The dynamics of indigenous knowledge pertaining to agroforestry systems of Gedeo: implications for sustainability

This dissertation is conducted in Gedeo, with the aim of revealing the dynamics of IK of agroforestry system of Gedeo. The dynamics were seen from the perspective of the intergenerational variation in IK acquisition and transmission. The study investigated drivers of IK changes and continuities and the implications to sustainability. The study employed an interdisciplinary approach whereby geographical concepts and approaches were supplemented by anthropological and developmental psychology approaches and concepts. Thus, an exploratory mixed research approach was used. The dynamics were seen by employing cross-sectional approach. Thus, synchronic data were collected from several sources, by employing ranges of qualitative and quantitative tools. The respondents were drawn from the local people and agricultural experts. Accordingly, 72key informants were chosen through purposive and snowball sampling. To determine the spatio-temporal variation of IK, 290 informants aged between 12 and 65 were chosen using multistage stratified sampling. For the household survey, 252 participants were selected using multistage stratified and systematic random sampling. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis and case summary while for quantitative data mean, standard deviation, ANOVA, chi-square, and t-test were employed. The analysis results have shown that the agroforestry system exhibits both indigenous and modern practices. The indigenous practices, which sustained for longer time through generational transfer, appear to be engulfed by modern practice. The study identified knowledge and skill gap between young people and adults. The gap is more significant in normative dimension of IK. This can be attributed to declining rate of IK transmission and acquisition among successive generations, which in turn is attributed to weak contact between young people and adults, and changes in the lifestyle of the young people. Besides, biodiversity loss, demographic pressure, modernization, introduction of market economy, and top-down development approach are among the drivers of the gradual loss of IK. The gradual loss of IK was to have an impact on sustainability of the system. This calls for concerted efforts to maintain the sustainability of IK through revitalization of IK transmission and acquisition. Finally, joint effort is required to document IK, include in school curriculum, and integrate with the modern practices.GeographyPh. D. (Geography

Existential threats to pastoralism in an arid environment: the fate of Gujii pastoralists in Southern Ethiopia

The pastoralists of Gujii have faced numerous risks, with their pastoralism system facing serious challenges. With the technically inconsistent and timely unmanaged interventions, several pastoral households are facing unreserved challenges. As a result, the future of pastoralists appears to be in great danger. The objective of this study is to investigate the ongoing challenges of Gujii pastoralism, as well as the fate of pastoralists in southern Ethiopia who are suffering from unrelenting drought. Ethiopian Meteorological Agency provided monthly rainfall and temperature data from 1986 to 2016. A household survey was conducted with 340 household heads randomly chosen from the study area to examine the challenges of the pastoralists have been facing. Moreover, a key informant interview and a focus group discussion were employed to collect qualitative data. Each watershed unit held one round of focus group discussions, with an average of 7-10 participants. The coefficient of variation (CV) was used to detect the temporal variability of seasonal rainfall and temperature. To detect trends, the Mann Kendall (MK) and Sen's slope estimator were used to determine the trends and magnitude of the change.  Political and tenure insecurity seriously affected the pastoral system in different ways. Autumn and spring had high variability in rainfall, with CV = 48.76% and 32.43%, respectively. Both winter and spring temperatures show a significant increase at (a = 0.1). Climate variability has made the already fragile pastoral households even more vulnerable. Pastoralist’s future would be difficult with all of these problems, and its resilience would be doubtful. As a result, in order to ensure the pastoral's long-term survivability, the government

Indigenous weather forecasting among Gujii pastoralists in southern Ethiopia: Towards monitoring drought

Abstract Indigenous weather forecasting (IWF) is practised by various communities around the world. Access to meteorological weather forecasting is limited in eastern Africa’s pastoral regions. As a result, pastoralists frequently rely on indigenous weather forecasting indicators. This paper investigates the use of IWF in drought forecasting among Gujii pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. To collect data, household surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews were used. Furthermore, meteorological data were used to determine the frequency of drought events in the area. A comparison was made between IWF and data from the Ethiopian National Metrological Service Agency to ensure consistency of the results of IWF and climatic data. For quantitative data analysis, descriptive statistics was used, while hermeneutic and narrative analyses were used for qualitative data analysis. Pastoralists have used a variety of weather forecasting indicators, such as reading livestock intestines, observing animal and insect behaviours, and interpreting the star and moon alignment. Both the indigenous drought event forecasting result and the drought history result from the meteorological agency indicate the presence of drought in the area. However, several internal and external factors are contributing to IWF’s gradual decline. Religious teachings, technology, and education were identified as external factors, while the growing generation gap was identified as an internal factor. Thus, to increase the accuracy of forecasting of weather events and improve pastoralist’s prediction capacity, the integration of this knowledge is highly appreciated

