Empowering Adults for Natural Resource Conservation: A Case of GIZ and SLM Projects in Dendi Woreda
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Date
2018-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This research aimed at exploring the process of empowering adults for natural resources
conservation in Dendi Woreda in the case of sites where GIZ and SLM projects have been
working with the communities to conserve the natural resources. It followed descriptive
qualitative approach to analyze the views of the adults living in the communities’ involved with
SLM project and of the past GIZ project activities regarding natural resources conservation in
selected areas of Dendi Woreda. A total of 43 participants (10 Key informants and 33 FGDs
participants) were purposively selected because they had information on the studied projects.
FGDs were undertaken with three communities namely, Boda, Galessa koftu and Kaba Bareda.
Data were analyzed descriptively using both thematic analysis and narratives. It was found out
that empowering adult for natural resource conservation was performed through activities that
engaged adult men, women and youth(above the age of 18) in problem identification and
prioritization, in institutional formation, and through awareness creation. The study revealed
that among the opportunities to the activities of the SLM project include the increase in the
knowledge about natural resource conservation by the population in the study area, the
participation of the stakeholders such as governmental officials and agencies in the study area,
the participation and transparency of the community in identifying their problems in the study
area, existence of ground rules established by the communities about natural resource
conservation, and the support from both domestic and international stakeholders. It was
indicated however that the SLM project was challenged by issues such as illiteracy of adult
participants, financial resource constraint and inaccessibility to project sites, unfavorable
political environment for the project activities in Oromia region at the time of research, and
delayed budget disbursal were all factors that impeded on the effectiveness of the SLM projects
in the study area. On the other hand it reveals a positive consideration from the participating
communities regarding the participatory approach followed by the current SLM compared to the
past GIZ-SLM project. The study suggests that adult literacy has to be integrated in the
participatory approaches for both the sustainable empowerment of adult and for both the
effectiveness of SLM project and sustainability of conservation activities.
Key words: Empowerment, Project, Natural resource, Conservation, SLM, Oromia.
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Keywords
Empowerment, Project, Natural resource, Conservation, SLM, Oromia