Assessment of Cultural Ecosystem Services in Ethiopia: The Case Study of EZHA Districts in Guraghe Zone
| dc.contributor.advisor | Tamirat Tefera (PhD) | |
| dc.contributor.author | Geremew Ashenafi | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-02-13T12:10:33Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-02-13T12:10:33Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022-12 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The ecosystem offers humans a variety of services, such as provisioning, which includes supplying food, fiber, fuel, water, and other resources. Moreover, ecosystems acting as regulators provide precipitation support for the environment, ozone protection. In addition, cultural ecological services consisted of such things as belongingness, sense of home, cultural identity, aesthetic inspiration, and spiritual experience related to the natural environment. However, it would be wrong to consider the cultural services independently. All types of ecosystem services mentioned above interconnected. Cultural service, are closely linked to the provisioning and regulation of services. The objective of this study was to explore and asses the value and services of cultural ecosystem services in the context of Ezha communities of the Guraghe Zone in SNNPR. The researcher employed a qualitative research approach and content analysis methods to enable the researcher to get in-depth and rich information. Primary data were collected using unstructured interview guidelines and filled out by ten relevant personnel or experts from each department. At the same time, the researcher also utilized observation methods to triangulate the information obtained from key informant interviews and two FGD consisted of eight participants conducted with community gatekeepers and council of elders” Yejoka”. Secondary data was also gathered through reviewing legal instruments such as proclamations, code laws, regulations, and guidelines; policy documents; and official reports. Among non-probability sampling methods to identify and select appropriate informants, purposive sampling techniques were employed. The Guraghe communities in Ezha district well understood the value and services of Cultural Ecosystem Services; therefore, the community exerted many efforts to preserve Cultural Ecosystem Services. The Cultural Ecosystem Services provided substantial benefits to Ezha communities like educational integration, social integration, inspiration, sense of place, and aesthetic value. Similarly, the indigenous practices of the communities to preserve cultural ecosystem services were found to be important. In this case, the local customary law and council of elders have been playing an important role in preserving cultural ecosystem services. A number of factors such as overpopulation, local and zonal government development priorities currently challenge cultural ecosystem services of services in Ezha communities, which limit the value and services of cultural ecosystem of services. The findings of this study revealed that cultural ecosystem services in the Ezha district of Guraghe communities were well known by the wider communities, and they exerted extensive efforts to preserve CES. Also, the uses of trees, false bananas, wood, and forests were essential to the survival of the communities. Alternately, population rise, local government attitudes and perceptions of the community were some of the challenges to sustained cultural ecosystem services in Ezha districts of the Guraghe Zone | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/1772 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | |
| dc.subject | ecosystem services | |
| dc.subject | ecology | |
| dc.subject | educational | |
| dc.subject | Yejoka | |
| dc.subject | population pressures custom and traditions | |
| dc.title | Assessment of Cultural Ecosystem Services in Ethiopia: The Case Study of EZHA Districts in Guraghe Zone | |
| dc.type | Thesis |