Democratic Social Movement Framing Dynamics: Framing of the Oromo Protest Movement by the International News Media, Oromo Activists, International Human Rights Groups, and the Ethiopian Government Officials

Although there is a plethora of literature on social movements in the fields of sociology and political science, fewer studies exist on the subject in the field of media studies, especially in Africa. While scholarship on the role of social media is emerging in recent years, the literature on the news media coverage of social movements vis-à-vis international human rights organizations that also have a role in shaping the discourse is absent. The aim of this project was, therefore, to understand the framing dynamics in the discourse around social movements by the international news media, local activists, international human rights organizations, and government officials. It analyzed the 2015-2016 Oromo protest movement against injustices by the Ethiopian government to examine: (1) the major themes highlighted by these actors, and 2) the framing dynamics between the actors’ frames. Qualitative framing analysis was used to examine texts of international news media outlets, Facebook messages of prominent Oromo activists, reports and statements of Human Right Watch and Amnesty International, and the Ethiopian government officials’ response to the protests. The findings reveal that three major themes—cause of the protest, government response to the protest, and call for action—dominated the texts of the news media, activists, and human rights groups. These themes were framed as various political and economic grievances, violence, and third-party intervention for justice, respectively. The themes and frames of the news media and human rights organizations largely supported the themes and frames highlighted by protest activists. Similar themes were highlighted in the texts of the government officials but were used to counter-frame the frames of other actors (ex: portraying the protesters as violent). The findings have significant implications. They may guide democratic social movement activists in the social media age who want to design similar protests against authoritarian governments in an international arena. The findings bolster existing studies on the use of collective action framing and the relationship between news media and activists. Additionally, the results suggest that international human rights organization are also “signifying agents” engaged in creating meanings and shaping discourse about social movements

Ecological status as the basis for the holistic environmental flow assessment of a tropical highland river in Ethiopia

There is an increasing need globally to establish relationships among flow, ecology, and livelihoods to make informed decisions about environmental flows. This paper aimed to establish the ecological foundation for a holistic environmental flow assessment method in the Gumara River that flows into Lake Tana in Ethiopia and the Blue Nile River. First, the ecological conditions (fish, macro-invertebrate, riparian vegetation, and physicochemical) of the river system were characterized, followed by determining the hydrological condition and finally linking the ecological and hydrological components. The ecological data were collected at 30 sites along the Gumara River on March 2016 and 2020. River hydrology was estimated using the SWAT model and showed that the low flow decreased over time. Both physico-chemical and macroinvertebrate scores showed that water quality was moderate in most locations. The highest fish diversity index was in the lower reach at Wanzaye. Macroinvertebrate diversity was observed to decrease downstream. Both the fish and macroinvertebrate diversity indices were less than the expected maximum, being 3.29 and 4.5, respectively. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for 30 m and 60 m buffer distances from the river decreased during the dry season (March–May). Hence, flow conditions, water quality, and land-use change substantially influenced the abundance and diversity of fish, vegetation, and macroinvertebrate species. The pressure on the ecology is expected to increase because the construction of the proposed dam is expected to alter the flow regime. Thus, as demand for human water consumption grows, measures are needed, including quantification of environmental flow requirements and regulating river water uses to conserve the ecological status of the Gumara River and Lake Tana sub-basin

Identification of suitable land for supplemental surface irrigation in semi-arid areas of North-western Ethiopia

In arid and semi-arid areas, a shortage of soil moisture limits rainfed crop growth and consequently reduces crop yield. By adding a small amount of water, supplemental irrigation can boost crop yields dramatically. The objective of this study was to identify suitable land for supplemental irrigation in a moisture deficit area in the semi-arid Ethiopian highlands using GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation. Land suitability and water availability factors were used for the analysis. Land suitability was represented by slope, soil capability index (SCI), and land use while river proximity and effective rainfall were used to reflect water availability. Previous studies and expert opinions were used to assign weights to each factor. In the GIS environment, pairwise overlay analysis was applied to identify suitable areas for supplemental irrigation. The results showed that more than 41% of the study area can use supplemental irrigation used to increase rainfed crop production. More than 40% of the total cultivated land of the districts was suitable to apply supplemental irrigation. The effective rainfall of the wet months (June, July and August) is sufficient to supplement the rainfed crop in the late growing season. Earthen dams are recommended as water harvesting structures to practice supplemental irrigation in large suitable areas. These water harvesting structures are also important for domestic use and livestock drinking

A critical analysis of soil (and water) conservation practices in the Ethiopian Highlands: implications for future research and modeling

Soil and water conservation have been traditionally part of farming practices for thousands of years. Despite massive efforts to implement modern soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs) in the Ethiopian Highlands, soil erosion increased after the 1970s when social and political events led to a remarkable change in land use. This review aims to critically analyze the impact of conservation practices on soil loss and crop yield and highlight research and modeling gaps. In doing so, 120 published articles on experimental and simulated soil losses in the Ethiopian Highlands were retrieved from the refereed literature. We found that most published experimental studies evaluating SWCPs lasted less than five years in areas of less than 100 ha. Most modeling studies were over short periods, too; some models simulated soil loss over large areas. The literature analysis for these short-term experimental studies showed that SWCP decreased soil loss on individual sites and increased crop yield in semi-arid regions. Simulated sediment concentration increased as a function of watershed size, while observed soil losses did not follow this trend. Moreover, the decrease in soil loss due to the soil and water conservation practices on small plots was also greatly overestimated. Consequently, past research and current modeling techniques are inconclusive on the effectiveness of SWCPs in large catchments over periods exceeding five years and those with active gullies. Additional long-term experimental studies in catchments are required to evaluate whether SWCPs can decrease sediment loads