Assessment of Design and Constraints of Physical Soil and Water Conservation Structures in respect to the standard in the case of Gidabo sub-basin, Ethiopia

In Ethiopia institutional and extensive soil and water conservation (SWC) started in the 1970s. Due to several factors, most SWC works have not fully achieved the intended objectives. The disparity between dimensions of the implemented SWC work and the standard is the main factor. Therefore, this research work aimed to assess the design and constraints of SWC in the Gidabo sub-basin, of the Ethiopian rift valley. Data were generated through field observation, field measurements, household survey, interview, group discussion, and Arc GIS. According to the result, about 47.3% of the physical design of the implemented SWC structures failed to meet the standard dimension. In addition, the SWC lacks the standard supportive activities, such as the cut of the drain, check dam, biological work, and frequent maintenance. FGD and KII showed about 71.3% of the farmers accepted SWC technologies, but they have constraints for SWC. These were small land size, food insecurity, lack of resources, technical skill, field guidance, poor maintenance, as well as young migration. The researchers used the chi-square test for the significant variation of constraints along with different agro ecology. According to the chi-square result, significant association was observed between land size, access to fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, construction materials, technical skill, and maintenance of the structures versus agro ecology. Therefore, the implementation of SWC practices should be focused on the way to avoid/lower the observed mismatch of the structures against the standard. Also the constraints in different agro ecology should be solved through full community participation in order to follow the standard SWC measures for sustainable socio-economic and environmental development

Indigenous knowledge and forest management practices among Shekachoo people in the Sheka Biosphere Reserve A case of Shato core area, South-west Ethiopia

Abstractatural places that are maintained and managed with the help of indigenous people are both culturally and environmentally vital, and can be studied in a wide range of contexts. This research explores indigenous forest conservation and management practices and related taboos, values, and beliefs of Shekachoo people in the Shato core area, Sheka biosphere reserve, South-west Ethiopia. Semi-structured interviews and participant observation were used to gather qualitative information for this study, which was based on an interpretive paradigm. Both primary and secondary sources were examined to ob tain data relevant to this study. The focus group discussions and key informant interviews included a significant number of informants, including clan leaders, community elders, women, youth, and forestry experts. Case studies, observations, and published and unpublished materials were also examined. The results of this research show how intrinsically tied Shekachoo people’s culture is to the forest, as well as to the Kobbo system of knowledge and practice. Forest resources in the Shato core area have been safeguarded, managed, and utilized sustainably for many generations because of this indigenous knowledge system. And, the study did show that today’s youth do not recognize these strategies. Therefore, research will open the door to documenting this important knowledge for all those concerned to gain insight into. Thus, Indigenous knowledge should be respected and recognized, traditional rules and regulations on the sustainable management of forest resources should be adequately communicated, especially to the young, and the government should employ an integrative strategy that considers both technical and indigenous knowledge systems to manage natural resources

Trends of land use land cover dynamics of Sheka biosphere reserve, A case of Shato core area, Southwest Ethiopia.

The usage of land use and land cover change information has significantly risen as a result of the requirement for relevant data for environmental monitoring, modeling, and planning. The main objective of the study is to analyze the trend of land use and land cover dynamics in Sheka biosphere reserve: A Case of Shato Core Area, Southwest Ethiopia. To map the land use and land cover, supervised classifications were used, and an accuracy evaluation was conducted. Information on the trend of land use and land cover change was obtained using the IDRISI software's land change modeler. Results showed that about 308.29ha (56.7%) of wetland and 3,215.6ha (19.6%) of natural forest were converted to other land use types in the last 30 years. Plantation and rural settlement increased by 2,234.3ha (10.2%) and 1289.6ha (6.6%) respectively from 1991-2021. Sheka biosphere reserve was registered with UNESCO in 2012 and Shato is one of the core areas. It covers 5023.3ha (25.5%) of the study area. However, 1482ha (7.5%) were given to coffee plantations, and currently, only 3,541ha (18%) are left. The main drivers of land cover changes were attributed to large-scale agricultural intensification and its induced expansions of rural settlements in and around the Shato core area. The overall accuracy and kappa statistics for 1991, 2006, and 2021 were 74% (0.74), 81% (0.81), and 81.2% (0.812), respectively. Thus, land use and land cover change trend mapping and analysis play a crucial role in conservation planning and habitat monitoring. The study concluded that wetland and forestland conversions in the study area are decreasing overwhelmingly and need serious intervention mechanisms to tackle the loss of biodiversity in the Shato core area

Assessing the Impacts of Climate Variability on Rural Households in Agricultural Land Through the Application of Livelihood Vulnerability Index

