Social and Ecological System Dynamics

The Lake Tana Basin is the headwater catchment of the Upper Blue Nile River. This highly dynamic region is experiencing significant population, economic, ecosystem, environment and social changes, raising concerns about sustainable development at regional, national and international levels. About 85% of the approximately three million people that live in the basin currently work in the agricultural sector, but factors such as population growth, environmental degradation, and rising education levels are driving migration from rural to urban areas and putting pressure on urban infrastructure and economy. The strong links between the region’s human and environmental conditions mean that developing the region sustainably requires an understanding of its social and ecological characteristics as well as a framework for examining how the social system and the ecological system interact. This chapter describes key policy challenges in the region that motivated this book and lays out the structure of the sections and chapters that follow.

Lake Tana Basin is the second largest sub-basin of the Blue Nile which covers an area of 15,114 km2. Lake Tana is a tropical Lake with surface area of 3111 Km2. It is the largest fresh water resource of Ethiopia (50%). It is the source of the Blue Nile(Abay) River. Lake Tana basin and Blue Nile river provide economic, social, political, environmental, ecological and religious benefitsBenefit also for downstream eastern Nile countries. The basin problems have also influence in downstream eastern Nile countries. Food security and environmental sustainability are grand challengesEnvironmentalchallenges in the basin. Ensuring adequate supply and quality of water for water user sectors in the basin remains a challenge. The sanitation and hygiene coverage remains not significantly improved compared to the unprecedented population growth. The basin suffers from easily perceivable land, soil and water degradationWater degradation which are manifested in different forms: Sedimentation, clearing of wetland, canalizationCanalization of the tributaries, increased trend of eutrophicationEutrophication, toxigenicToxigenic bacteria cyano bacteria, occurrence of invasive species like water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes), stakeholders conflictConflict, improper damming, construction of buildings in the Lake shore areas that are natural breeding and feeding grounds for some fish and bird speciesBirdsspecies, poor waste managementWastesmanagement, increased prevalence of waterborne diseases especially in the riparian community which largely depend on raw water for drinking and recreation are major problems of the Basin. Climate changeClimatechange is also having its impact. Though the problems and challenges are known in the area, effective measures proportion to the magnitude of the problem are not yet taken sufficiently.

Understanding the dynamics of human—environment systems, and developing policies that promote their sustainability, requires a holistic, integrated approach. Although many frameworks have been developed that include social and environmental components, managing social and ecological systems as integrated systems has been difficult in practice. The analytical and practical challenge is to identify the interactions that underlie resource management problems, find leverage points where management or policy changes can effectively move the system in a more sustainable direction, and build cooperation among system stakeholders to implement change. This chapter gives an overview of existing frameworks for examining social—ecological interactions, then presents system dynamics as both a theoretical perspective and a practical method for integrating across disciplines. The system dynamics approach makes feedback relationships in the system explicit, and provides a platform to foster collaboration and coordination among stakeholders in the system. This chapter offers a systems framework for considering the connections among the individual chapters to follow. This approach was used for a collaborative mapping workshop on sustainability issues in the Lake Tana basin held in November 2014 as a first step toward integrating disparate research disciplines and stakeholders. Chapter 34 describes the workshop.

This essay sets out five distinct periods of economic, demographic, and spatial change that transformed the physical landscape and its effect on the region’s hinterland on a local, national and international level – that would form the “urbanscape” of the early twenty first century. Lake Tana is at the Blue Nile’s first major outflow and is the heartbeat of the watershed, registering its seasonal pulse. Lake Tana and its surrounding ecologies is the font of the Blue Nile's waters, sitting at 1800 meters above sea level from where it frames much of the watershed. The Blue Nile watershed’s agriculture and its relationship with human settlement had evolved over many generations of smallholder agriculture and its regional role in trade. The Blue Nile basin, its geology and its geographies simultaneously shaped the cultures of several distinctive peoples. The ethnographic landscape included Christian highland farmers and aristocrats, Cushitic-speaking Agaw farmers, Muslim traders (who spoke Amharic), and Omotic-speaking Shinasha. These cultures traded places and bodies of knowledge on the local ecologies over time, resulting in a cereal-based agro-economy that supported livestock and small farms that managed them.

Lake Tana basin, the subbasin of Abbay (Blue Nile River), covers an estimated area of 15,114 km2 of which the Lake Tana accounts 20.47%. It is located in Amhara Region in the north western Ethiopian highlands. The mean elevation of the Basin is 2025 masl (meter above sea level), with the highest elevations at some 4100 masl in the Simien Mountains, in the north-eastern part of the basin and the lowest at the outlet of the lake into the Blue Nile at 1786 masl. The topography in the eastern side of the basin is dominated by the presence of two large shield volcanoes, Mt. Choke and Mt. Guna, while in the west it drops sharply to the adjacent Beles and Dinder basins. Bahir Dar city is located in the southern tip of the lake where the outlet of the lake into the Blue NileBlue Nile River. The climate of the region is tropical highland monsoon with one rainy season between June and September. The air temperature shows a large diurnal but small seasonal change with an annual average of 20 °C. The distribution of rainfall of the region is controlled by the movement of the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) Climateintercontinental convergence zone to the northward and southward. Based on rainfall variability analysis, 57.5% of the basin is found under less rainfall variability. Little has been done so far on understanding the effect of climate changeClimatechange on rainfall amount and distribution and hence of the Basin Rivers flows. The largest area of the basin (88.5%) is not affected by frost hazard.

