A Review Paper on: The Multi-Functional Implication of Integrated Watershed Management: The New Approach to Degraded Land Rehabilitation in Ethiopia

Abstract

Land degradation is a major cause of Ethiopia’s low and declining agricultural productivity, persistent food insecurity and rural poverty. Above all, the degradation of the endowed natural resource is continuously affecting the productivity of the agricultural sector which is the backbone of the country’ economy. Therefore, to curb the situation, community based watershed management is being launched throughout the country in collaboration with government and other concerned bodies (Lakew et al., 2005; MaA, 2013; Gebregziabher, et al., 2016).

In the past due to insufficient knowledge base, some misguided agricultural policies, coupled with a rapidly growing population, chronic poverty, and capricious rainfall have caused severe food security challenges for farm families and natural resource degradation. The present government taking lessons from the past, started community based integrated watershed management program removing all the shortcomings through the instrument of new policies for improved livelihood and living conditions of rural communities (Worku and Tripathi, 2015).

The major advantages of community based integrated watershed management approaches are involvement of those most affected by the decision in all phases of the development of their watershed and holistic planning that addresses issues which extend across subject matter disciplines (biophysical, social, and economic sciences) and administrative boundaries like village, woreda etc.( Lakew et al., 2005). However, despite the government and other concerned bodies commitment to the implementation of this drastic new approach that leads to improvement of food security and a lessening of the dependence on food aid, to the scape of this paper, it was found the multi-functional implication of integrated watershed management is not well reviewed. Thus, the objective of this paper is to provide valuable information for scholars, policy makers and others thoroughly reviewing cases studies in different parts of Ethiopia.