Climate variability adversely affects rural households in Ethiopia as they depend on rain-fed agriculture, which is highly vulnerable to climate fluctuations and severe events such as drought and pests. In view of this, we have assessed the impacts of climate variability on rural household's livelihoods in agricultural land in Tarchazuria district of Dawuro Zone. A total of 270 samples of household heads were selected using a multistage sampling technique with sample size allocation procedures of the simple random sampling method. Simple linear regression, the standard precipitation index, the coefficient of variance, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze climatic data such as rainfall and temperature. Two livelihood vulnerability analysis approaches, such as composite index and Livelihood Vulnerability Index-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (LVI-IPCC) approaches, were used to analyze indices for socioeconomic and biophysical indicators. The study revealed that the variability patterns of rainfall and increasing temperatures had been detrimental effects on rural households' livelihoods. The result showed households of overall standardized, average scores of Wara Gesa (0.60) had high livelihood vulnerability with dominant major components of natural, physical, social capital, and livelihood strategies to climate-induced natural hazards than Mela Gelda (0.56). The LVI-IPCC analysis results also revealed that the rural households in Mela Gelda were more exposed to climate variability than Wara Gesa and slightly sensitive to climate variability, considering the health and knowledge and skills, natural capitals, and financial capitals of the households. Therefore, interventions including road infrastructure construction, integrated with watershed management, early warning information system, providing training, livelihood diversification, and SWC measures' practices should be a better response to climate variability-induced natural hazards. Keywords: Households;  Livelihood Vulnerability Index; climate variability; Tarchazuria District   Copyright (c) 2021 Geosfera Indonesia and Department of Geography Education, University of Jember This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share A like 4.0 International Licens

“Tree Is life”: The rising of dualism and the declining of mutualism among the Gedeo of southern Ethiopia

This study investigates ecocultural discourses and practices among the Gedeo in southern Ethiopia within the contexts of globalizing commodification of nature, successive governmental extractivist and conservationist discourses, and increasingly influential colonial present religious systems. Our analysis illustrates ways in which indigenous Gedeo understandings of reciprocal ecological coexistence are rooted in cultural knowledge, values, and customs. However, competing forms of knowledge introduced in the form of governance, commerce, conservation, and religion have resulted in an in-process shift from traditionally, spiritually maintained mutualist human–environment relations to dualist commodified relations, particularly among youth, and dualist expert-reliant conservationist relations emanating from governmental bodies. By examining a traditional meaning system during an explicit process of erasure, the study points to ways local meanings of, and narratives about, ecocultural interactions are produced and communicated within wider contexts of power, and illustrates tensions among traditional, governmental, capitalist, conservationist, and religious environmental ontologies in everyday and institutional practice

“Tree Is Life”: The Rising of Dualism and the Declining of Mutualism among the Gedeo of Southern Ethiopia

This study investigates ecocultural discourses and practices among the Gedeo in southern Ethiopia within the contexts of globalizing commodification of nature, successive governmental extractivist and conservationist discourses, and increasingly influential colonial present religious systems. Our analysis illustrates ways in which indigenous Gedeo understandings of reciprocal ecological coexistence are rooted in cultural knowledge, values, and customs. However, competing forms of knowledge introduced in the form of governance, commerce, conservation, and religion have resulted in an in-process shift from traditionally, spiritually maintained mutualist human–environment relations to dualist commodified relations, particularly among youth, and dualist expert-reliant conservationist relations emanating from governmental bodies. By examining a traditional meaning system during an explicit process of erasure, the study points to ways local meanings of, and narratives about, ecocultural interactions are produced and communicated within wider contexts of power, and illustrates tensions among traditional, governmental, capitalist, conservationist, and religious environmental ontologies in everyday and institutional practice

The influence of weather conditions on body temperature, milk composition and yields of the free-ranging dromedary camels in Southeastern rangelands of Ethiopia

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of heat stress and seasons on diurnal body temperature, milk yield, and physicochemical properties of dromedary camel in southeastern rangelands Ethiopia. Twenty lactating camels with 2–3 months postmortem and 3–4 parities were selected for evaluation of milk yield, physicochemical properties, and body temperature measurements. The current finding shows diurnal body temperature was significantly higher in hot weather conditions (dry season). Temperature-humidity index (THImax) showed a strong positive correlation to rectal body temperatures (r = 0.72) and daily milk yield (r = 0.6) of a camel. The mean daily milk yield observed in this study was 6.02, 4.99, 2.38, and 2.57 Liters (L) during autumn, spring, summer, and winter, respectively, and showed higher (P  0.05) across the seasons. The body temperature, milk physicochemical properties, and yield of dromedary camels were varied (p < 0.001) with local weather conditions and seasons. However, further investigation based on animal trials at on-station is needed in order to confirm the on-farm camel milk yield and physicochemical quality observed in this study