The spatial and temporal variabilities of climate in Abay (Blue Nile) river basin from 1979 to 2014 have been studied using both station and satellite based observations. Rotated empirical orthogonal function (REOF), regression and wavelet analyses were used to investigate the trend, frequency and intra-annual variability of climate over the Abay (Blue NileBlue Nile) river basin. High variability of rainfall has occurred over the western regions during spring and southern regions during summer seasons from 1979–2014. The results have shown that, the variability over the regions is dominated by inter-decadal signals, which is similar periodic variability with large-scale circulation. Different conditions of atmospheric and oceanic anomalies are responsible for the observed negative/positive anomaly years in the two seasons. For instance, negative anomaly years during spring season are significantly associated with the negative phase of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the weakening of the Arabian High and the subtropical westerly jet streams whereas during summer they are linked to the positive ENSO phase, a weakening of the upper level jet streams, and a lower level moisture influx from the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Un-even heating of equatorial Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean significantly affects extreme anomaly years during both seasons via altering the rain producing large-scale circulations over Abay river basin.

The Blue Nile (Abay) River is originating in the Lake Tana basin where many perennial and seasonal streams feed the largest lake of Ethiopia (Tana). The basin is characterized by different volcanic formations covered by thick alluvial and residual Quaternary sediments at the center of the basin around Lake Tana. In this study, an attempt was made to outline the hydrogeology of the basin based on limited information from well lithologic logs and previous relevant works. The Lake Tana basin is considered as a potential area for surface water and groundwater development corridors. The hydrogeology and groundwater occurrenceGroundwater occurrence is complex due to tectonism and existence of different volcanic rocks covered with thick alluvial sediments at the center of the basin. The shallow aquifer systems in the middle of the basin from the alluvial sediments are tapped by local communities using shallow wells fitted with hand pumps. The volcanic aquifersHydrogeologyaquifervolcanic aquifer are multi-layer and tapped from different volcanic layers. The latter are highly productive depending up on the degree of fracturing and weathering. In few cases, as in the case of Kola Diba area there are artesian wells. The groundwater system converges towards the center of the basin. The Lake Tana basin leaks groundwater to the adjacent Beles basin and through the Blue Nile outlet.

A study was conducted at different locations of Tana sub basin to understand their physico-chemical and mineralogical properties of the soils and characterize, classify and map them. Six major soil units were identified in the area including Luvisols, Vertisols, Nitisols, Leptosols, Gelysolsl and Fluvisols on the basis of land forms and surface texture. Morphological properties of the soils reveal that Luvisols are deep, well drained and generally loamy sand in texture. Vertisols (VR) were poorly drained with deep rooting zone and texture varies from clay on the surface to heavy clay in the subsoil. Lithic Leptosols have an impermeable layer at less than 50 cm depth with generally gravelly sand texture. The texture of the soils in the study area are generally characterized by clay to heavy clay and have workability problems during rainy seasons. The dominant exchangeable bases were calcium and magnesium with the soils having high base saturation. The Vertisols have neutral to slightly alkaline reaction (pH). The soil reaction of Nitisols at Jema and Sekela sampling sites were 6.5 and 5.5, respectively. Soil reaction of Luvisols was 5.3. Available phosphorous in all soils are low to very low. Total nitrogen and organic carbon contents also are low to very low. The soils found within the Tana sub-basin were classified as Haplic/Chromic Luvisols, Haplic/Rhodic Nitisols, Lithic Leptosols, Pellic/Chromic Vertisols and Cambic Cambisols and other association soil types such as Fluvisols and Regosols.

Lake Tana Basin located in the northeast Ethiopia is one of the tributaries of the Blue Nile. The rainfall over the Upper Blue Nile in general, originates from moist air coming from the Atlantic and Indian oceans following the north-south movement of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. The area has one main rainy season between June and September, receiving about 70–90% of the annual rainfall. The southern portion of the Tana basin receives the highest rainfall (~1600 mm) with a decreasing trend from south to north (~1200 mm). The dry season occurs between November and April while the wet season occurs mostly between May and October. The basin has four main rivers: the Gilgel AbayRiversGilgel Abay, GumaraRiversGumara, Rib and MegechRiversMegech. The Gilgel Abay River alone contributes 60% of the flow into Lake Tana. Lake Tana is the largest lake in the country but is relatively shallow; historically, lake levels have fluctuated within the range of 1784.26–1787.81 m.a.s.l. The hydrological process of the basin is poorly understood and only 42% of the basin is gauged. Recently, efforts have been made to identify the processes by different scientists.

