross-sectional research design was used to get relevant data through focus group discussion, field observation, and desk-level review. Each of the selected sub-watersheds followed a government-sponsored campaign to conserve degraded areas. The effectiveness of implemented conservation efforts was marginal. As a result, the community kept on reluctant to participate in conservation programs even on their farm fields. Despite farmers often hope to saw immediate returns, the long-term benefits of watershed development continued challenging. In conclusion, the government-led watershed development programs have not been evaluated by the government and stakeholders, technically supported, lack trust in the community and, hence, efforts remained unsustainable. Adaptive watershed management approach could have the opportunity to reduce the current challenges and to achieve sustainable natural resources management at a watershed scale.