Project description

Title: Sustainable land management
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Ethiopia
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Agriculture
Overall term: 2005 to 2014 (planned)

Context

In the three Ethiopian highland areas of Amhara, Oromia and Tigray, more than 50 % of the population – approximately 20 million people – live under the constant threat of food insecurity. This is mainly due to deforestation, declining productivity, declining yields resulting from inappropriate forms of land use, and massive soil erosion. Inadequate sectoral, political and legal conditions serve only to exacerbate the situation.

Objective

Food security has increased and land degradation has decreased in the targeted rural highlands of Tigray, Amhara and Oromia.

Approach

The strategy pursued by the project is fully aligned with Ethiopia’s Strategic Framework for Sustainable Land Management (ESIF-SLM 2008), which addresses both conceptual and institutional issues. The sustainable land management programme was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to help strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as its decentralised units and target groups. The aim of the programme is to increase agricultural production and reduced land degradation, for example, through the use of terracing and physical structures to arrest erosion, and by encouraging reforestation and the use of organic fertilisers (compost).

GIZ works closely with KfW Entwicklungsbank, the World Bank, Finland and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Results achieved so far

A total of 20,000 households, at least 10 % of which are headed by women, now practise sustainable land management on 35,000 ha of communal and private land. Another 35,000 ha of forest are being maintained in accordance with participatory forest management principles. Together, these measures help to ensure the areas in question are more productive and show increased resilience to drought. There are now plans for a nationwide programme to use these approaches in all regions of the country, so that a large rural population can benefit from them. To facilitate these plans, conditions have been improved at federal, regional and district levels. The Ministry of Agriculture has also benefited from support measures at different levels, especially in preparation for the large-scale roll out. Among other things, it now has a greater capacity to advise farmers on matters such as income generation and food security, and it can react more effectively to problems such as droughts and food crises.

Further information

• Trekking in Ethiopia
  Hiking and horse riding in the Bale Mountains
  www.baletrek.com
• Wenchi Eco-Tourism Association (WETA)
  www.wenchi-crater-lake.com