Water is at the forefront of the economic agenda of Ethiopian government and Tana basinLake Tanabasin has been identified as a major economic corridor because of the basin’s immense water resource potential for socioeconomic development. For effective and sustainable utilization of water resources in the basin, it is essential to assess the water quality in spatial and temporal dimensions. Nonetheless, scientific information on Ethiopian water bodies is rare and the available ones are of expeditious origin. In Tana basin, there is no detailed and systematic characterization of water quality based on long term and spatially representative data, due to the absence of a sustainable monitoring program. Despite the fact that data and studies are fragmentary, the available information on Lake Tana indicates that the trophic status of the lake has gradually changed to mesotrophic and eutrophic in some places due to nutrient loads. Sedimentation is a threat to Lake Tana. FecalFecalpollutionPollutionand toxigenicToxigenic bacteria cyanobacteria are detected in the lake especially in the shores and river mouths. Although the current dataset on water and Lake bottom sediment characteristics and quality impacts is spatially and temporally limited, the available information indicates occurrence of potential anthropogenic pollution mainly on river mouths and shore areas. Impairment of water quality has been going on for years, which has significantly affected the basin’s potential for agriculture, industryIndustry, hydroelectric, ecosystem, water supply and recreation sectors. Sedimentation, eutrophicationEutrophication, fecal pollution, wetland encroachment and hydrological alterations have been identified as main issues of water quality management in the Lake Tana basin. Efficient monitoring programs based on a practical selection of robust water quality indicators are recommended for the basin.

This review paper presents the compositions, distribution, abundance, biomass and production of plankton communities in Lake Tana from various research works. A total of 85 phytoplankton species, consisting of 15 blue greens, 37 diatoms, 28 greens, and 5 other minor groups are recorded. The phytoplankton biomass showed a certain decline when turbidity increased during the rainy season. Microcystis sp. was found to dominate the phytoplankton community of Lake Tana throughout the rainy and post-rainy seasons. The chlorophyll a concentration in the water column of the lake varied between 0.03 and 13.44 μg L−1 and showed marked seasonal variations. The highest chlorophyll concentrations were observed in the post-rainy season. The average gross primary production in Lake Tana (mean: 1.8 g O₂ m−2 d−1) is relatively lower compared to African lakes. A number of studies on zooplankton in Lake Tana recorded a total of 26 zooplankton species, consisting of 3 copepods, 11 cladocerans and 12 rotifers. Copepods showed usually higher densities than cladocerans and rotifers. In the case of Lake Tana, the major factors responsible for temporal and spatial change of the plankton are resource limitations and a high sediment concentration. During the productive season (PORS), the phytoplankton is dominated by large species (e.g. Melosira and Microcystis spp.), which are difficult to be consumed by the herbivorous zooplankton.

The fishes of Lake Tana show impressive diversity and unprecedented uniqueness. The lake harbors the only species flock of large cyprinids in the world, and of the 28 known species, approximately 68% are endemic to the lake. Most of the habitats harboring the ichthyofaunal diversity of this lake are relatively intact, and still naturally attractive. Most of the fisheries development activities are characterized by the traditional reed-raft gillnet fishery and some motorized boat gillnet fishery. Fish productionFishproduction from capture fisheries including Nile tilapia, Large African barbs and African catfish from the lake and its influent and effluent rivers has not yet been able to satisfy the ever-growing local demand for fish. No alternative aquaculture production system has been developed. Current and past research findings depict the importance of the fish and the fisheries in Lake Tana, as well as the challenges that these valuable resources are facing. Fast increase in human population of the Lake Tana Sub-basin and associated human-induced impacts are degrading the natural habitats and negatively affecting the fish and the fisheries. The impact on the fishes occurs indiscriminately and does not appear taxon-specific. However, endemic taxa such as the Large African barbs of the lake can be more prone than other widely distributed species. Further research, development and conservation activities need to consider proper planning and implementation to preserve the fishes and the fisheries in the Lake Tana Sub-basin.

Birds play a vital role in keeping the balance of nature. Lake Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia, with a surface area of 3200 km2 and a watershedLake Tanacatchment (watershed) of 15,100 km2 located at 1800 m a.s.l. Most of the wetlands situated along the rivers and Lake Tana shore support several thousands of birds. Taking previous work in the area into consideration, the Lake Tana sub-basin possesses six globally threatened species, 35 highland biome species and four Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome species. The sub-basin area is particularly important for wetland and water birds. The total population of birds counted during the winter season exceeds 150,000 seasonally, in Lake Tana area alone. Shesher-wallala area contributes the largest winter population. The Lake Tana sub-basin consists of 78 families of 437 birds; the most dominant is Accipitridae with 39 species. The distributionBirdsdistribution of birds in the area is changeable. However, the Lake Tana area and associated wetlands hold the largest bird populations compared with forest, farmland and bush land habitats. The Fogera and Dembia flood plain provides suitable feeding and roosting sites for winter birds, and is also known as a congregation site. Both Palearctic (112) and Afrotropical migrants (7) occur. In addition, the Lake Tana sub-basin holds 15 species of endemicBirdsendemics birds, some of which are shared with Eritrea. Degradation of the wetlands is underway, with overgrazing, vegetation removal, cultivation, deforestation, occurrence of invasive weeds, wetland drainage, flooding, continuing sedimentation, major water resources development in the basin are the main threats.

