HAWASSA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

(M.A GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES)
Research Tittle; LAND DEGRADATION AND COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT; THE CASE STUDY OF GOLOLCHA WOREDA
IN OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA.

KASO TEHA ID. No. SGSGR/015/04

HAWASSA, ETHIOPIA

SUBMITTED TO ADVISOR DR. M.SENAPATHY (PhD)

January, 2013

Table of Contents

CONTENTS PAGES

I. TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------- ---I

CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION-------------------------------------------------------------1

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 1.1. Background of the Study------------------------------------------------------1
1.2. Statement of the problems----------------------------------------------------4
1.3. Objective of the Study---------------------------------------------------------6
1.3.1. General Objectives-------------------------------------------------6
1.3.2. Specific Objectives-------------------------------------------------6
1.3.3. Research questions-------------------------------------------------7
1.4. Significance of the study-------------------------------------------------------7
1.5. Delimitation or Scope of the study--------------------------------------------8
1.6. Limitation of the study---------------------------------------------------------8
1.7. Description Study Area---------------------------------------------------------8
1.8. Organization of the study-------------------------------------------------------9

CHAPTER TWO

2. . REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE--------------------------------------9

2.1. What is Land Degradation? ---------------------------------------------------9
2.2. Causes of Land Degradation in Ethiopia-------------------------------------10
2.2.1. Deforestation-------------------------------------------------------10
2.2.2. Over Grazing-------------------------------------------------------11
2.2.3. Population Pressure-----------------------------------------------12
2.2.4. Poor Farming practices-------------------------------------------13
2.3. Environmental Management--------------------------------------------------14

CHAPTER THREE

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY--------------------------------------------------15
3.1. Research Design--------------------------------------------------------------------15
3.2. Sample Design and Sampling techniques-------------------------------------15
3.3. Data collection instruments-----------------------------------------------------16

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 3.3.1. Observation----------------------------------------------------------17
3.3.2. Interview-------------------------------------------------------------17
3.3.3. Focus Group Discussion----------------------------------------------18
3.4. Methods of Data Processing and Analysis------------------------------------18
CHAPTER FOUR
4. TIME FRAME AND BUDGET BREAKDOWN-------------------------------19
4.1. Time Frame and Activities-----------------------------------------------------19
4.2. Working Budget breakdown----------------------------------------------------19
II. REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study

Ethiopia is predominantly an agricultural country and agriculture plays a major role in the
country’s economy. Agriculture accounts for about 45.5 percent of GDP, 85 percent of the

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employment and 94 percent of Ethiopia’s export (NBE, 2002). The country can also be regarded
as the home of important biodiversity due to its range in physiographic features with altitudes
ranging from 116 meters below sea level in the Dallol to 4,620 meters above sea level on Ras
Dejen. However, rapid population growth, environmental degradation and low agricultural
production and productivity are the major problems facing the country.
With a population of over 70 million (2007) and growing by 2.6 percent annually, Ethiopia is
one of the largest and most populated countries in Africa. Some 85 percent of Ethiopia’s
population lives in rural areas and depends on the local land resources (soil,
water and vegetation) to meet its basic needs for wellbeing (MoARD, 2008). Although 60
percent of the total land area is estimated to be potentially suitable for agricultural production,
less than 15 percent is currently under cultivation. In spite of its vast agricultural potential,
Ethiopia has been trapped in a vicious downward cycle of land resource degradation and poverty.
As a result, the country has become dependent on external food support: it is one of the largest
recipients of food aid in Africa (Sisay & Tesfaye, 2003).

