Urban Fuel Demand in Ethiopia: An Almost-Ideal Demand System Approach

This paper investigates the opportunities for reducing the pressure of urban centers on rural forest areas, using a dataset of 350 urban households in Tigrai in northern Ethiopia. We applied an almost-ideal demand system to fuels. Because the same fuels were not always used by households, the analysis started with a probit model of fuel use. The inverse Mills ratios derived from it were inserted into the estimation of the fuel demand system to obtain a full set of price and income elasticities. The results suggest that reducing the pressure of urban centers on local forests cannot be seen in isolation from broader development policies aimed at raising the level of education and income of the population. Higher income also stimulates the demand for fuel.price elasticities, income elasticities, almost-ideal fuel demand system, reducing deforestation, Ethiopia

Principios y proselitismo: buenas prácticas en Etiopía

Las organizaciones confesionales deben asegurarse de que cuando dan asistencia humanitaria básica no explotan la vulnerabilidad de las personas mediante prácticas proselitistas, ya sea de manera abierta o encubierta

Participation in Off-Farm Employment, Risk Preferences, and Weather Variability: The Case of Ethiopia

This article assesses the relative importance of risk preferences and rainfall availability on households’ decision to engage in off-farm employment. Devoting time for off-farm activities, while it helps households earn additional incomes, involves a number of uncertainties. Unique panel data from Ethiopia which includes experimentally generated risk preference measures combined with longitudinal rainfall data is used in the analysis. An off farm participation decision and activity choice showed that both variability and reduced availability of rainfall as well as neutral risk preferences increase the likelihood of off-farm participation. From policy perspective, the results imply that expanding off farm opportunities could act as safety nets in the face of weather uncertainty. In addition, policy initiatives geared towards encouraging income diversification through off farm employment need to address underlying factor that condition risk bearing ability of households.Off-farm employment, labor supply, rainfall variability/reduced availability, risk preferences, GLLAMM, Ethiopia, Labor and Human Capital, Q13, D81, C35, C93,

Household Tree Planting in Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia: Tree Species, Purposes, and Determinants

Trees have multiple purposes in rural Ethiopia, providing significant economic and ecological benefits. Planting trees supplies rural households with wood products for their own consumption, as well for sale, and decreases soil degradation. We used cross-sectional household-level data to analyze the determinants of household tree planting and explored the most important tree attributes or purpose(s) that enhance the propensity to plant trees. We set up a sample selection framework that simultaneously took into account the two decisions of tree growers (whether or not to plant trees and how many) to analyze the determinants of tree planting. We used logistic regression to analyze the most important tree attributes that contribute to households’ tree-planting decisions. We found that land size, age, gender, tenure security, education, exogenous income, and agro-ecology increased both the propensity to plant trees and the amount of tree planting, while increased livestock holding impacted both decisions negatively. Our findings also suggested that households consider a number of attributes in making the decision to plant trees. These results can be used by policymakers to promote tree planting in the study area by trengthening tenure security and considering households’ selection of specific tree species for their attributes.tree plantin, tree species, tree attributes or purposes, sample selection, Tigrai, Ethiopia

Land degradation in Ethiopia: What do stoves have to do with it?

Land degradation is a particularly vexing problem in developing countries; as forests are depleted, crop residues and dung are used for fuel, which degrades cropland. In Ethiopia, the government encourages tree planting and adoption of energy efficient stove technologies to mitigate land degradation. We use data from 200 households in Tigrai, Ethiopia to examine the adoption of new stove technologies. Adoption is an economic decision, related to savings in time spent collecting fuel and cooking, and cattle required for everyday purposes. Results indicate adopters of efficient stoves reduce respective wood and dung use by 68 and 316 kg per month.land degradation, technology adoption, Africa, Ethiopia

Environmental Education for all: Ethiopian Context

Today's environmental challenges urge man to search for possible solution from wider viewpoints. This paper review is persuasive that it stresses relevance of environmental education for all citizens as one of the key tools for stewardship of environmental wellbeing besides policies and actions combating against environmental problems like pollutions and environmental degradation; believing that environmental education can pose positive change in attitude and behavior of society that in turn probably support efforts done towards sustainable development. The paper also attempt to discuss rationale of this review paper, interactions between man and environment, meaning and aims of environmental education, environmental pollution, climate change, pressure on biological diversity, desertification and drought, population growth and resource use, population growth and environment, dimensions and approaches of environmental education. Developing environmental literacy- knowledge, skill, attitude and actions on current environmental challenges particularly like climate change, loss of biodiversity, health problems and suggested solutions of these problems are need commitment to be addressed. Hence, environmentally literate citizens make informed environmentally sound decisions. Further, suitable approach of delivering environmental education, for all learners, in schools or higher institutions probably is generic form

Perception towards Family Planning and its Implication to Environmental Sustainability: The Case of two Selected Kebeles in Aroresa Woreda in Sidama Zone, Ethiopia

This study was conducted aiming at to assess perception of couples towards family planning and its relevance to environmental sustainability and to identify factors hindering family planning practice. Sample respondents for study comprises 90 couples in rural and 28 in urban. Data was collected by using random systematic and simple random sampling methods. The instruments used for data collection were interview and focus group discussion. The research found that there is promising level of awareness on family planning and main source of information were health extension agents. Reported reasons in sought of large number of children were old age support, son or daughter preference, considering children as a wealth, and labor support, religious prohibition. Nearly half of respondent couples approve contraceptives with more approval of women in both settings. Most of the respondents showed positive attitude towards family planning. Furthermore, half of the rural and nearly less than half of the urban respondents approve the importance of family planning for environmental sustainability. During the study period 23.2% of urban and 18.9% of rural couples were using some method of family planning; among which 21.4 of urban and 16.7% of rural women were using modern methods, hence, awareness level and practice in family planning showed a gap in both urban and rural. In general, urban showed more favorable attitude and practice than rural couples in family planning. Despite of their lower practice in family planning, rural respondents likely showed more favorable attitudes towards relevance of family planning for environmental sustainability

Participation in Off-Farm Employment, Rainfall Patterns, and Rate of Time Preferences: The Case of Ethiopia

Devoting time to off-farm activities, while complementing agricultural incomes, may be constrained by labor availability and financial capacity. This paper assesses the importance of rainfall patterns, which condition the availability of agricultural labor, and financial constraints on off-farm employment decisions. Using panel data from Ethiopia, which include experimental rate-of-time preference measures, we found that these and rainfall are significant determinants off-farm employment. Rural development policies should take into account the financial capacity of households and the role of off-farm opportunities as safety nets in the face of weather uncertainty.off-farm employment, rainfall variability, reduced availability of water, rate-of time-preferences, multinomial logit, Ethiopia

Urban Energy Transition and Technology Adoption: The Case of Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia

Dependency of urban Ethiopian households on rural areas for about 85 percent of their fuel needs is a significant cause of deforestation and forest degradation, resulting in growing fuel scarcity and higher firewood prices. One response to reducing the pressure on rural lands is for urban households to switch fuel sources (from fuelwood to electricity, for example) to slow deforestation and forest degradation and reduce indoor air pollution. However, such an energy transition is conditioned on the adoption of appropriate cooking appliances or stove technologies by the majority of users. This paper investigates urban energy transition and technology adoption conditions using a dataset of 350 urban households in Tigrai, in northern Ethiopia. Results suggest that the transition to electricity is affected by households adopting the electric mitad cooking appliance, which in turn is influenced by the level of education and income, among other things.urban energy transition, electric mitad cooking appliance, technology adoption, bivariate probit, Tigrai, Ethiopia