IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i5p676-d807557.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Land Preservation Uptakes in the Escarpments of North-Eastern Ethiopia: Drivers, Sustainability, and Constraints

Author

Listed:
  • Bichaye Tesfaye

    (Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 1176, Ethiopia
    Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management, University of Twente, 7514 AE Enschede, The Netherlands)

  • Monica Lengoiboni

    (Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management, University of Twente, 7514 AE Enschede, The Netherlands)

  • Jaap Zevenbergen

    (Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management, University of Twente, 7514 AE Enschede, The Netherlands)

  • Belay Simane

    (Center for Environment and Sustainable Development, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 1176, Ethiopia)

Abstract

Agricultural land is an indispensable resource for agrarian communities worldwide. There is a growing awareness that the world’s arable land supplies are limited and finite. For the last five decades, the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and other development organisations have carried out land preservation uptakes intended to curb the effects of land degradation and improve agricultural productivity through various soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs). The study assessed the sustainability, drivers, and constraints of SWCPs in Dessie Zuria and Kutaber Woredas of South Wollo. We used the exploratory case study approach, involving qualitative and quantitative methods. Catastrophic weather conditions, the presence of the soil and water conservation program, and declining soil fertility were the top drivers influencing the program’s implementation. Based on the identified farm-level indicators and views of the respondents, physical measures were more sustainable than biological and mixed methods. The prominent factors hurdling the intervention were lack of tenure security, risk of rodent infestation, and losing a sense of ownership. Training community members on the importance of land preservation, amending the existing rigid land tenure policy, incorporating indigenous SWCPs, broadening the scale and extent of community participation, and enforcing laws and bylaws are recommended for the upcoming interventions. The finding has implications for land preservation and food security actors working to scale up evidence-based sustainable land management practices to the broader area.