In fact, agriculture in Ethiopia is not only an economic activity but also a way of life for which
agricultural land is an indispensable resource upon which the welfare of the society is built. The
livelihood of the vast majority of the population depends directly or indirectly on this sector.
Needless to mention, such dependence obviously leads to increased vulnerability of the economy
to problems related to land degradation (Wegayehu, 2003). Therefore, though land provides a
means of livelihoods for the majority of the population, land resources are facing increasing
degradation mainly due to water erosion in the form of sheet and rill erosion.
Like other parts of the world, Environmental degradation is one of the main problems in Ethiopia
( Bishaw, 2001). According to several reports on Ethiopian forests covered approximately 40%
of the land a century ago but now has shrunken to only 3% (EFAP, 1994; Berry, 2003).
However, according to recent reports of Ethiopia’s forest cover has reached 11 per cent,
according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA, 2012). The extensive deforestation has also led
to the extinction of various biota’s’ resulting in significant biodiversity loss (Woldu, 1999;
Hadgu, 2008). Additionally, accelerated soil erosion on the landscapes without vegetation
washed fertile top-soils leading to infertile and shallow soils with poor water storage capacity
(Hurni, 1988; Bishaw, 2001). Therefore, environmental degradation is an unfolding crisis in

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Ethiopia and believed to be a root cause for poor quality of life and food insecurity. Despite the
severity of the problem however, it is only recently that land conservation has received political
attention in the country.

However, having recognized the cause and consequences of environmental degradation, the
current government of Ethiopia has made several policy directions to manage environmental
problems. For instance, institutional and regulatory reforms to manage its environmental and
natural resources with the mission to raise the awareness and empowerment of the Ethiopian
people in order to achieve sustainable development had created and enforced (EPE, 1997). Since
then a lot of environmental rehabilitation programs has been launched and enforced by the
government in collaboration with non-governmental actors and communities.
Therefore, since the 1970s, considerable efforts have been made to reverse the problem of land
degradation by the government in collaboration with non-governmental actors and communities.
What were once considered to be sustainable land management practices such as soil and water
conservation, soil fertility management, controlled-grazing and other land management practices
were introduced. Specifically, in an effort to address land degradation problem, various
conservation works have also been carried out and huge areas have been covered with terraces,
and millions of trees have been planted. However, the impact of those efforts did not curb the
impact of land degradation in a meaningful and sustainable manner and environmental
degradation is remains hazardous to food security for survival in many rural areas of the country.
As such the focus of this research is to assess the impacts of land degradation and the community
response to land degradation and environmental management.

1.2. Statement of the problems

Now a day, it is obvious that environmental degradations are a global problem that requires great
attention from politicians and researchers because of its adverse impact on socio-economic and
political aspects of human life. It is the common agendas’ of current global, national and local
governance and civil society organization. These problems might be caused by natural
phenomenon and man-made human activity on the environment for their survival. Indeed the
phenomenon is a multifaceted and dynamic process challenging both developing and developed

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countries. However, these problems are severe in developing countries since they primarily
depend up on natural resource exploitation for their food security provision and their limited
capacity to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Above all, the contemporary global
environmental problems (especially caused by human activity on the environment) are
considered as global common issue that needs collaborative effort at all levels of governance for
sustainable life.
Ethiopia considered as one of the most environmentally degraded countries in the world. The
country’s’ natural resource degradation has been a major environmental, socio-economic and
policy challenge in the country for long period of times. Among those problems that faced the
country, soil erosion, deforestation, water depletion and biodiversity loss are the major one.
Specially, land degradation due to soil erosion, nutrient depletion and deforestation has become a
serious environmental issue. It negatively affected the agricultural sector to a larger extent and
the overall economy as well as the livelihood of its people (Aklilu, 2001). However, though
considerable efforts have been made to reverse the problem of land degradation since 1970s’, the
impact of those efforts did not curb the impact of land degradation in a meaningful and
sustainable manner. Indeed, land degradation is one of the major causes of low and in many
places declining agricultural productivity and continuing food insecurity and rural poverty in
Ethiopia.
More over with rapidly increasing number of populations, pressure on land and other natural
resources become evident and inevitable events. Deforestation and poor farming practices which
cause soil erosion, are by and large behavioral issue. As a result, rural farming community’s
means of livelihood is becoming a matter of serious concern for its negative implications on the
existence and survival of large rural populations and the environment. Indeed the country is
confronted with the dilemma of producing enough food for its rapidly growing population on the
one hand, and protecting the resource base upon which this is dependent on the other. Thus,
maintaining a sustainable balance between those two has been a major challenge for the country
(Melaku, 2000).
Land is a critical resource for livelihood earning of the people of Oromia region due to the fact
that the people of the region are predominantly based on agriculture. Yet, this valuable asset is
being affected by natural and man-made factors impacts quiet gently but irreversibly. The major

