Project: Economics of Land Degradation (ELD): Land Degradation and Sustainable Land Management in the Ethiopian Highlands: an Assessment of Status and Economic Implications

Project Fund: GIZ

Project Implementing Organization: CDE, GIZ and WLRC

Project Duration: December 2013 – July 2014

ELD

Purpose:

The project aims to enhance knowledge about the status (i.e. spatial extent and degree) and the costs of land degradation, including the economic implications of sustainable land management technologies and approaches. For the different agro-ecological and land use zones of the Ethiopian Highlands, the generated information and knowledge will then be made available for science and policy. The project specific objectives are:

Indicators for assessing status, extent, and dynamics of land degradation are identified as proxies for deforestation, increased surface runoff and soil degradation (e.g., soil type, soil depth, land cover, land use, population distribution and density, rainfall regime and amount, etc.).
Current rates of soil degradation are assessed for selected watersheds using empirical data and simple models, such as RUSLE/USPED (based on spatial information on rainfall, soils, topography, land cover, land use and management).
Effects of soil erosion on agricultural production and productivity are assessed using empirical long term data and extrapolated for the Ethiopian Highlands.
Valuation of costs and benefits of SLM technologies and approaches for the highlands.
Consequences for science and policy decision-makers are elaborated and communicated to the respective stakeholders.
The target of the proposed case study is Ethiopia, particularly the Ethiopian Highlands.

Key activities:

The project will accomplish the organization and preparation of databases, assessing and identifying indicators and proxies of land degradation, land cover analysis, assessing and model rates of land degradation, assessing agricultural productivity losses by erosion, value the costs and benefits of land degradation and SLM, and communicate the consequences and future scenarios of land degradation to policy and science.

Contact: Dr. Kaspar Hurni / Dr. Gete Zeleke