The arid and semi-arid agro-ecological area of Ethiopia cover more than 62% of the total land area. The Somali National Regional State (SNRS) occupies a large geographical area in the eastern and southeastern part of Ethiopia. The area of SNRS is estimated at 340,000 km2. This makes rangeland utilization by livestock, the largest land-use system in the country. The rangelands in the south of the SNRS are occupied mainly by Somali pastoralists who rear mixed herds of camels, sheep, goats and a few cattle. Rangeland degradation is the most serious challenge for pastoral livelihood in Somali Region. Major reduction in the quantity and nutritional quality of the vegetation available for grazing in the rangelands as well as expansion of localized deserts and barren areas are indicated. Major causes of degradation include climatic conditions, causing drought and arid conditions, and human factors, leading to the overuse of natural resources. Livestock density and grazing patterns lead to overgrazing, which is one of the major causes of land degradation. Overgrazing results when livestock density becomes excessive and too many animals are grazed at the same area of rangeland, leading to degradation of vegetation and the compaction and erosion of the soil. The uncontrolled browsing of trees and shrubs is another aspect of overgrazing and a patent cause of deforestation, leading to flooding and siltation in adjacent areas because rains are no longer held back by the sponge effect of the trees and carry with them large loads of eroded soil. Out of the exotic tree species Prosopis juliflora is currently spreading and encroaching the grazing lands of SNRS and is causing severe negative impacts on the production and productivity of rangelands. This species is spreading at an alarming rate into best grazing areas. Other species, such as Acacia drepanolobium, A.seyal, Lantana camara, Partheniumhysterophorus, and species of Commiphora and Opuntia are also causing serious problems by encroaching in dry and wet season grazing areas. Low and erratic rainfall is characteristic of the rangelands, and pastoral production systems have always relied upon surface and ground water sources. Strategic water development interventions have significant impact in contributing to improving range utilization. In the SNRS Birca (Cistern) and Ella (hand dug wells) are normally owned and managed by individuals. The distribution and type of water points and watering schedules are major determinants of range use. Pastoralists in SNRS have various traditional natural resource management strategies, such as mobility and utilization, herd diversity, ecosystem knowledge, local institution, fodder assessment and defined grazing, indigenous knowledge on species and their utilization. These indigenous knowledges should be kept and integrated with modern rangeland management and rehabilitation coping strategies to sustain the range ecology and the livelihood of the pastoralists.
Eucalypt reforestation has been a common feature of many countries, especially in the developing countries, such as Ethiopia. Farmers in Ethiopia plant large numbers of eucalypts on small areas of land and manage them to yield a variety of products, including leaves and small branches for fuelwood, and poles and posts for house building and other farm uses. Many people in Ethiopia are dependent on eucalypts as a source of fuel and house building material. The use of trees, especially eucalypts, as a living bank account, to be harvested when there is a need for cash, is widespread. This being the reality, the arguments for and against planting eucalypts in Ethiopia has been mounting from time to time, especially associated with water use, soil fertility, soil erosion, allelopathic effects, understory vegetation and plant diversity as well as wild animals. The paradox of reforestation using eucalypts results, mostly, from inappropriate species-site matching and poor management rather than the inherent biological characteristics of the species. Therefore, the debate on eucalypts under the pretext of concern for indigenous species and natural forests should shift to how both plantations established using eucalypts and indigenous species as well as natural forests can help in the enhancement of the socio-economic development and environmental conservation of countries, such as Ethiopia. Despite the claimed negative impacts of eucalypts, farmers in Ethiopia have utilized their traditional knowledge and experience in establishing and managing eucalypt stands. In addition, the available reports in Ethiopia are in favour of planting eucalypts since the authors acknowledge that: (i) the negative impacts can be minimized provided that the choice of species and site as well as the management of the stands are appropriate, (ii) the benefit derived can offset the losses that can occur from such plantations, (iii) no other species seems to replace them to bridge the ever-widening gap between demand and supply of wood and (iv) the profit derived from eucalypt plantations is considerably higher than cultivating crops. However, the choice of eucalypt species should be based on many criteria, for example maximum wood production, ecological sustainability, marketability of the planted species and usefulness of the species to the local populations. All these criteria involve not only a choice of species planted, but also a choice of plantation management methods from initial planting to final cutting of the trees. Careful selection of appropriate species and matching them with appropriate sites must be taken as prerequisite, and the right management practices should be employed.
Since recent years, conversions of croplands, grasslands or cash crop fields to eucalypt plantations are becoming common trends in Ethiopia. Reasons for the conversions are better return from eucalypt than crop farming. This study tried to assess the land use competition impacts of eucalypt plantations with other land uses in the Western Gurage Watersheds, Central-south Ethiopia. The specific objectives were to investigate households’ and experts’ perceptions on land use competition of eucalypt plantations; and to assess perceptions on impacts of eucalypt plantation and copping strategies. Samples from three woredas (districts) namely Cheha, Enemorna Ener, and Eza located in the Watersheds were used. These woredas were purposefully selected due to large coverage of the watersheds, extensive expansion of eucalypts farming and thereby high eucalypts pole production, incidences of serious competition of eucalypts with other uses, and the presences of road accessibility for data collection. To get detail information on perception of the households and experts, in-depth discussions with focus groups and key informant were employed. Individual farm households whose age were greater than 70 years old and knowledgeable persons to discuss on the issue of eucalypt plantations were selected purposefully with the guidance of each kebele (sub-district) chairpersons and district experts. Thereafter, three focus group discussions with farm households were conducted in the three districts. Key informant interviews were conducted with purposefully selected and well experienced individual farm households and experts in each district. The result showed that young farmers planted from 1000 to 5000 eucalypt seedlings on lands previously covered with crops. The young people resisted advice from elders and converted farmlands to eucalypt plantations. Previous practitioners (adoptees) who benefitted much from eucalypt products tended for further expansion. This, in turn, resulted in serious land use competition with farmland and grasslands. To mitigate such serious competition with food crops and grasslands, and to sustain the livelihood and environment, appropriate management, e.g. site selection and substitutions by horticultural and cash crops using micro irrigation schemes for market needs are recommended. Conducting in-depth participatory research and specific policy ratification and promulgation on eucalypt plantations will curb its serious land use competition with farm and grazing lands.
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