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physical agent in environmental degradation in the settled highlands of the Oromiya region is
soil erosion. Topography, rainfall, wind, lack of vegetation cover, soil properties, and land use
and management practices are the immediate causes of soil erosion (Barber 1984). Consequently,
areas formerly considered to receive sufficient rainfall (highlands of Arsi, west Arsi, Bale, East
and West Hararge, and central Shewa zones in major parts of Oromia for instance) now began to
get inadequate rainfall, resulting in decreasing water resources both in quantity and spatial
distribution over large areas, reduced crops yields, and declined livestock production and
productivity; and eventually increasing drought prevalence at some critical localities among
farming communities (BoFED, 2008).
Through long practices of cultivation and grazing, significant proportions of top soils from the
cultivated highlands of the region were eroded, where the farming communities usually practice
intensive crop cultivation and livestock rearing. As a result, natural resources base of the region
particularly forest resources have been severely deteriorated and decreased. Over the last three
to four decades, the extent and amount of natural forest destruction and soil degradation have
tremendously increased over wider areas of the region (RFAP, 1994; BoFED, 2008). Thus, soil
erosion is the most frightening environmental threat to the farming communities of Oromia
region in particular and the entire farmers in Ethiopia in general. Generally, land degradation
which is manifested by deforestation, soil erosion and overgrazing, coupled with climatic
variability and environmental instability could escalate the severity of climate change-induced
hazards, hence destabilizing the livelihood of local farmers in the region by deteriorating their
existence and natural resources basis essential for their survival.
Therefore, land resource degradation is considered to be one of the major threats to food security
and natural resource conservation in the Oromia regional state. Hundreds of years of exploitative
traditional land use, aggravated by high human and livestock population density lead to the
extraction of the natural capital, mainly through farming of uncultivable sloppy lands and
overexploitation of slowly renewable resources.
Similarly, the above problem is also applies to particular study area where land degradation is
critical issue as a result of prolonged soil erosion, deforestation and lack of farmers awareness
about the impact of land degradation and environmental management. With growing numbers of
population and global climate change the problem is exacerbated and communities are suffering

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from shortage of food and famine. Farmers have cleared forest coverage to expand arable land
due to ever increasing population. As a result, rivers and water sources are diminished in size and
some are totally dried. Indeed, lands’ productive capacities have decreased due to climatic
rainfall variability and drought and yields per farm land had showed a dramatic decline. On the
other hand with regard to environmental management research didn’t yet conducted in the study
area and the attention given by the local government is unsatisfactory. Hence, the main reason
for conducting this research is to assess the extent of land degradation and community response
to environmental management and to provide the possible recommendations on how to curb the
problems for farmers and local government agents in the study areas.

The particular research study is to focus on land degradation and community response to
environmental management in the Gololcha districts in Oromia region. Therefore, the primary
objective of this research is to investigate the causes of soil erosion in the District. Secondly, to
assess land degradation effects on land productivity in the study area. Thirdly, to analyze the
extent or trends of land degradation over time and the level of community participation in land
management practices in the study area. And finally, to evaluate the degree of community
awareness and their response to land degradation and environmental management practices.

1.3. Objective of the Study

1.3.1. General Objectives

The general objective of the study is to examine land degradation and community response to
environmental management in Gololcha district in Oromia region.

1.3.2. Specific Objectives

The specific objective of this study is;

 to investigate the major causes of land degradation in the study area

 to assess the current land degradation effects on land productivity
 to identify the communities levels of awareness and participation with
respect to land degradation and environmental management practices
and

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  to evaluate how community responds to land degradation problems
and management practice.

1.3.3. Research questions

Based on the specific objectives indicated above the following questions were posed as a basis
for this research.

 What are the major impacts of land degradation on land productivity?

