The Effects of Environmental Degradation on Human Security: The Case of Erob Wereda, Eastern Tigray Zone Regional State, Ethiopia
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Date
2016-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The overall objective is, to study the effects of environmental degradation on human security with
special emphasis on food, economic, health, social and personal security in Erob Wereda. To
achieve this objective, the study employed fundamentally qualitative with limited quantitative
methods to collect relevant data. It used both primary and secondary sources of data. The
primary data was collected from 55 participants via in-depth informant interview, focus group
discussants representing the grass root societies such as smallholder farmers, local residents and
other key informants selected based on purposeful sampling. Secondary data was obtained
through critical review and analysis of related literatures and appropriate documents. The
methods were In-depth Informants Interview (III), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key
Informants Interview (KII) and personal observations and employed qualitative analysis with
limited quantitative analysis. Based on the study, the causes of environmental degradation in
Erob Wereda are several intertwined and conglomeration factors. The core finding of the study
displayed that, environmental degradation has actual, unprecedented and multitudinous effect on
human security which undermine food, economic, health, social and personal security of farmers
and environmental dependent peoples of Erob Wereda. Each household is prevalently faced
inter-household conflict, food shortage, economic deterioration and misery due to declining of
their agricultural, cattle and honey production from time to time. Moreover, diminishing in land,
bushes/forest and water resources has significant impact on weakening of socio-economic
values; undermine means of production and livelihood and may extend as major threat to the
future generation. The study also proclaimed that single environmental problem can have many
threats starting from the household to the national and international level. Thus, the results
indicate that extensive environmental degradation poses multiple challenges to human security.
So, to solve repercussion of environmental risks, environmental issues should be critically dealt
with. The study also revealed that the adverse effect of environmental degradation in Erob
Wereda is exodus migration which threat personal security and social disintegration. Generally,
resource degradation is serious problem and poses myriad challenge in the study area. The
environment in the area has become more fragile than ever resulting decline in agricultural
production and productivity, frequent food deficiency, health problems, drought and famines that
severely impair human security. Finally, the study set-forth that there is interactive and vicious
causality-effect correlation between environmental degradation and human security.
Key words; Environment, Environmental Degradation, Human security.
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Keywords
Environment, Environmental Degradation, Human security.