Runoff estimation and water management for the Holetta river in Ethiopia

The hydrology of Holetta River and its seasonal variability is not fully studied. In addition to this, due to scarcity of the available surface water and increase in water demand for irrigation, the major users of the river are facing a challenge to allocate the available water. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the water availability of Holetta River and to study the water management in the catchment. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modelled the rainfall runoff process of the catchment. Statistical (coefficient of determination [R2], Nash- Sutcliffe Efficiency Coefficient [NSE] and Index of Volumetric Fit [IVF]) and graphical methods used to evaluate the performance of SWAT model. The result showed that R2, NSE and IVF were 0.85, 0.84 and 102.8, respectively for monthly calibration and 0.73, 0.67 and 108.9, respectively, for monthly validation. These indicated that SWAT model performed well for simulation of the hydrology of the watershed. After modelling the rainfall runoff relation and studying the availability of water at the Holetta River, the water demand of the area assessed. CropWat model and the survey analysis performed to calculate the water demand in the area. The total water demand of all three major users was 0.313, 0.583, 1.004, 0.873 and 0.341 MCM from January to May, respectively. The available river flow from January to May obtained from the result of SWAT simulation. The average flow was 0.749, 0.419, 0.829, 0.623 and 0.471 MCM from January to May respectively. From the five months, the demand and the supply showed a gap during February, March and April with 0.59 MCM. Therefore, in order to solve this problem alternative source of water supply should be studied and integrated water management system should be implemented

Water Demand Analysis and Irrigation Requirement for Major Crops at Holetta Catchment, Awash Subbasin, Ethiopia

The water demand and irrigation requirement of Holetta Catchment is not fully studied. In addition to this, due to scarcity of the available surface water and increase in water demand for irrigation, the major users of the river are facing a challenge to allocate the available water. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the water demand of the major users of Holetta River and to study the irrigation requirement for major crops at Holetta catchment using questionnaire survey, statistical methods, and CropWat model. Structured questionnaire was used to identify information such as the number of Holetta River users, major crops grown by irrigation and the total area coverage. The major users are Holetta Agricultural Research Center (HARC), Tesdey Farm and Village Farmers. CropWat model was used to calculate the irrigation water requirement for major crops. Based on the result of CropWat model and survey analysis, the total irrigation requirement of all three users of Holetta River was 0.305, 0.575, 0.995, 0.865, and 0.332 MCM for January, February, March, April, and May respectively. The analysis also indicated the total water demand of all three major users of Holetta River during the irrigation season from January to May. The total water demand was 0.313, 0.583, 1.004, 0.873 and 0.341 million cubic meters (MCM) for January, February, March, April, and May respectively. The available river flow from January to May was 0.749, 0.419, 0.829, 0.623 and 0.471 MCM respectively. From the five months, the demand and the supply showed a gap during February, March and April. The total shortage of supply during these months was 0.59MCM. During these months, there was also conflict between users at diversion and water allocation. Therefore, in order to solve water shortage, alternative source of water supply like ground water and water harvesting technologies should be studied and integrated water management system should be implemented. In addition to this, to improve the efficiency of irrigation water, different irrigation methods like drip irrigation should be improved in the area

Runoff Estimation and Water Demand Analysis for Holetta River, Awash Subbasin, Ethiopia Using SWAT and CropWat Models

This chapter discusses the hydrology of Holetta River , Ethiopia , its seasonal variability and water management in the watershed. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeled the rainfall–runoff process of the watershed. Statistical [coefficient of determination (R 2), Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE), and index of volumetric fit (IVF)] and graphical methods were used to evaluate the performance of the model. The result showed that R 2, NSE and IVF were 0.85, 0.84 and 102.8, respectively, for monthly calibration and 0.73, 0.67 and 108.9, respectively, for monthly validation. These indicated that SWAT model performed well for simulation of the hydrology of the watershed. After modeling the rainfall runoff relation, the water demand of the area was assessed. CropWat model was applied and survey analyses were performed to calculate the water demand in the area. The total water demand for the three major users was 0.313, 0.583, 1.004, 0.873, and 0.341 million cubic meters (MCM) from January to May, respectively. The average flow obtained from SWAT simulation was 0.749, 0.419, 0.829, 0.623, and 0.471 MCM from January to May, respectively. From 5 months, the demand and the supply showed a gap during February, March, and April with 0.59 MCM. To solve the gap created by the demand, alternative source of water supply should be studied and integrated water management systems should be implemented

