Revisiting the global weights of the integrated watershed health assessment framework and Weyib watershed health analysis: Ethiopia's policy prospects

Abstract

Watershed health study has been considered as a global issue embodied in the United Nations' 2030 agenda toward sustainable water resources development, paving the way for integrated water resources management (IWRM) application, and visualizing intervention techniques to comprehend existing challenges. The watershed faces tremendous pressure due to erratic rainfall patterns, drastic water demand increase, hydrological extremes, and natural‐anthropogenic activities. This study aims to re‐evaluate the recently developed Integrated Watershed Health Assessment Framework (IWHF) global weights, Weyib watershed health assessment, and Ethiopia's policy implications using the integration of numerous data and multiple tools. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to estimate aggregate results from experts' survey responses, which depicted 50.89% priority for ecological conditions, followed by economic 23.30%, policy 13.82%, and 12% for socio‐cultural attributes. A slight discrepancy was exhibited when global weights were re‐evaluated, and the variables with substantial effects on IWHF in developing countries like Ethiopia were integrated. The majority of Weyib watershed health index (WWHI) indicators unveiled promising results except for stakeholders' collaboration and social obligation to restoration activities, information and educational campaigns, hydrology, wetland, and natural land‐cover. The water‐quality parameters laboratory findings were depicted as suitable for irrigation purposes. In general, the WWHI was in good health status, and a medium‐level priority was required for intervention activities to address deteriorated variables. Moreover, enhancing IWRM's application will contribute to tackling bottlenecks such as boost community awareness and stakeholder collaboration, legal and administrative gaps, overlapped mandates, and unpermitted water use resulting in undermining downstream demands and environmental low‐flow.