Land Degradation & Its Implication on Sustainability of Wenchi Lake, Oromia Region and Possible Environmental Planning Solutions

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Date

2016-06

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Addis Ababauniversity

Abstract

In Ethiopia Land Degradation has been an issue for years. This is the result of the topographic feature of the country. Many approaches has been done and experimented to battle the effects of land degradation. The efforts made include terracing, planting endemic trees, correcting poor land management and avoiding inappropriate cultivation systems. Prior consideration of the actions were protecting the environment and maintaining its sustainability. This paper; Therefore, identifies LU/LC changes of the Wenchi crater Lake, examines the challenges that the Lake and its surrounding environment encountered, investigates type of land degradation and their causes, studies how to maintain the sustainability of the lake and assesses the ecotourism potentials. Finally concludes and recommends appropriate solutions to promote the sustainability of the study area. Sampling size is based on the topographic contour line surrounding the Lake and covers about 27,194,235.6355meter2. Both primary and secondary data had been employed. The LU/LC dynamics of the study area are studied by gathering images of years 1973,1984,2000 and 2015 G.c. from Land sat Multispectral Scanner, Land sat Thematic Mapper, Land sat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus and Land sat 8. The extracted images were analyzed by using ENVI and Arc GIS. Based on the final output, results in percentage and colorful maps are presented and discussed .Qualitative and quantitative data analysis were made from semi - structured interviews and focused group discussions by SPSS software. Major challenges of the study area are discussed by categorizing it as Physical, Environmental, Social, Economical, and institutional aspects . Based on the findings of the study, it is concluded that the major challenges identified are soil erosion, washing away of top soil, un sustainability of soil and water conservation methods used and lack of availability of main infrastructures. Finally, the study addresses the major challenges of the study area by providing possible recommendations and environmental planning solutions. KEY WORD: Conservation, Degradation, Ecotourism, Sustainability

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Keywords

Conservation; Degradation: Ecotourism:Sustainability

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