Of the 64 known amphibian speciesAmphibian species of Ethiopia, the Lake Tana Sub-basin is believed to contain 19 species of amphibian belonging to 12 genera and 9 families. All of these species are grouped under Order Anura (tail-less frogs). Most of the species found in the area appear to be those that are tolerant to changed habitats. Fourteen species of lizards, 20 species of snakes and one species of freshwater turtle, a total of 35 reptile species occur in the area. However, the herpetofauna taxonomic status and evolutionary relationships of many of the species has not been confirmed using molecular and biogeographic studies or updated using modern phylogeographic approaches. In addition a total of 27 species of mammalsMammalsspecies that belongs to 16 families are listed. But there is little information on Order-Rodentia (rodents), Lagomorphs (lagomorphs), Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and gymnures), Soricomorpha (shrews, moles, and soledons) and Chiroptera (bats). Depending on the land use/land cover history of the area, the wildlife habitats of the area can be categorized in many ways, and each habitat harbors a number of amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. The wildlife values can be expressed in terms of their economic importance, nutritional value, ecological role and socio-cultural significance. Still Ethiopia is not benefiting as there is little attention for the resource. The existence of proclamations specifically dealing with biodiversity does not guarantee conservation unless they are put into action. The main challenge faced in conservation of herpetofauna and mammals is habitat degradation and fragmentation.

The AmharaForestdistribution National Regional State (ANRS), with a total area of approximately 170,052 km2, is situated in the north western and north central part of Ethiopia. The forest resource of the Amhara Region that may qualify as ‘forests’ following the definition of FAO (2001) is estimated to be around 6% of the total area of the region, which includes high forest (0.48% of the total area); woodlands (4.2%); bamboo and plantationForestplantations forests (1.23%). These vegetation types further can be classified as: Afroalpine and subafroalpineForestresourceAfroalpine and Sub-Afroalpine, Montane dry forest and scrub, Combretum-Terminalia woodlandForestresourceCombretum-Terminalia Woodland, Acacia-Comiphora woodlandForestresourceAcacia-Commiphora Woodland, High and Lowland bamboo, and Plantations. The overall forest resources of the region have shown slight increase in area coverage for the last 15 years. The major plus comes from Eucalyptus plantation and rehabilitation efforts in Eastern and recently in Western highlands of Amhara. On the other hand, the Afroalpine and Subafroalpine vegetation, the high Dry afromontane forests, Bamboo forests and the Woodlands faced remarkable shrink not only in area coverage but also degradation in their structural and species composition.

The Lake Tana watershed lies within the Afro-tropical wetland system in Ethiopia. The total wetland area of the watershed is estimated to be 32,157 ha. These wetlands have different physical and hydrological, chemical and water quality, and biological and habitat functions. The Lake Tana watershed wetlands and its associated rivers holds about 28 species of fishes, of which fifteen are endemic, and there are over 300 species of birds recorded so far. The watershed is famous for having natural pasture land and is the home of the Fogera cattle. The wetlands in the Lake Tana watershed extend from the headwaters of Guna and Gishe-Abay to Fogera and the Dembia floodplains. The river mouths of the Gelda, Gumara, Arno-Garno, Megech, Dirma, Abagenen, Gilgel Abay and Infranz are the major delta wetland ecosystems. Yiganda and Amluk wetlands are of the lacustrine wetland type formed by the lake water while Chimba and Infranz wetlands are the common riverine wetlands. Several other wetlands are formed from cold and hot springs. There are also man-made wetlands such as the Koga Dam area and other constructed small water bodies and weirs as well. Lake Tana watershed wetlands provide habitat for globally threatened and endangered species. However, wetland loss is evident wherever major developments such as dams, irrigation schemes and conversion projects are present in the developing world. Humans usually and very dramatically accelerate natural processes. In the Lake Tana watershed, human induced threats such as conversion of wetlands into agriculture, draining of wetlands and lack of defined ownershipOwnership of the resource is the main threats.

This chapter is about biodiversity threats posed by water hyacinth in the pristine Lake Tana, discuss its potential problems and suggest possible solutions. Lake Tana watershedLake Tanacatchment (watershed) is within the East African Afro-montane Hotspot and the productive agro-ecosystems of Ethiopia. As a hotspot, the watershed is considered as global priority conservation area and Tana is proposed to be designated as a biosphere reserve. The catchmentLake Tanacatchment (watershed) stretched from Lake Tana 1785 m above sea level to mount Guna 4150, and contains three distinct agro ecosystems. The national development strategy is changing the socioeconomic and biophysical landscapes. The expansion of a century old introduced Eucalyptus still has unsettled controversies. The lowland plane and the lake shore ecosystem are facing challenges of the worst invasive in 2004. Since then, the alien species is added on the two major environmental challengesEnvironmentalchallenges namely anthropogenic activities and climate changeClimatechange.

