Environment and climate change

Livestock diversification prospects for climate change adaptation in Dangila district, Ethiopia

2025-03-04T07:31:20Z

Livestock diversification prospects for climate change adaptation in Dangila district, Ethiopia Naod, Endalkachew; Addisu Legesse, Solomon; Tegegne, Firew Climate change is expected to increase weather variability and incidences of extreme events, which will have an impact on livelihoods and wellbeing. This study was intended to assess the role of livestock diversification in minimizing climate change adverse impacts on livelihood assets in Dangila district, Ethiopia. A random sampling technique was used, and 107 sample households were selected. Primary data were collected through field visit and interview, whereas secondary data were collected from the district agricultural office and meteorological stations. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple linear regressions were used for testing the hypotheses. Accordingly, the results revealed that weather shocks affected livelihood assets negatively and significantly (β = − .157, p < 0.05) than other shocks. There has been a significant positive interaction effect (β = .197, p < 0.05) between adaptive capacity and weather shock which implies that a household’s adaptive capacity (through livestock diversification) counteracts the adverse effects of weather shocks on livelihood assets. Cattle population size has decreased by 19.8% from 2008 to 2017, which infers that reductions in rainfall amount and variation drive the downward trend in cattle number. To conclude, the efforts, which were achieved in terms of sustainable adaptation practices that enhance the resilience of household’s livelihood assets, were not adequate. Therefore, to further enhance households’ adaptive capacity, improvement in livestock diversification through the provision of a package of livestock species and access to credit for youths were recommended.

IDENTIFICATION OF EROSION HOT-SPOT AREAS FOR PRIORITIZATION OF CONSERVATION MEASURES USING THE SWAT MODEL IN RIBB WATERSHED, ABBAY BASIN, ETHIOPIA

2022-01-24T11:48:54Z

IDENTIFICATION OF EROSION HOT-SPOT AREAS FOR PRIORITIZATION OF CONSERVATION MEASURES USING THE SWAT MODEL IN RIBB WATERSHED, ABBAY BASIN, ETHIOPIA BETELHEM FETENE Identifying erosion hot-spot areas of a watershed/basin and isolating best management practices (BMPs) for erosion-prone sub-watersheds is imperative for effective soil loss reduction and lessening its on-site and off-site effects. The present study aimed to identify erosion hot-spot areas for prioritization of conservation measures and evaluate BMPs for reducing soil erosion using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in Ribb watershed, Ethiopia. The SWAT model was calibrated (1995-2002) and validated (2003-2008) using flow and sediment data in the SWAT Calibration and Uncertainty Program (SWAT-CUP). The study evaluated the effectiveness of three BMPs against the baseline conditions for reducing soil erosion, such as filter strips Scenario (Scenario F), stone/soil bunds Scenario (Scenario S) and reforestation Scenario (Scenario R). The result indicated that about 95% of the watershed are identified as erosion hot-spot areas, which experienced sediment yield > 11 t ha−1 yr−1. The mean annual sediment yield (1995-2008) of the watershed at the baseline conditions was nearly 29 t ha−1 yr−1. The implementation of Scenario F, Scenario S and Scenario R reduced the baseline sediment yield by 31%, 76% and 62% at the watershed scale, respectively. At the sub-watershed levels, Scenario S and Scenario R reduced the mean annual sediment yield from 45-90% and 0-90%, respectively. Therefore, the study suggests implementations of Scenario S and Scenario R for effective soil erosion reduction in the study watershed in particular and to other watersheds in Ethiopia in general which have similar environmental settings.

Modeling the Impacts of Land Use/Land Cover Changes on the Hydrological Processes of Upper Gilgel Abay Watershed, Abbay River Basin, Ethiopia

2022-01-24T11:46:21Z

Modeling the Impacts of Land Use/Land Cover Changes on the Hydrological Processes of Upper Gilgel Abay Watershed, Abbay River Basin, Ethiopia Wassie Abuhay Land use land cover (LULC) changes is among the major environmental challenges in the globe. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of land use/land cover (LULC) changes on the hydrological processes of the Upper Gilgel Abay watershed, Upper Blue Nile Basin. The study used three times series Landsat images, namely Landsat 5 TM 1986, Landsat ETM+ 2003 and Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS 2021. The supervised image classification technique for classifying the Landsat images into LULC classes and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for analyzing the hydrological processes were used. The result has shown that an expansion of cultivated land and a reduction of forest, shrubland, grassland and water body were observed during 1986-2003 periods. On the other hand, between 2003 and 2021 periods, cultivated land, grassland and water body were reduced while forest and shrubland were increased. Consequently, surface runoff and water yield were increased during 1986-2003 periods while these hydrological components were reduced in 2003-2021 periods. In contrast, lateral flow, groundwater flow, soil water and evapotranspiration were reduced during 1986-2003 periods and increased during 2003-2021 periods. The findings of this study mainly revealed that the expansion cultivated land on the expense of other land use conversion led to deterioration of the hydrological processes in the study watershed. The result suggests improvements of vegetation cover to reduce surface runoff and increase groundwater in the study watershed in particular and in the Ethiopian Highlands in general.

Changes in Historical Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in the Upper Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia

2022-01-24T11:35:44Z

Changes in Historical Rainfall and Temperature Extremes in the Upper Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia Jemal Ali Ethiopia is a resourceful and densely populated country often hit by drought and flood disasters that cause great damage to life and property every year. The frequency and intensity of extreme events have increased significantly in recent decades due to climate change and global warming. This study aimed to analyze the historical changes in rainfall and temperature extremes in the Upper Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia during the periods from 1980 to 2019. The Mann-Kendall nonparametric trend test and the Theil-Sen’s slope estimator were used to estimate annual and seasonal trends. The rainfall and temperature extremes were analyzed with the RClimDex software by selecting ten rainfall and eleven temperature indices. The results showed a positive trend in annual, Belg (March-May) and Bega (October-February) rainfall in more than 54% of the stations and a decreasing trend in Kiremt (June-September) rainfall in 65.4% of the stations. Several extreme rainfall indices showed insignificant positive trends in the basin. Although there is a positive trend in extreme rainfall, the number of consecutive wet days (CWD) and the simple daily intensity index (SDII) show insignificant negative trends in most stations. In addition, a warming trend of the annual and seasonal maximum and minimum temperature and extreme temperature indices were noted. Overall, the increase in extreme rainfall and a warming trend in the extreme temperature indices indicate signs of climate change in the Upper Blue Nile Basin. These results, therefore, highlight the need to plan and implement effective strategies for adapting and mitigating climate change.