 What is the level of community awareness to environmental degradation?
 How is the extent of land degradation trend over time in the study area?
 How community responds to land degradation problems in Gololcha woreda?
1.4. Significance of the study
Although, the study will be carried out for academic purpose and it is confined to a single
Woreda, the findings shall contribute to deepen the knowledge of environmental degradation and
management practices in general and the study area in particular. Thus, the results of this
research may fill the knowledge gap on issue or area under investigation. In addition this study
will serve as an initiative and further reference for other researchers who need to conduct inquiry
on environmental problems. So the outcomes of the study will be used as an input to formulate
future environmental policies and strategies at the local level for policy makers. Therefore, the
researchers believe that the study could help to the government and the non-governmental
organization in their planning and implementation programs to alleviate an ever-increasing of
land degradation in particular and environmental degradation problems in general.

1.5. Delimitation or Scope of the study

The scope of this research is to assess the land degradation problems and community response to
environmental management practices at local level. In order to make it more manageable, the
study is confined to small geographical area of Gololcha Woreda i.e. a single district in Arsi
Zone of the Oromia Regional State.
1.6. Limitation of the study

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Any research would not be free from problems but the degree of challenge varies depending up
on the nature and the type of research problems and the study area. Thus, in the course of this
study the most challenging problems will be:

 lack of adequate budget for study expenditure (like questionnaire duplication,

transportation cost and others)
 shortage of time during data collection and analysis phase
 may be respondents’ unwillingness to give the desired information and misperception on
issue under study.
 may be lack of transportation access during data collection phases in the study area.
 key informant persons may not available for interviewing due to meetings and other
administrative bureaucracy.

1.7. Description Study Area

The study will be conducted in Gololcha district, which is one of the twenty-four districts located
in Arsi Zone of Oromia Regional State. The administrative center of Gololcha district, Chancho
town, is located at a distance of 172 kilometers from the Zonal capital, Assella town, and 270
kilometers south East of Addis Ababa the capital city of Ethiopia. The District is bounded by
Asako districts in the north, Chole in the south-west, Guna district in the west, Amigna district in
the south, West Harerge Zone in the east and north-east.
Based on its agro ecology, the district is divided into two: the lowland (gammojjii) which lies
between 500-1500m and mid-highland (bada daree), which lies below 2,500 m.a.s.l. Sixty
percent of the district’s area is covered by lowland (gammoojji) agro-ecology, while the
remaining 40% is under middle highland (ba da dare). Currently, the district undertakes its
administrative duties and responsibility in 36 Peasant Associations and two urban centers
(Chancho and Dhumuga towns). 

1.8. Organization of the study

This study will have five chapters. The introductory part deals with background, statement of the
problem, research questions, objective of the study, significance of the study, delimitation and
limitation of the study. The second chapter will involves a brief review of related literature

10
regarding the issue of land degradation and community response to environmental management.
The third chapter will deals with research methods and methodology and description of the study
area. Besides this, the fourth chapter will articulates data presentation and analysis of the study
under different sections. Finally, the last chapter (five) will stipulates conclusion and
recommendation.

CHAPTER TWO

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1. What is Land Degradation?

In an attempt to define the term land degradation a wide range of terms and meanings have used
from different perspectives. While defining this broad concept common terms used are soil
degradation, land degradation and desertification. As such it is difficult to come up with working
definition for the concepts of land degradation as it is caused by various interrelated factors.