Suggested Citation

  • Bichaye Tesfaye & Monica Lengoiboni & Jaap Zevenbergen & Belay Simane, 2022. "Land Preservation Uptakes in the Escarpments of North-Eastern Ethiopia: Drivers, Sustainability, and Constraints," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-27, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:5:p:676-:d:807557
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/676/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/676/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefan Dercon & John Hoddinott & Tassew Woldehanna, 2012. "Growth and Chronic Poverty: Evidence from Rural Communities in Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(2), pages 238-253, February.
    2. Belay Simane & Benjamin F. Zaitchik & Mutlu Ozdogan, 2013. "Agroecosystem Analysis of the Choke Mountain Watersheds, Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-25, February.
    3. Shiferaw, Bekele & Holden, Stein T., 2000. "Policy instruments for sustainable land management: the case of highland smallholders in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 217-232, April.
    4. Wolde Mekuria & Merga Diyasa & Anna Tengberg & Amare Haileslassie, 2021. "Effects of Long-Term Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Ecosystem Service Values: An Example from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Alelgn Ewunetu & Belay Simane & Ermias Teferi & Benjamin F. Zaitchik, 2021. "Land Cover Change in the Blue Nile River Headwaters: Farmers’ Perceptions, Pressures, and Satellite-Based Mapping," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-25, January.
    6. Klaus Deininger & Daniel Ayalew Ali & Tekie Alemu, 2011. "Impacts of Land Certification on Tenure Security, Investment, and Land Market Participation: Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(2), pages 312-334.
    7. Nkonya, Ephraim M. & Srinivasan, Raghavan & Anderson, Weston & Kato, Edward, 2014. "Assessing the economic benefits of sustainable land management practices in Bhutan," IFPRI discussion papers 1361, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Urgessa Kenea & Dereje Adeba & Motuma Shiferaw Regasa & Michael Nones, 2021. "Hydrological Responses to Land Use Land Cover Changes in the Fincha’a Watershed, Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-23, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Habtamu Abaynew & Jema Haji & Beyan Ahmed & Vladimir Verner, 2024. "Determinants of Food Security Under Different Land Use Systems: Example of Pastoralists and Agro-Pastoralists in Northeastern Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, November.
    2. Bichaye Tesfaye & Monica Lengoiboni & Jaap Zevenbergen & Belay Simane, 2023. "Rethinking the Impact of Land Certification on Tenure Security, Land Disputes, Land Management, and Agricultural Production: Insights from South Wello, Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-25, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alelgn Ewunetu & Belay Simane & Ermias Teferi & Benjamin F. Zaitchik, 2021. "Mapping and Quantifying Comprehensive Land Degradation Status Using Spatial Multicriteria Evaluation Technique in the Headwaters Area of Upper Blue Nile River," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-27, February.
    2. Bichaye Tesfaye & Monica Lengoiboni & Jaap Zevenbergen & Belay Simane, 2023. "Rethinking the Impact of Land Certification on Tenure Security, Land Disputes, Land Management, and Agricultural Production: Insights from South Wello, Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-25, September.
    3. Alelgn Ewunetu & Belay Simane & Ermias Teferi & Benjamin F. Zaitchik, 2021. "Relationships and the Determinants of Sustainable Land Management Technologies in North Gojjam Sub-Basin, Upper Blue Nile, Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus & Goldstein, Markus, 2014. "Environmental and gender impacts of land tenure regularization in Africa: Pilot evidence from Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 262-275.
    5. Biddulph, Robin, 2018. "The 1999 Tanzania land acts as a community lands approach: A review of research into their implementation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 48-56.
    6. Emily Schmidt & Rachel Gilbert & Brian Holtemeyer & Kristi Mahrt, 2021. "Poverty analysis in the lowlands of Papua New Guinea underscores climate vulnerability and need for income flexibility," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(1), pages 171-191, January.
    7. Shunji Oniki & Melaku Berhe & Teklay Negash, 2020. "Role of Social Norms in Natural Resource Management: The Case of the Communal Land Distribution Program in Northern Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Tian, Guangjin & Duan, Jinlong & Yang, Lan, 2021. "Spatio-temporal pattern and driving mechanisms of cropland circulation in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    9. Alan de Brauw & Valerie Mueller & Tassew Woldehanna, 2018. "Does Internal Migration Improve Overall Well-Being in Ethiopia?," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 27(3), pages 367-367.
    10. repec:lic:licosd:31912 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Niels Kemper & Kristina Czura & Heiner Schumacher, 2018. "Unfair incentives: A behavioural note on sharecropping," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(2), pages 303-331, April.
    12. Melese Baye Hailu & S. K. Mishra & Sanjay K. Jain, 2024. "Sediment yield modelling and prioritization of erosion-prone sub-basins in the Tekeze watershed, Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 19855-19870, August.
    13. Tyngkan, Hehlangki & Singh, S. Basanta & Singh, Ram & Nongbri, Baiarbor & Gogoi, Jeemoni, 2023. "The Adoption and Impact of Soil Conservation in the Hilly Region of Meghalaya," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 0(Number 01), March.
    14. Festus A. Asaaga, 2021. "Building on “Traditional” Land Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Rural Ghana: Adaptive or Anachronistic?," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, February.
    15. Holden, Stein T. & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2014. "The roles of land tenure reforms and land markets in the context of population growth and land use intensification in Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 88-97.
    16. Jiayi Zhou & Kangning Xiong & Qi Wang & Jiuhan Tang & Li Lin, 2022. "A Review of Ecological Assets and Ecological Products Supply: Implications for the Karst Rocky Desertification Control," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-20, August.
    17. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2020. "Farm size and gender distribution of land: Evidence from Ethiopian land registry data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    18. Ayalew, Hailemariam & Admasu, Yeshwas & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2021. "Is land certification pro-poor? Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    19. Martin Wiegand & Eric Koomen & Menno Pradhan & Christopher Edmonds, 2023. "The Impact of Road Development on Household Welfare in Rural Papua New Guinea," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(6), pages 933-953, June.
    20. Negash, Martha & Swinnen, Johan F.M., 2013. "Biofuels and food security: Micro-evidence from Ethiopia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 963-976.
    21. Ayat Ullah & Alam Zeb & Ashfaq Ahmad Shah & Miroslava Bavorova, 2024. "From education to rehabilitation: empowering farming communities through extension services for landscape restoration," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(5), pages 11681-11701, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:5:p:676-:d:807557. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.