Ethiopian highlands:

  Areas above 1500 m

About 500,000 km2 (45% of the landmass) Home for about 88% of the human

population Home for about 80% of the livestock

population Relatively favourable climate Land degradation is common

Introduction

Reflections of the severity of land degradation    Decrease in area cultivated

    Reduced crop yield/ha1.2 ton for cereals 0.6 tons for pulses0.5 tons for oil crops

    Low livestock productivity  1-2 litres of milk/dayLow weight gains and Low draught power output

Cumulative effects: Produce not sufficient to cover annual

consumptionCyclic poverty and famine

• High human and livestock population

• Loss of vegetative cover

• Steep slope cultivation

• Land degradation

• Flooding of bottomlands

• Loss of farmlands due to gullying

The Study area

•Please insert map 1 here

Objectives of the study

General Identify major causes of LULC changes Study the effect of land use land and cover

changes Analyse implications of such changes on

human and livestock nutrition Recommend appropriate interventions

Specific

Study long term land cover and land use changes around Yerer mountain

Study effects of long term land cover and land use changes on human and livestock nutrition

Quantify soil loss due to sheet erosion and area taken up by major gullies

Materials and Methods

a. Socio-economic study

i.. Structured questionnaires

ii. Census data

iii. Data from different offices

b. Land cover and Land Use study

i. 1971/72 aerial photos (EMA)

ii. 2000 Landsat ETM+ imagery

iii. CSA wereda map with PA boundaries (CSA)

iv. Topographic map (EMA)

v. Scanner, Digitizer, GPS

i. Materials

ii. Methods

a. Socio-economic data

i. Random selection of sample farmers (132)ii. SPSS software (Correlation, Duncan test)

Landsat ETM+

20001971/1972

Aerial Photo

Scanning at 300 DPI

Orthorectification

Supervised Classification

Land use/cover change

b. Land cover and Land Use

ResultsSocio-economic characteristics

Table 2. Literacy level of sample household heads by sex and age group

Literacy level

< 50 years of age

>50 years of age

Total

Male Female Male Female Male % Female %

Illiterate 26 5 46 3 72 54.5 8 6.1

Read and write

15 0 12 1 27 20.5 1 0.7

Primary 17 0 3 0 20 15.2 0 0

Secondary and above)

3 0 1 0 4 3.0 0 0

Total 61 5 62 4 123 93.2 9 6.80

Crop type Annual consumption (kg grain)

Daily family consumption (kg grain)

Food energy (Kcal/kg)1

Kcal/person/day

Wheat 552 1.5 3623 712.6

Tef 255 0.7 3551 322.2

Barley 142 0.39 3720 188.0

Chickpea 175 0.48 3723 231.8

Horse bean 104 0.28 3514 130.0

Rough pea 77 0.21 3470 95.1

Field pea 137 0.38 3553 173.2

Total 1852.9

Table 3. Food grain production, consumption (kg grain) and Kcal/person/day from different crops for sample households, mean of 3 years (2001-2003)

1 source: EHNRI

Land cover types

Area in 1971/72 (ha)

(%) Of land cover (1971/72)

Area in 2000 (ha)

% Of land cover

Change between 1971/72 and 2000

(ha) (%) Average rate (ha/yr)

Cultivated land 7186 25.00 16204 56.38 +9018 125.5 +300.6

 Grasslands 18784 65.35 9396 32.70 -9388 50.0 -312.9

Open shrubland

256 0.89 478 1.66 +222 86.7 +86.7

Juniperus procera Acacia albida trees1

2325 8.09 2219 7.71 -106 4.55 -0.2

Wetland 0 0 132 0.46 +132 na +4.4

Water body 190 0.66 312 1.09 +122 64.2 +4.07

Total 28741 100 28741 100    

Table 4. Land cover classes their corresponding area and change (1971/72 and 2000)

1 For 2000 this cover category refers to “dense shrubland with remnant Juniper trees”

Land cover and land use

369 ha

Net grassland- 9388

Net cultivated+ 9018

Net shrubland+117

Net wet & water body +253

+10453 ha-1435 ha

+1325 ha-1208 ha

+331 ha-78 ha

10,034 ha

1281 ha

89 ha

266 ha

50 ha

65 ha1236 ha

839 ha

Figure 2. Land use and land cover dynamics 1971/72 and 2000

28 ha

+2148 ha-11536 ha

a) Low population density/km2

b) High population density/km2

Ethiopia: Ethiopia: Generalized highland landscapeGeneralized highland landscape

Moderate slope

Flat land/ plateau Valleys

•    Deforestation •    Overstocking food/feed shortage

•    Expansion of cropping •    Soil erosion•    Overstocking food/feed shortag

•    Waterlogging•    Low fertility

•    Soil erosion

Steep slope

   