This chapter examines the demographic characteristics of the Lake Tana basin through document analysis techniques. It uses demographic indicators such as age-sex ratio, dependency ratioDependency ratio, population distribution, population density and population growth rate to provide a demographic profile at the watershed level. The study also looks at the changes in the indicators over time to establish patterns and trends. The analysis shows that the age group ranging from 0 to 14 years old is the largest population category. As the result the dependency ratio of the population in the watershed is very high. In addition the number of women in the reproductive age group is also very high which predicts even higher the potential growth of population in the watershed. If uncontrolled this future population growth will lead to greatly unbalanced relationships between resources and population in the watershed.

This chapter deals with gender and rural livelihood in the Lake Tana Basin, which lies within the Lake Tana watershedLake Tanacatchment (watershed) of Amhara region in the North West part of Ethiopia. It includes areas around the lake with strong ecological, socioeconomic and cultural linkages to the lake itself. In the basin, mainly integrated crop production and livestock rising and fishery activities are undertaken. As it is one of the major food producing areas of Ethiopia, it has critical regional and national significance. In the basin, women and men have different access to, and control over, productive assetsAsset access. Economic capacities and incentives are also strongly gender-differentiated in ways, which affect supply response, intra householdHouseholds resource allocation, labour productivity, and welfare. Women are still working in subsistence agriculture where they are in-charge of food production, processing and marketingFishprocessing and marketing. Moreover, all domestic and reproductive roles like taking care of the health and education of children, fetching water, collecting fuel wood, and cooking, are entirely done by women and girls. These conditions have become constraints on women’s self-enhancement and productivity. Women have weak access to credit, cash, appropriate technology, and information that are essential to increase their productivity and income. Girls are victims of various harmful traditional practices such as early marriage, female genital mutilation, etc. On the other hand, most young farmers have also limited access to resources like farm land and finance for their livelihoods. Hence development interventions need to consider all these gender gaps.

The concept of broader participationParticipation of stakeholders and more inclusive decision makingDecision making has been increasingly recognized in many countries both at national and international level. Effective stakeholder engagementStakeholderengagement in a complex resource system is fundamental to ensure the successful implementation of policies at the ground level. Particularly when the multi-purpose values of the whole Lake Tana ecosystem are considered, there are multiple stakeholders with diverse interests in and power over natural resource use, management and governance. Therefore, a clear understanding of the potential roles and contributions of the many different stakeholders of the Lake Tana social-ecological system is a fundamental prerequisite for successful participatory natural resource management and governance. Stakeholder analysis is a basic tool for achieving this understanding. The overall objective of this chapter is therefore, to provide a preliminary description of stakeholders’ interest in and influence over natural resource use, management, governance and policy process in the Lake Tana sub-basin. It depicts the stakeholders’ landscape based on focus group discussions, key informant interviews and stakeholder identification and analysis workshop which was carried out by a multidisciplinary team of experts from different stakeholder groups (governmental, research, academic and NGOs). The results can help inform and assist policy makers in the development of sustainable natural resource management policy, taking into account the interest and influence of a wide range of stakeholders. The chapter begins with a brief introduction of the Lake Tana context. It then presents the concept of stakeholder and stakeholder engagement followed by the rationale for stakeholder identification and analysis.

This chapter gives a brief description of the Lake Tana Subbasin’s (LTB) economy analogized with economic developmentEconomic development requirements and standards. It also highlights the LTB’s natural resources role in local economy. Although there has not been any attempt to compute the Gross Domestic (Geographic) Product for the LTB, available regional and zonal tax revenue data shows the contribution of prominent sectoral activitiesSectoral activities in the basin such as agriculture and fisheries, tourism and navigation, trade and industryTrade and industry, and transport to the regional revenue is substantial. A significant proportion of the Lake Tana Basin’sLake Tanabasin economy is attributed to the agricultural sector and the Basin harbors considerable untapped potential for irrigation developmentIrrigation development. This calls for a better investigation of the development of a resources efficient modern agriculture which will contribute for the economic development of the Basin. The rest of the sectors such as industryIndustry, are also in a very early stage of the economic activityEconomic activity, and need more attention to be developed with optimized use of the resources of the basin.

