Ethiopia has a diverse climate ranging from temperate highlands to arid lowlands, with significant rainfall variability across regions. Agriculture is the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy, employing the majority of the population. The country’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture makes it particularly vulnerable to shifts in rainfall patterns and droughts, which exacerbate food insecurity and livelihood challenges.
IWMI in Ethiopia
Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, IWMI researchers are focused on enhancing agricultural resilience and promoting sustainable natural resource management through innovative approaches to land, water, and irrigation. A key focal area is improving irrigation infrastructure and water management systems, with projects such as the development of an Irrigation Infrastructure Quality Management System toolkit. This toolkit, applicable across Sub-Saharan Africa, is helping to enhance the quality and effectiveness of irrigation systems in Ethiopia, as well as in neighboring Kenya and Uganda.
Additionally, IWMI is implementing climate-smart agricultural practices to improve livelihoods and build resilience among smallholder farmers, particularly through improved water and nutrient management. Our work in landscape rehabilitation, such as in Halaba, emphasizes the restoration of degraded land, supporting ecosystem services and sustainable agricultural practices. IWMI is also addressing water management challenges in regions like the Awash River Basin, working with communities to prioritize climate-smart water management practices that enhance both water availability and productivity. In the Bale Ecoregion, researchers are examining the impact of land use and land cover changes on ecosystem services, which informs strategies for maintaining the health and productivity of these landscapes. These initiatives, alongside efforts to promote financial inclusion and sustainable resource management, are collectively contributing to Ethiopia’s path toward a more resilient, sustainable, and climate-smart agricultural future.
Climate change remains a significant threat to farm households, especially in developing countries. It exacerbates their vulnerability to food insecurity by reducing agricultural productivity and raising agricultural production costs. Adoption of climate smart-agricultural (CSA) practices is a promising alternative to build resilient farm households. In this study, we assessed the impacts of adopting CSA practices on climate resilience and vulnerability among farm households in Bale-Eco Region, Ethiopia. A power calculation was used to determine the sample size, and 404 farm households were randomly selected to collect data using structured questionnaire. We estimated household climate resilience index using categorical principal component analysis, and vulnerability index using vulnerability as expected poverty approach. Endogenous switching regression model, which is conditional on the adoption of multiple CSA practices and used to control selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity, was used to assess the impacts of CSA practices on household climate resilience and vulnerability. We employed counterfactual approaches to assess the impacts. The results show that the average treatment effects for most CSA practices are statistically significant and positive for resilience, but negative for vulnerability. This provides empirical support for interventions in climate-smart agriculture, which can help farm households build resilience and reduce vulnerability. We, therefore, suggest that agricultural policies should encourage the adoption of CSA practices and provide incentive packages to farm households that promote this.
In river basins with strong seasonal river fluctuation, water storage of various types is required to meet water demands. Water is stored in man-made reservoirs, groundwater aquifers, the soil, natural lakes and wetlands. Ideally, to meet any water demand, these water storage options could be used in an integrated manner. However, integrating suites of water storage options in the management for water, food, energy, and the environment is limited in practice. One of the reasons for this is the lack of knowledge on the volume and temporal dynamics of the different storage types. This study therefore assessed water storage in different storage types and their temporal dynamics using remote sensing and secondary data in the Tana-Beles sub-basin of Ethiopia. The results show that the active total storage volume in the sub-basin varies from 7.3 BCM to 16.2 BCM in dry and wet months, respectively. Lake Tana storage is the largest with 50% of total storage while built reservoirs only account for 2% of the same. Given different competing needs and constraints from each storage options not all the water in the storages can be utilized. Optimizing natural and built storage options in an integrated system can maximize water security gains.
Basins / Reservoirs / Groundwater / Soil water content / Surface water / Remote sensing / Assessment / Water storage Record No:H053690
The Akaki River, in Ethiopia, becomes a source of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) pathogens and genes that are spreading to receiving water. Water quality monitoring (WQM) is limited in Akaki, and the available evidence is based on short-term monitoring of inconsistent sampling sites and water quality parameters. Therefore, we designed a suitable WQM plan for the Big Akaki River receiving wastewater from rural, urban, and peri-urban areas. WQM plan was designed by employing multiple approaches including literature review, field observations, spatial analysis, and pollutant “hotspot” identification. Information was extracted through a systematic review of 48 articles, selected through a screening process, to guide the selection of suitable monitoring sites. Field observation was used to inspect previously sampled sites and identify pollution sources and exposure routes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria and zoonotic pathogens. For validation, water samples were collected from 40 sites identified from the literature review and field observation, and results were refined during a stakeholder consultation workshop. Hotspots were identified based on chemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, and extended-spectrum eta-lactamase (ESL)-producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella enteritidis/Shigella flexneri data. Cluster analysis of the water quality data categorized the 40 sites into three groups, and the number of sites for future monitoring to 20, including possible pollutant hotspots, reference sites, known pollution sources, exposure routes, and availability of river discharge data. The WQM plan will help AMR and zoonotic pathogens monitoring and mitigation in the study sites. Our approach can be replicated to design WQM plans for other rivers.
Parameters / Water pollution / Rivers / Antimicrobial resistance / Monitoring / Water quality Record No:H053684
There is an urgent need to expand wastewater treatment on the African continent. To help choose appropriate technologies for this task, we evaluated the efficiency, energy and chemical demands, and costs of four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). These plants represent the main wastewater treatment technologies operated by the Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority (AAWSA): waste stabilization pond (WSP), anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR), up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket with trickling filter (UASB-TF), and membrane bioreactor (MBR) technologies. Principal component analysis revealed that season significantly impacts the raw and treated wastewater quality (ANOSIM, R ¼ 0.3126, p ¼ 0.001), while the type of treatment plant did not significantly affect the measured effluent characteristics (ANOSIM, R ¼ 0.1235, p ¼ 0.2000). In contrast, construction and operational costs, as well as energy and chemical demands per m3 of treated wastewater, varied starkly between the WWTPs. Total costs of wastewater treatment in 2022 ranged from $0.045 to 0.546 per m3 of wastewater treated, being 6–12 times higher for MBR compared with the other WWTP technologies. Real-world performance data as reported in this study are essential for choosing appropriate technologies that meet Africa’s wastewater treatment needs.
Infrastructure / Costs / Water quality / Sustainability / Sanitation / Technology / Energy demand / Economic analysis / Performance assessment / Wastewater treatment plants Record No:H053621