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Early definitions of land degradation refer to a decline in “the current and/or potential capability
of soils to produce (quantitatively and/or qualitatively) goods and services” (FAO, 1979). On the
other hands, it is defined as the loss of utility or potential utility through the reduction or damage
to physical, social, cultural or economic features and/or reduction of ecosystem diversity (Peter I.
Ezeaku And Alaci Davidson, 2008). It is also the temporary or permanent decline in the
productivity of land. More recent definitions extend land degradation to spatial and time
dimensions, as is reflected in the definition of the UNCCD, which defines land degradation in
the context of its focus on drylands: the “reduction or loss in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid
areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated
cropland, or range, pasture, forest, and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or
combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation
patterns” (UNCCD, 1996).
In general a broader definition of land degradation is a reduction in the lands actual or potential
uses to produce goods and services as reflected by FAO and as a reduction of land resource
potential by one or combination of processes in long-terms as defined by UNCCD. Therefore,
land degradation is all about soil degradation or reductions or loss of lands’ potential utility
through damage to physical and biological features and ecological diversity.
2.2. Causes of Land Degradation in Ethiopia
There are multiple interacting forces, which have caused and are causing land degradation in
Ethiopia. The direct causes of land degradation are mismanagement of the land by man and the
indirect causes of this mismanagement may be land tenure regulations, drought, poverty and
population pressures (Donald Gabriels and Wim M. Cornelis). So, since it is a complex
phenomena affected by biophysical and socioeconomic factors, it became relevant to understand
its root causes (biophysical or socio-economic factors) that play the major role in aggravating or
reversing the trend of soil fertility (Tilahun Amede, 2003). The dominant man induced causes of
land degradation in the drylands of Ethiopia are poor farming practices, population pressure,
overgrazing, soil erosion, deforestation, salinity and alkalinity problems, and the use of livestock
manure and crop residue for fuel as energy resource of the rural households (Cesen 1986, World
Bank 1984).
2.2.1.. Deforestation

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Deforestation, accelerated soil erosion, and land degradation are serious problems in Ethiopia.
Deforestation is the permanent removal of forest cover from an area, and the conversion of this
previously forested land to other uses (Canadian Forest Service Science, 2008). It has been the
causes of land degradation in Ethiopia such as soil erosion, loss of biodiversity through
extinction of plant and animal species and increased atrophic corbondixide. As indicated by
Aklilu (2000) “increasing rate of population growth and the subsequent search for more land for
cultivation or grazing are believed by many to be the root causes of the ever worsening rate of
deforestation in Africa”.
Ethiopian farmers and a significant number of urban dwellers depend solely on biomass energy
for cooking and in some cases even for lighting. Wood is therefore vital sources of domestic
energy besides the need for construction and production of farm implements and household
furniture. The use of wood and other biomass for fuel and the expansion of agriculture into
forested areas fostered a high rate of deforestation and ultimately stripped the land of vegetative
biomass exposing it to high levels of soil erosion. Even this remaining forest is being depleted at
an alarming rate, partly because nearly 95 percent of the nation’s energy consumption is from
biomass fuels (MoARD, 2007). As such, deforestation and land degradation are rapidly
becoming the most serious problems in rural Ethiopia where the majority of the population live
and depend on the forest products for energy.
As such, there is no doubt that increasing need for farm land, fuel wood and construction
materials as a result of increase in population size is playing the leading role in the depletion of
the forest cover in developing countries (et’al) and deforestation presents major problem in
Ethiopia, since it is one of the main causes of the prevailing land degradation via facilitating soil
erosion. Therefore, deforestation had caused and continues to cause environmental degradation
in the form of land degradation, water resource deterioration and loss of biodiversity.
2.2.2. Over Grazing
Degradation of grazing land refers to decrease in its capacity to support livestock. It is occurred
when more animals than a piece of land can support are allowed to graze in that area. When large
herds are concentrated around one particular area the animals compact the soil by trampling on it
resulting in the soil being unable to retain as much moisture as it needs. Once the animals have
overgrazed an area it is often left barren with no protection and the wind blows away the topsoil.

