Integrated Watershed Development from Sustainable Livelihood Perspective, case of Terri Watershed in Delanta Woreda, Ethiopia.
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Date
2010-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Watcrshcds, especially in the developing worl d, are increasingly being l11anageci for
poverty alleviation as wel l as for environl11ental conservation objectives for rain fed
agricu ltura l systel11. The l11ajor challenges of rural developl11ent in Ethiopia including
Delanta Woreda are land degradation, low agricu ltural productivity and rural povert y,
which are interconnected: In order to break these intertwined probl el11s, cOl11 l11u nity based
illlegrated watershed developl11ent is practiced. Of course, this pract ice brought
opportu nities for livelihood il11provel11ent of rural poor but its susta inabil ity is a
chal lengi ng one. Past watershed studies fai led to consider key success racto rs of
watershed development [Such as environmental , economic, technological, technical,
social, insti tutional and physical). Therefore, the overal l objective of this study is to
invest igate the main chal lenges and opportunities of integrated watershed development
with the eye of sustainab le rural li veli hood perspecti ve. Both qu al itative and quantitative
research ·l11 ethods were employed to gather and analyze data. Specifical ly, questionnaire
survey, focus group di scuss ion, key informant interview, field observat ion and review of
pertinent second ary data sources were utilized to generate the data. The key findi ngs of
the study reveal that the l11aj ority of natural resources have been improved in the
watershed because of the phys ical SWC and its technologies pract iced in the area.
Fcollol11 ical ly, the household benefited from food- for- work; however, there were also
challenges. Because of the investments on activities of income generati ng were low and
not concurrently performed with SWC, the investment on physical SWC structures had
not immediate economic return. Institutional ization of watershed development and social
network were not given adequate attention in practice and challenging the sustai nabi lity
of the community-based watershed development. On the other hand, agricultu ral
activi ti es became an opportu nities for " iable option of the households, if there were
adequate access to irrigation, agricultural inputs & technologies. Therefore, access or the
communit ies to capacity buildin g and input technologies with socializing and
institut ionali zing the watershed development should be done not an option, but
imperative for susta inable li ve lihoods.
Key words: watershed, susta inable development, asset, li ve lihood
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Keywords
watershed, susta inable development, asset, livelihood