Cost-effectiveness of an ambulance-based referral system for emergency obstetrical and neonatal care in rural Ethiopia

Background: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of an ambulance-based referral system an dedicated to emergency obstetrics and neonatal care (EmONC) in remote sub-Saharan settings. Methods: In this prospective study performed in Oromiya Region (Ethiopia), all obstetrical cases referred to the hospital with the ambulance were consecutively evaluated during a three-months period. The health professionals who managed the referred cases were requested to identify those that could be considered as undoubtedly effective. Pre and post-referral costs included those required to run the ambulance service and the additional costs necessary for the assistance in the hospital. Local life expectancy tables were used to calculate the number of year saved. Results: A total of 111 ambulance referrals were recorded. The ambulance was undoubtedly effective for 9 women and 4 newborns, corresponding to 336 years saved. The total cost of the intervention was 8299 US dollars. The cost per year life saved was 24.7 US dollars which is below the benchmarks of 150 and 30 US dollars that define attractive and very attractive interventions. Sensitivity analyses on the rate of effective referrals, on the costs of the ambulance and on the discount rate confirmed the robustness of the result. Conclusions: An ambulance-based referral system for EmONC in remote sub-Saharan areas appears highly cost-effective

Stakeholders' views on the global guidelines for the sustainable use of non‐native trees

A large number of non‐native trees (NNTs) have been introduced globally and widely planted, contributing significantly to the world's economy. Although some of these species present a limited risk of spreading beyond their planting sites, a growing number of NNTs are spreading and becoming invasive leading to diverse negative impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem functions and human well‐being. To help minimize the negative impacts and maximize the economic benefits of NNTs, Brundu et al. developed eight guidelines for the sustainable use of NNTs globally—the Global Guidelines for the Use of NNTs (GG‐NNTs). Here, we used an online survey to assess perceptions of key stakeholders towards NNTs, and explore their knowledge of and compliance with the GG‐NNTs. Our results show that stakeholders are generally aware that NNTs can provide benefits and cause negative impacts, often simultaneously and they consider that their organization complies with existing regulations and voluntary agreements concerning NNTs. However, they are not aware of or do not apply most of the eight recommendations included in the GG‐NNTs. We conclude that effectively managing invasions linked to NNTs requires both more communication efforts using an array of channels for improving stakeholder awareness and implementation of simple measures to reduce NNT impacts (e.g. via GG‐NNTs), and a deeper understanding of the barriers and reluctance of stakeholders to manage NNT invasions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog

Water Demand Analysis and Irrigation Requirement for Major Crops at Holetta Catchment, Awash Subbasin, Ethiopia

The water demand and irrigation requirement of Holetta Catchment is not fully studied. In addition to this, due to scarcity of the available surface water and increase in water demand for irrigation, the major users of the river are facing a challenge to allocate the available water. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the water demand of the major users of Holetta River and to study the irrigation requirement for major crops at Holetta catchment using questionnaire survey, statistical methods, and CropWat model. Structured questionnaire was used to identify information such as the number of Holetta River users, major crops grown by irrigation and the total area coverage. The major users are Holetta Agricultural Research Center (HARC), Tesdey Farm and Village Farmers. CropWat model was used to calculate the irrigation water requirement for major crops. Based on the result of CropWat model and survey analysis, the total irrigation requirement of all three users of Holetta River was 0.305, 0.575, 0.995, 0.865, and 0.332 MCM for January, February, March, April, and May respectively. The analysis also indicated the total water demand of all three major users of Holetta River during the irrigation season from January to May. The total water demand was 0.313, 0.583, 1.004, 0.873 and 0.341 million cubic meters (MCM) for January, February, March, April, and May respectively. The available river flow from January to May was 0.749, 0.419, 0.829, 0.623 and 0.471 MCM respectively. From the five months, the demand and the supply showed a gap during February, March and April. The total shortage of supply during these months was 0.59MCM. During these months, there was also conflict between users at diversion and water allocation. Therefore, in order to solve water shortage, alternative source of water supply like ground water and water harvesting technologies should be studied and integrated water management system should be implemented. In addition to this, to improve the efficiency of irrigation water, different irrigation methods like drip irrigation should be improved in the area