Assessment of Watershed Management Practices for Sustainable Rural Livelihood Improvement in Meja, Jeldu District, Ethiopia

Abstract

Poor watershed management practices and resultant problems of land degradation, low agricultural productivity, food insecurity and poverty are particularly severe in the rural highlands of Ethiopia. The current study was undertaken at Meja watershed, located in the Jeldu district of Oromia region to assess potentials and constraints for sustainable participatory integrated watershed management practices for the improvement of rural livelihoods. The study investigated socio-economic and biophysical conditions, along with their management practices. The results indicated that there was inefficient implementation of participatory integrated watershed management practices in terms of rainwater, soil and forest managements; as a result water scarcity and accelerated soil erosion, sedimentation, soil fertility loss were prominent, with a resultant reduction in both crop and livestock production in the watershed. Therefore, strategies to avert food insecurity situation are necessary. This could be achieved through a sustainable solution that better addresses integrated watershed management efforts.