Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Watershed Physical Processes Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #312252
Title: Participatory community-based gully rehabilitation on the Ethiopian Highlands: the case of Birr watershed

Author
item AYELE, GETANEH - Bahir Dar University
item TILAHUN, SEIFU - Bahir Dar University
item TENESSA, DAREGOT - Bahir Dar University
item NICHOLSON, CHARLES - Pennsylvania State University
item Langendoen, Eddy
item STEENHUIS, TAMMO - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2015
Publication Date: 4/7/2015
Citation: Ayele, G.K., Tilahun, S.A., Tenessa, D.B., Nicholson, C.F., Langendoen, E.J., Steenhuis, T.S. 2015. Participatory community-based gully rehabilitation on the Ethiopian Highlands: the case of Birr watershed. In: Water-Smart Agriculture in East Africa, A. Nicol, S. Langan, M. Victor, and J. Gonsalves, Eds., International Water Management Institute (IWMI), CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), Colombo, Sri Lanka and Global Water Initiative East Africa (GWI EA), Kampala, Uganda. pp. 93-96.

Interpretive Summary: Since deforestation in the 1970s sediment concentrations have increased significantly because of severe gully erosion. Gully rehabilitation has a small success rate as community participation in planning these conservation measures is very limited and farmers are very reluctant to try out new conservation measures. In 2013 scientists at the USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory in collaboration with researchers at Bahir Dar University (Ethiopia), Cornell University and Penn State University have initiated a community participatory gully rehabilitation project conducted in the Birr watershed located south of Lake Tana, Ethiopia. The planning and design of the project consisted of discussions with the religious leaders and local respected elders, followed by meetings with local village farmers about approaches to rehabilitate a 0.71 ha upland gully that was advancing into the grazing land in the middle of a village. The rehabilitation measures were reshaping the gully head at 45 degrees, constructing check dams from locally available materials (soil, stone and wood), and planting local grasses and Sesbania sesban. The estimated forage yield after one rainy season in the gully closure was 8.36 tons, which generated an income of 10,200 Ethiopian Birr (~$500). In addition, around 2,300 tons of sediment was captured in one rainy season. This study convinced farmers of the feasibility of gully rehabilitation and farmers have modified their soil conservation priorities. Although the results are preliminary and for a single watershed, they suggest that participatory community gully rehabilitation, involving religious leaders and local elders appears to have potential to decrease sediment concentration in rivers, extend the life expectancy of the reservoirs, and support increased crop and livestock production.

Technical Abstract: In the last fifty years, sediment concentrations in the Ethiopian highlands have increased two- to three-fold. The current severity of gully erosion is a major cause of increased sediment loads, but gully rehabilitation has proven to be challenging as success rates have been small. This paper describes gully rehabilitation efforts in the Birr watershed in the Blue Nile basin begun in early 2013, where gully rehabilitation has been effective with community participation. Initially farmers were reluctant to participate for religious reasons but with the aid of local priests and respected elders, community discussions and a visit to a rehabilitated gully, a consensus was reached to rehabilitate a 0.71 ha upland gully. The rehabilitation measures consisted of regrading the gully head at a 45° slope, constructing low-cost check dams from locally available materials, and planting local grasses and Sesbania sesban. At the end of the first rainy season after implementation, 2300 tons of soil was conserved by the newly planted vegetation, compared with soil losses of 1900 and 1500 tons in two untreated, nearby gullies. In 2014 an additional 3300 tons of soil was conserved. The marginal rate of return on the gully rehabilitation investment was 2.5 based on the value of increased forage production alone. The success of this effort motivated farmers to voluntarily undertake rehabilitation of five other gullies in the area.