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In the desert areas it has reduced the productivity of desert range-lands and threatens extreme
desertification in some places, while in the mountains it has in some areas destroyed or retarded
woody plant growth and reduced the stability of slopes, bringing erosion, dangerous mud slides
and reduced capacity for water retention (FAO, 1979).
In Ethiopia, overgrazing due to very high livestock population density is expected to contribute
most to land degradation. This is mainly due to large herds of cattle arising from unwillingness
among livestock owners to de-stock and the fact that most of the forests /woodlands are open
access (not reserved). It destroys the most palatable and useful species in the plant mixture and
reduces the density of the plant cover, thereby increasing the erosion hazard and reducing the
nutritive value and the carrying capacity of the land (Hamblin, 2001; FAO, 2005). The
consequences of overgrazing have been land degradation (soil compaction, broken soil crust and
erosion) as well as reduced species diversity and density of vegetations (Chamshama and
Nduwayezu, 2002).
Expansion of farmlands has not only led to forest or bush clearing and burning, but also
restricted the area for overgrazing. Due to the shortage of grazing lands in many areas of the
highlands, croplands are usually used for uncontrolled grazing immediately after crop harvesting.
Livestock roam, feeding on weeds and grasses and creating stresses on agricultural lands (Aklilu,
2008). Although this practice is not entirely new or recent, the intensity and the duration of such
common access grazing have apparently increased in recent times due to a feed shortage for an
increasing livestock population. This kind of livestock grazing and the resulting traffic causes
soil crusting and reduced infiltration which makes the vulnerable to erosion (ILRI, 2002).
2.2.3. Population Pressure
Though there are many arguments about the population growth being the cause of land
degradation in Ethiopia it has undoubtedly direct consequences for the environment; growing
demand for more land for crop production; for fuel wood; shortening of fallow cycles and
contribution to over cultivation. Moreover, because of high population growth, the size of
individually owned plots is shrinking in the relatively fertile highland and medium altitudes. This
diminution will lead to intensive cultivation, which will inevitably result in a loss of soil fertility.
Most of the empirical evidence suggests that population growth have negative effects on
environmental sustainability in general and land productivity in particular. A growing population

14
on limited land resources often leads to a division of land into smaller pieces of land in the
inheritance process. As such, rapid population growth could be the major cause land degradation
which leads to an increase in the demand for crop and grazing land, wood for fuel and
construction. The excessive dependence of the Ethiopian rural population on natural resources,
particularly land, as a means of livelihood is an underlying cause for land and other natural
resources degradation (EPA, 1998)
As summarized by Grepperud (1996) “only when the population is greater than the carrying
capacity of land is a more rapid degradation of land identified as along as population is far below
the supporting capacity of the region a growing population and increasing population-land ratios
are not expected to cause a rise in soil erosion”. With increasing numbers of people there has not
been a related change in the pattern of agriculture, which is still essentially small holder relying
on expanding the cultivated area, often into marginal land, rather than adopting intensification
techniques. There is still a strong tendency to hold wealth as livestock, often cattle, further
impacting grazing resources (L. Berry, J. Olson, and D. Campbell, 2003).
According to Aklilu “increasing rate of population growth and the subsequent search for more
land for cultivation or grazing are believed by many to be the root causes of the ever worsening
rate of deforestation in Ethiopia”. As such, expansion of land area under agricultural production
into new regions, or existing farm landscapes that were previously uncultivated, threatens
habitats needed to support unique or valued biodiversity. This interplay between the physical
environment and population pressure in Ethiopia explains, to a great extent, the ever worsening
problem of natural resource degradation and the problem of land degradation in particular.
2.2.4. Poor Farming practices
Poor farming practice as causes of land degradation is deals with the specific techniques of
farmers’ ways of plowing their crop lands. Particularly this problem is familiar in the dry sub-
humid and semi-arid highlands as reflected by (Tamirie Hawando), where the cereal mono-
culture is the most dominant farming system and farmers fail to practice methods/techniques
such as fallowing, crop rotation scheme, inter-cropping, mulching and using manure on the farm
fields. The farmers plow their land up and down the slopes thus exposing the soil to rill and gully
erosion. The socio-economic and demographic situation in rural areas often leads people to use
their environment inappropriately which induce land degradation. In any area the type of land