Courtesy: Kinde Engida

Table 5. Estimated yearly dry matter obtainable from different crop residues for the sample farmers

Crop type Total area (ha) Grain yield (t/ha)

Total crop production (t)

Conversion factor (Straw: Grain ratio)

Crop residue

(t DM)3

Wheat 94.00 1.42 133.29 2.06 192.49

Tef 92.60 1.00 92.32 2.47 160.11

Chickpeas 34.50 1.05 36.23 1.31 33.22

Horse bean 11.20 1.10 12.30 1.42 12.25

Rough pea 6.70 0.92 6.18 1.54 6.64

Field pea 6.60 0.79 5.23 3.30 12.04

Barley 6.20 1.09 6.75 1.86 8.80

Lentils 1.10 0.55 0.61 1.56 0.66

Maize 1.80 0.78 1.40 2.04 2.00

Total 255.70     431.21

Livestock type Daily DM requirement

(kg/head/day)1

Total number of livestock owned (heads)

Total annual feed requirement (t)

Cattle (local) 4.237 31462 48,656.14

Sheep 0.617 8153 1,836.10

Goats 0.651 9091 2,160.16

Donkeys 3.125 8164 9,312.06

Horses 5.000 633 1,155.23

Mules 4.375 231 368.88

Total     63,490.57

Table 6. Daily and annual DM requirement for MEm and 20% production for animals, by livestock type for the study area

1 Source: Berhanu Gebremedhin (2004)

Land cover type Area (ha)

DM yield (t/ha/year)

Annual DM production (t)

Cultivated land 16204 1.52 + 0.5212 33,056.16

All other land cover categories except water body

12224 0.82562 10,092.13

Total 28428   43,148.29

Table 7. Estimated yearly feed (DM) obtainable from different land cover types for the whole study area, based on 2000 imagery

1 DM from crop residue

2 Source: Woody Biomass Inventory and Strategic planning Project

Table 8. Mean annual household energy consumption for different domestic uses as reported by sample farmers

Energy utility

Mean annual household energy requirement

Fuelwood Cow dung Crop residue Kerosene

Kg M3 N2 Kg N Kg N Litre N

Cooking 540 0.90 64 (49) 1932 132 (100) 432 110 (83.3)

6 3 (2.2)

Heating 280.8 0.47 54 (41) 552 127 (96.2) 312 9 (4.4) 0 0 (0)

Lighting 48 0.08 4 (3) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 2.33 129 (97.7)

Total 868.8 1.45 - 2484 - 744 - 8.33 -

Land cover types Area in 2000 (ha)

Woody biomass productivity (t/ha/yr)1

Potential woody biomass produced (t)

Cultivated land 16204 0.11 1782.44

Grassland 8414 0.14 1177.96

Degraded grassland 983 0.03 29.49

Open shrubland 479 0.10 47.9

Dense shrubland with remnant Juniper trees

2217 0.20 443.4

Wetland 132 0.20 26.4

Total 28429 0.11 3507.59

Table 9. Potential woody biomass for the study area (2000)

1 Source: Woody Biomass Inventory and Strategic planning Project

Area suffering from sheet erosion hazard (1971/72 and 2000)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

£ 3.125 3.125-6.25 6.25-12.5 12.5-25.0 25.0-50.0 ³ 50

Erosion class (t/ha/yr)

Ero

sion

haz

ard

(%)

1971/72

2000

Table 26. Total area, length, maximum width and depth of two big gullies in the study area

Name of gully Length

(km)

Max. width

(m)

Estimated depth (m)

Total area lost due to gully erosion (ha)

Kefele 13 85 18. 45.8

Eyitu 7 126 20 37.4

Total       83.2

• There is very high illiteracy level in the area• Family size and population in general are very high• Daily minimum calorific requirements are not met • Livestock carrying capacity is surpassed• Crop residue is the major source of feed• Bio-fuels are the major source of energy, of which

cow dung is a major source• Cultivated land increased by 125% in three decades,

mainly at the cost of grasslands• Erosion rates were higher in 2000 than 1971/72• Population is the major driving force to these

changes

Conclusion

Recommendations

• Increased access to primary school education required• Education on family planning is strongly recommended• Giving land use rights to individuals will encourage better

NRM • Improvement of non-timber products • Early planting for reducing erosion hazards • Soil and water management in some areas required• Convince communities to stop cultivating areas above 30%

slope• Diversification of crops should be encouraged• Forage improvement (indigenous and exotic) should be

more encouraged • Better livestock management systems (example tethering)

should be practised • Alternative energy resources are required

Thank you