Lake Tana, the biggest lake in Ethiopia, is very important water resource for community living and depending on the lake’s resources. It plays a role in balancing of the microclimate of local areas in the catchment of the lake. However, the recent development activities at the catchment areas have negatively affected the natural systems of the Lake Tana′s catchment. The catchment system and its interface with atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere assume greater importance to ecosystem management. The study of land use and cover changes will help to apply the appropriate land use and land use palanning. The changes in different land cover units such as forest, wood and bush lands, grass, wetlands and water bodies, and farm and settlementsSettlement were analyzed from different sources. Population change, land tenure, povertyPoverty and lack of market and credit facilities in the watershed area were analyzed as causes of land cover changes. There is a need to work against the causative variables to solve the resource degradation in the catchment. Despite the large extent of land converted to farms and settlements, individual house holding of land and householdHouseholds incomes have declined. This is perhaps due to the absence of coordination between the land distribution policy and the family planning policy. There is degradation of vegetation such as forest and grasses and wetland vegetation (riparian vegetation). A detailed inspection of land use change (LUC) change is also crucial for those planners and decision makers to consider environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the land use cover changes (LUCC) in the LTB and design sustainable solutions.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Ethiopian economy in general and Lake Tana Sub-Basin in particular. The crop diversity in the Sub-Basin is high and the crop categories including cereals, legumes, root crops, oil crops, vegetables, fruit crops and other cash crops. The cropping pattern is also including the rain-fedCrop productioninputsrain-fed, irrigationCrop productioninputsirrigation, residual moistureCrop productioninputsresidual moisture and minor recession cropping. More than 80% the cultivated land during the base-year is under rain-fed system and the remaining land is cultivated using irrigation and residual moisture. The farming system is characterized by crop-livestock mixed production systemLivestockproduction system; crop production is the focus of farmers both for food and cash income. In recent years agriculture has shown a sustained increase in the use of improved inputs notably seed varieties and chemical fertilizer, pesticides and farm credit. In the Sub-Basin areas, horticultural crop production is a relatively new activity which is mainly triggered by the commencement of small scale irrigation scheme. Studies in area revealed that insect pests and diseases were, and still are, one of the major production constraints. Farmers also ranked pest problems are to be one of the major production constraints in the area.

Livestock contribute 19% of the national GDP, 45% of agricultural GDP and 20% of the export earnings in Ethiopia. They are also contributing to people’s livelihoods as source of food, cash income, liquid asset, diversification of risk, inputs to crop production, cultural value and fuelwood. Livestock are also very important to nutritional and food security, incomes and livelihoods of people in Lake Tana Sub-basin. The livestock production systems in Lake Tana Sub-basin are mainly mixed crop-livestock. Despite the important contribution made by livestock to people’s livelihood in Lake Tana Sub-basin, the productivity of livestock is low due to various challenges. The challenges include land use change, limited access and low use of feed technology, inadequate veterinary service provision, genetic limitation of the indigenous livestock breeds, limited access and high cost of improved breeds, market inefficiency/failure, inadequate research/technology generation, weak linkages among stakeholders, limited access to credit, and climate changeClimatechange are main once. On the other hand, livestock products demand is increasing. This could be due to human population growth and urbanizationUrbanization. This is a good opportunity for livestock keepers to increase livestock products. There have to be policies support, extension services and research to enhance the complementarities between crop and livestock production and integration with watershed managementWatershed management activities. For peri-urban and urban livestock production systems, access to land, access to credit, establishment of milk processing plant, and veterinary service have to be improved. Rural-peri-urban-urban linkages should also be enhanced.

Ethiopia is currently one of the least urbanized countries with just under 20% of its population living in urban areas, but it is expected to urbanize rapidly (around 4.8% per annum), over the next 40 years. Projections for the Lake Tana region are similar. This chapter reviews the distribution of urban areas and towns in the Amhara Region, gives an overview of the type of infrastructure available, and explains the approach to planning for these urban areas. With a growing population and high rate of urbanization, careful coordination of plans and resources will be critical in the region for sustainable development.

The Lake Tana Sub-basin has a splendid plenty of nature that should be conserved for future generations and not be spoiled. One effort toward its protection is the establishment of The Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia’s fourth natural heritage site established by UNESCO, after Simien National Park, Lower Valley of the Omo and Lower Valley of the Awash. However trend analysis shows that a significant change is taking place in the climate of the region at the same time that growing population increases pressure for agricultural expansion and development, and industrial activities to meet growing food and energy demands. Although policies exist that could help protect the catchment’s resources, policy gaps, institutional problems and low policy implementation limit policy effectiveness. The major problems in the area can be summarized into three: Firstly, the policies and strategies are too general and do not give adequate direction/guideline to those who are implementing them. Secondly, even when there are laws that could be implemented, there are cases where there are no institutions or capable institutions that implement them. Thirdly, there are overlapping and, sometimes contradicting objectives of different institutions and hence there is little cooperation and coordination among different institutions. These gaps need to be addressed in order to manage and use natural resources in a sustainable manner. This chapter presents the key environmental trends in the region, and reviews vulnerabilities, threats, policies, and environmental protection gaps, in addition to potentially researchable thematic areas.

Natural resource degradation in the form of soil erosion, deforestation, and wetland resource depletion, is a major problem in Lake Tana Sub-Basin, Ethiopia. Various measures have been taken by the government and its development partners in response. This study investigates whether measures such as formulation of policies, strategies, laws and proclamations as well as establishment of organizations contribute to the protection and/or management of natural resource management of the Lake Tana Sub-Basin or not. Government reports, journals, articles and other relevant sources were used to examine whether the measures taken fulfil their objectives. The findings of the study indicate that the policy measures and the efforts of translating them into practice do support conservation of natural resources in Lake Tana Sub-Basin. Various sustainable land management (SLM) technologies introduced by the government and development partners helped to address soil degradation. The remnants of forests around the lake and in the upper sub basin have been preserved and protected. Yet, land degradationLand degradation in various forms still outweighs the rehabilitation of degraded lands and conservation of the natural resources in the sub basin. Lack of genuine participation of the local people, technical and policy failure, lack of enforcement of some policies/laws, overlapping and conflicting responsibilities of different government institutions and conflict of interestsInstitutionsconflict of interest accounted to failure of achieve the desired outcomes. The findings suggest ways policy makers and development actors can address the multifaceted barriers to improve policy effectiveness.