15
use affects the level of soil protective cover and consequently the rate of erosion and erodibility
(IFPRI, 2011).
Specially, fallowing has been traditionally used as a soil management and fertility restoration
strategy as vegetative regrow during fallowing helps these processes. However, where there has
been persistent population pressure on arable land, the length of the fallowing period has
shortened over time leading to continuous cropping. In all these cases of increased pressure on
land, increased continuous cropping and a shortened or the absence of fallowing for soil
management. As such, overcultivation happens when a farmer does not allow a piece of land to
recover in between plantings, exhausting the soil and this has eventually lead to land degradation
as the land is being used in unsustainable manner.
With this regards, Ethiopian farmers are still continuing implementing unscientific way of
cultivation in an inappropriate farming practices as most farmers who live in the rural areas are
poor and practice small-scale rainfed agriculture and farmers has been employing traditional
poor farming practice. As a result, the soil cannot maintain the required amount of soil moisture
and they lack the facility to employ appropriate improved farming technologies (Ezeaku, P. I.
and A. Davidson, 2008). For instance, some crops like production of teff the main cereal in
Ethiopia requires fine land preparation (4-5 plowings) to allow the small teff seeds to germinate
and this makes the soil vulnerable to erosion during the main rainy season. Therefore, the
problem of land degradation in Ethiopia stems largely from poor land-use practices and
population pressure, as indicated in the various strategic documents and food security strategic
papers of Ethiopian government.
2.3. Environmental Management
In general, the concept of environmental management is young and rapidly evolving disciplines
that received attention since 1970s. It refers to restoring, protecting and conserving of soil and
forest resources and making these resources for sustainable utilization for a long period of time.
The concept was popularised by the Brundtland Report (World Commission on Environment and
Development, 1987) especially in relation to development management to ensure sustainable
development. However, Environmental management goes beyond seeking sustainable
development; it also promotes improvement of human adaptability, the recognition and reduction
of threats to people, biota and the physical environment, and rehabilitation of degraded

16
ecosystems. It is based on the concept of continuous improvement in environmental performance
over time and concerned with exploring what can be done to improve people’s lifestyles, given
the structure and function of the environment with environmentally sensitive approach to
development (C. J. Barrow, 2005).
In a broader sense, environmental management is defined as a knowledge-based combination of
technologies, policies and practices that integrate land, water, biodiversity, and environmental
concern to meet rising food and fibre demands while sustaining ecosystem services and
livelihoods (United Nations 1987; Wood and Dumanski, 1994; World Bank, 2006). Similarly, it
can be seen as a process concerned with human–environment interactions, which seeks to
identify what is environmentally desirable; what are the physical, economic, social and
technological constraints to achieving it; and what are the most feasible options (El-Kholy,
2001). In short, it is concerned with meeting and improving provision for human needs and
demands on a sustainable basis with minimal damage to nature.

CHAPTER THREE
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Research Design
There are several research designs and the researcher must decide in advance of collection and
analysis of data as to which design would prove to be more appropriate for his research project.
The research design for this study will be Case study to describe and interprets the particular

17
context of the cases in natural settings. It is the conceptual structure within which research is
conducted in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in
procedure. In line with this, the purpose of this particular study is to describe and interprets the
farmers’ levels of awareness to land degradation and their response to environmental
managements in specific Gololcha districts.
For subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behavior of research participants of this
study, the researcher will employ qualitative research approaches. The sources of data for this
study will be both primary and secondary data. To collect primary data, qualitative research
methods namely; observation, interview and focus group discussions will be employed and
analyzed qualitatively. In order to select research participants for interview and focus group
discussion, the researchers’ will use stratified sampling and purposeful sampling design sampling
techniques for kebeles and respondent selection respectively. In addition to primary data,
researchers’ will analyze the local governments’ reports and document as secondary data source
for this study. Finally the collected data will be summarized and organized to analyze
qualitatively.

3.2. Sample Design and Sampling techniques

Depending on total population size and total number of farmers’ kebeles of the study area the
most appropriate techniques of sampling design will be employed. For the selection of farmers’
kebele administrative unit and household head, researcher will use three steps. In the first step
researchers’ will classify 36 kebeles in the woredas’ in to two agro-ecological zones namely
Woyna dega and Qolla by using stratified sampling techniques. Then, researcher will select two
sample kebeles from each agro-ecological zone purposefully. Those kebeles will be selected on
the basis of their vulnerability to the issue under study in woredas’. The next step will be
selection of key informants’ persons from farmers and kebeles Development Agents for
interview and focus group discussion. To determine the study sample size for interview, 5% of
each kebeles total population will be taken by using proportionate probability sampling from the
2641 total household heads from purposefully selected kebeles.
Table for summary of sample size

