Sustainable Development and Water Management in Koga Scheme, Ethiopia: A Triple Bottom Line and Wedding Cake Framework
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Date
2024-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The aim of the study is to analyze the sustainability of water management approaches in relation to sustainable development. Specifically, the study focus on the Koga scheme in Merawi town, Amhara Regional State. The problem that this study seeks to address is the challenge of achieving sustainable development in the Koga scheme. This includes measures that make sense from one point of view in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) mitigation measures may reduce the livelihood viability or resource access of other. Recognizing that not all adaptations are good has drawn attention to the need for sustainable adaptation measures, as well as defining which types of adaptation are desirable or not. Moreover, the water management such as Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) may not be effectively translated into good management that meets sustainable development aspirations. The data sources for this study include a combination of primary and secondary sources. Primary data sources include survey with key experts involved in the Koga scheme using snowball sampling, and household survey using stratified random sampling. Secondary data sources include hydro-climatic variables such as temperature, rainfall and runoff. The main methods used include technical inefficiency estimation, convergence theory, and scenario development, various nonparametric Mann-Kendall (MK) estimation techniques, elasticity estimation, sustainability analysis techniques such as the sustainable development analysis grid (GADD), and the multicriteria decision analysis using mDSS software. Even though there are some verifiable indicators for the implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) principles in Koga scheme, the sustainability assessment of IWRM is questioned. The six sustainable development dimensions (economic, social, ecological, ethical, cultural and governance dimensions) were not taken into consideration. Twenty sustainable development goals must be addressed immediately, and ninety-nine goals necessitate less immediate action. The Koga office and other stakeholders should take improvement measures for 119 out of 166 goals. Unlike the sustainability assessment of IWRM, the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is promising to support sustainable development when the long term perspective xii of synergy is taken into account. Except for the planting of forest seedlings, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) recommended measures in EMP were progressing quite well. The analysis showed planting of forest seedlings came out top as a sustainable measure in most cases. It may be the only way to accomplish sustainable development when the environment serves as a foundation to other pillars in some circumstances. The fact that farmers are primarily planting eucalyptus trees, and they were spotted turning fertile land into eucalyptus raises concerns. These practices may have negative implications for sustainable development, primarily due to the potential environmental damage caused by eucalyptus trees and the potential threat to food security. In terms of balancing the three pillars, except for training and extension services for farmers and cooperative organizations all measures maintained imbalance ratings across all three pillars. The various measures perform best on economic criteria while poor on environmental criteria. Despite a focus on economic sustainability, household perceptions of its relevance to overall sustainability, and orientation to it, result in a low level of economic sustainability measured through technical efficiency. Management inefficiency results in the wastage of around 60 percent of resources, posing a significant threat to future resource availability and sustainable production. The more than predicted positive impact on income may have been due to increased inputs and unsustainable practices, rather than efficient resource utilization. This can be misleading when determining farming feasibility, as long-term viability relies on efficient resource utilization rather than income. Huge wasted resources; significant regional differences; efficiency improvement more advantageous than doubling input in some areas (eg. Teleta block in the command area); and negative elasticity of output in some inputs, such as seed per hectare and land size, all necessitate planning to improve efficiency to the frontier and make the areas comparable in terms of technical efficiency. It requires 9.42 percent growth to achieve optimum efficiency/optimmum economic sustainability over ten years while over a five-year period, the economic sustainability catch-up effect with the most economically sustainable area requires a growth differential of 2.11 - 9.45 percent. The convergence targets are not over ambitious plans. More importantly, the local government should strive for maximum efficiency in order to develop a better long-term strategy to close the economic sustainability gap. The other aspects of sustainability of the most apparent indications of climate change in the area surrounding the Merawi station, where the scheme is based, are the rising maximum and average annual temperatures. Rainfall and runoff were highly concentrated during the main rainy season, implying a longer dry seasons. There was high runoff variability; even Koga has more runoff variability than Gilgel Abbay. Temperature has a greater influence on runoff than rainfall, with the Koga watershed being more sensitive than the Gilgel Abbay watershed in most circumstances. All these hydroclimatic conditions endangers the future water demand and supply balance for irrigation activities. The fact that farmers prioritize current production over future; adaptation and mitigation measures orientation at the household level was mostly for economic gains; economic objective has the relative importance of pillar for overall sustainability to farmers; and farmers’ perception related to the primary motive for crop type selection was profit along with their technical efficiency level perception have negative implications for efficient resource use, which might jeopardize future resource availability and impede overall sustainable development efforts.
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Keywords
Technical efficiency, convergence, elasticity, IWRM, EMP, sustainable development, triple bottom line and wedding cake frameworks