Lake Tana Basin development corridor (LTSBDC) is a corridor in Amhara region which covers an area of about 1.5 million hectares. The area is known for the variety of annual and perennial cropsPerennial Crops grown, its breeds of livestock and diversified vegetation, and especially its forest resources. In the years between 1986 and 2013, both built-up areas and cultivated land cover increased. This indicates that, due to expansion of cultivated land and human settlementsSettlement, the natural forest land cover declined. Similar to natural forest, grassland cover was also found to decrease. Land use and land cover change and consequent land degradation in the Lake Tana watershed limits the potential to develop a sustainable livelihood for its inhabitants. The effectiveness of the regional and local efforts to improve the environment and livelihoods of the residents in the Lake Tana watershed through natural resource conservation programs are limited due to capacity and financial barriers. Land use and water resource related barriers that were identified include weak policy implementation, low capacity (technical and financial), poor information management system, low or no incentives, and frequent restructuring of core and principal institutions at national/regional levels. Alleviation of these constraints will be important for better delivery of technical support and enabling local users to implement good land use related practices, to influence policies; reduce dependency on aids and implement environmentally friendly watershed management activities; terraces, gully rehabilitation check dams and alley cropping as biological measures.

In June 2015, the Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve was officially nominated as a new addition to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program (UNESCO 1971). This official recognition of Lake Tana and its immediate surroundings as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve was the culmination to date of a process which had started many years previously. This chapter describes why a Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve was proposed, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve approach, the geographic description of the Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, and why a biosphere reserve is a good solution for the Lake Tana Region. It explains the process followed to prepare the Lake Tana region to become a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, including stakeholder contributions to the application/nomination process, vision and goals of the Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, and its zonation. Finally, it discusses what will be needed for the successful management of the Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, including a description of the Reserve management structure and the challenges faced in fulfilling the BR mandate of integration and networking.

Fogera district is one of the districts adjacent to Lake Tana in South Gondar zone in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. Floods and related water-borne diseases were serious problems in the plains of the Lake Tana Basin and Fogera district in particular for centuries. But with the introduction of rice as a crop, this environmental characteristic has become an opportunity instead of a challenge. To address the lack of documentation about this water utilization-induced change in farming systems in this area, and the resulting rice production and consumption value chain, this chapter presents three survey studies conducted from 2010/11to 2014 by structured interviews of farming householdsHouseholds and marketing agents, field observations and group discussions supplemented by review of literatures. Survey data was collected from 200 farming households of high and medium level rice producing kebeles of Fogera district selected randomly, key informant experts and a variety of value chain actors. Participation in the rice industryIndustry in this area has increased from 30 participant households in 2 kebeles and area coverage of 6 ha in 1993/94 to 34,249 households in 24 kebeles covering an area of 20,230 ha of land in 2014/15. Fogera district jumps from no contribution in rice production before two decades to a share of 77% of the rice produced in Amhara and 60% produced in all of Ethiopia. Rice is now the primary crop in the district. In addition to rice production, farming households have also adapted to rice consumption by innovative value addition practices to local food items. About 82.5% of the respondents were rice producers, with non-producing households having no access to irrigation; rice production is significantly related to irrigation water utilization. These findings clarify the contribution of water resource utilization in shifting farming systems and the value addition practices in the area. The study has implications for how to promote similar innovations where there are no cultural practices related to commodities targeted by extension interventions exemplify the impacts of proper water resource use.

Lake Tana watershed is one of the growth corridors of the country identified by the government of Ethiopia. The competition for land among the different alternative land uses is intense. One of these is eucalyptus plantation not only on marginal lands but also on fertile plots used for producing annual crops. The trends and driving forces of eucalyptus plantation in the Lake Tana watershed and in Amhara region of Ethiopia in general are not well documented. This chapter reports on findings of a study on the trends and driving forces of eucalyptus plantation in Lake Tana sub basin based on preliminary assessment of major eucalyptus production areas of Amhara region and a case study from Mecha district of West Gojjam, Amhara Regional State. The district represents the major eucalyptus plantation area of the watershed. The study was conducted in 2011 and 2012. In addition to the visit of the major eucalyptus production and marketing sites and key informants interview in Amhara region, formal survey was administered to 400 sample householdsHouseholds randomly and proportionately selected from high, medium and low level eucalyptus planting kebeles of Mecha district. Results show that close to 77% of the sample households had planted eucalyptus. The trend of eucalyptus plantation is increasing and has been particularly high since 2002. Wald test has been used to check the presence of the structural break of trend in the year in the yearly cumulated number of farming households who started eucalyptus plantation. The result confirms the presence of significant structural break in trend for the year (p < 0.01). More than 60% of the eucalyptus growers plant eucalyptus in woodlots on plots with plain topography and with medium to high levels of soil fertilityFertility. This indicates that eucalyptus plantation is expanding at the expense of crop production. The major drivers for the expansion raised by key informants are the increasing price of farm inputsFarm input (mainly fertilizer) for crop production, the Ethio-Sudan cross-border trade, the rising demand of wood for construction, industries and woodwork shops, and inadequacy of wood from natural forests due to deforestation. Besides these socioeconomic drivers, certain biological properties of eucalyptus make it especially appealing. Adaptability to wider agro ecological zones, coppicing ability, fast growth rate, straight poles, low laborLabor demand, and resistance to diseases and pests are its commonly cited qualities. Given the growing demand for wood in the domestic and international market, and the expressed intention of most rural householdsHouseholds to plant eucalyptus, eucalyptus plantation is likely to expand even more in the Lake Tana watershed. Therefore, proper land use development and organization of appropriate institutes for optimum level of eucalyptus plantation and balanced enterprise choice for the rural households and overall development of Lake Tana watershed and the region are suggested.

