Soil Degradation and Sustainable Land Management in the Rainfed Agricultural Areas of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is known for its historic agriculture, but also for the associated, widespread, and on-going land degradation. The older agricultural areas of the northeast have long been particularly affected, but the highest soil erosion rates are currently being observed in the western parts of the highlands. The processes of soil erosion and measures to reduce it have been researched extensively in Ethiopia since the 1970s; research activities include long-term monitoring of catchments and experiments of various spatial extents. On this basis of understanding and data availability, Ethiopia offered a unique setting for an ELD case study.

This case study provides a spatially explicit assessment of the extent of land degradation (soil erosion by water) and the costs and benefits of sustainable land management measures.