Urbanization is a global phenomenon with more pronounced consequences on waste management in developing countries where the rate of infrastructure development is mostly outpaced by the rate of waste generation. Bahir Dar, a rapidly urbanizing city at the southern tip of Lake Tana, is not an exception. This paper reviewed the current waste management system in Lake Tana basin taking Bahir Dar city as case. Bahir Dar city produces more wastes and will continue to produce more with the ever-increasing population of the city. The waste management practice is challenged by low prioritization of waste management and limited revenues for financing waste management. The review result also indicates that the municipality’s mechanism of coordination of the public and private sectors has played a vital role in waste management. Effective involvement of both private and public sectors has made possible to improve waste management and provide door-to-door collection. However, the daily monitoring of waste management has not been sufficient. Therefore, an integrated solid and liquid waste management practice should be implemented for the City-Lake Tana basin and also for the surrounding environment. This has to include development plans for improving sustainable sanitation and disposal of the sewage system, and adopt the best practices of waste management for the City-Lake basin ecosystem.

Natural resources degradation is a serious problem in Western Amhara Region of the Blue Nile basin. To generate information on problems, extension efforts and future directions in natural resources management of the Amhara Region of the Nile basin, literatures from various sources were consulted and compiled. The prevalence of huge natural resources degradation are manifested in the form of soil lossSoilloss, soil fertilityFertility deterioration, organic matter depletion, water resources degradation, siltation of dams, reservoirs and agricultural lands, forest resources exhaustion, environmental pollutionPollution and climate changeClimatechange were main once. About half of the highland’s land area (about 27 million ha) is significantly eroded and over one-fourth (14 million ha) are seriously eroded. Over 2 million ha of land are permanently degraded that the land is no longer able to support cultivation. Some estimates indicate that the average annual soil loss from arable land was 100 tons ha−1 and the average productivity loss on cropland was 1.8%. Others provided estimates of soil loss rates of 42, 8, 5, 70, and 5 tons ha−1 yr−1 from cropland land under perennial cropsPerennial Crops, grazing and browsing land, productive land, currently uncultivable land, and wood and bush land, respectively. The main causes of these problems were identified to be natural factors (rugged nature of the topography and high and erratic rainfall); political and economic historyHighland areaspolitical and economic history of the highland areas; livelihood, backward farming practicesFarming practice, socio-economic problems & poor land use policy enforcementLand usepolicy enforcement. Moreover, it was identified that there are limited but encouraging efforts in research, technology dissemination and policy formulation in the region to solve the problems. It is possible to conclude that even though there are tremendous amounts of natural resources degradation in the Nile basin, the efforts being done in the region to mitigate the problems are encouraging. Therefore, scaling up successful practices can enhance the endeavor towards sustainable natural resources management.

This chapter presents a system map of causal links and feedback loops among social and ecological components in the Lake Tana region. The map was collaboratively developed by twenty-seven regional researchers, managers, and development experts who participated in a one-day systems mapping workshop entitled “Strengthening Links between Policy and Research for Sustainable Development in the Lake Tana BasinLake Tanabasin” held in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia in November 2014. The chapter describes the map development process, content of the map, participant perspectives on the value of the process and the workshop outcomes, and steps for building on the workshop.

This chapter synthesizes the research needs presented in the book and proposes actions for addressing them. It highlights the socioeconomic and biophysical characteristics, development, production and consumption patterns, challenges and threats and management approaches that were discussed in the preceding chapters and discusses the priorities for future Lake Tana basinLake Tanabasin research that were raised. The analysis shows that the basin has many unique features, and great potential for sustainable development, especially in water resources. The lake and basin provide multiple benefitsBenefit to the local community, the region and downstream riparian countries. Many of the problematic trends in the region result from an imbalance between resource production and consumption patterns, and limited or poorly implemented conservation measures. The many and complex challenges and threats in the basin are caused, in part, by the lack of an integrated basin plan and poor collaborative mechanisms to share data and find sustainable solutions. The available data and information about the basin is limited. It is not well-organized, accessible, or used well for the basin’s resource management. The identification of major research gaps and priorities for future research highlighted in this book, as well as the systems framework for integration and collaboration, provide a basis for further research and policy decisions to promote sustainability in the region.