Purposefully Agro- ecological Population Proportion Sample size fraction

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selected kebeles zone of size
household
farmers

Minnee Gora Weyna dega 876 33% 132x0.33=43.56 5%

Minnee Hara Weyna dega 783 30% 132x0.30=39.6 5%

Jarraa Kola(semi-arid) 469 18% 132x0.18=23.76 5%
Dirree Kola(semi-arid) 513 19% 132 x0.19=25.08 5%
Total=264 100% 132
1

3.3. Data collection instruments

As mentioned in the above section, qualitative methods of data gathering techniques will be
employed to this study. To collect data for the assessment of the effects of land degradation and
community response to environmental management, the researcher will use both primary and
secondary sources. In this data collection instruments, primary data will be obtained through
personal observation, key informant interview and focus group discussion. On the other hand,
secondary data will be gathered based on techniques like document analysis, report analysis,
internet websites on the effects of environmental degradation. More specifically, the specific
data collection instruments and how it will be going to be exercised are presented as follows in
detail.

3.3.1. Observation

The observation method is the most commonly used method for data collection in social science
inquiries. It is the method of data collection for the researcher, when it is systematically planned
and recorded to check and control its’ validity and reliability. Under the observation method, the
information is sought by way of investigator’s own direct observation to understand study
context and phenomenon without asking from the respondent. Accordingly, to understand what
is currently happening with regard to the problem under investigation in the study area,

19
researcher will observe the farmers’ fields personal. While conducting observation in selected
kebeles, I will record facts and general information like the surrounding topography, drainage
system and farming system and land management practices. Thus, in doing so, researchers’ will
try to investigate the real and accurate information concerning the effects of land degradation and
farmers response to environmental management in the study area.

3.3.2. Interview

Another instrument through which the researcher needs to collect qualitative data is interview.
The interview method of collecting data involves personal interviewer who is asking questions in
a face-to-face contact to the other persons to collect the information personally from the sources
concerned. Since the study aimed to assess the personal experience and in depth understanding
regarding recurrent environmental degradation and community management practices of the
issue under investigation, employing qualitative data collection tools like interview is more
preferable to this study. So, to collect the primary data, researcher will conduct un-structured and
semi-structured interview with selected farmers’ and agricultural office professionals (kebeles
Development Agents and woreda agricultural expertise) in the District for 20-30 minutes. While
interviewing the key informant persons, researcher will follow the pre-determined questions and
standardized techniques of recording the information for structured interview whereas the
researcher will encourage the respondents’ to express their perception and belief about issue
under investigation for unstructured interview question.

3.3.3. Focus Group Discussion

In order to investigate qualitative information about a particular subject to understand in depth

viewpoint of a research participant for this study, researcher will employ focus group discussion
as data gathering tools also. Its purpose is to address a specific topic, in depth, in a comfortable
environment to illicit a wide range of opinions, attitudes, feelings or perceptions from a group of
individuals who share some common experience in relation to the issue under study.

20
To conduct such a focus group discussion, researchers’ will organize one distinctive groups
composed of individuals who share a number of characteristics (e.g., age, sex, occupation,
experience) from each selected kebeles. Each focus group will consist of 8-12 members with
distinct characteristics. The discussion will intends to elicit or dig out different views and
perceptions of farmers’ on land degradation and their response to environmental managements in

the study area. Then data will be collected using a semi-structured guide that uses a set of probes
to elicit information about a specific topic. In doing so, group interactions will used to elicit
information from group members in relation to issue under study and the researcher will play the
role of a facilitator.

3.4. Methods of Data Processing and Analysis

Methods of data processing and analysis are one of the most important steps in the research
process. It is the processes of summarizing and analyzing raw data to obtain the study outcomes.
So, data has to be processed and analyzed in accordance with the outline laid down in the
research plan. Data processing implies editing, coding, classification and tabulation of collected
data so that they are amenable to analysis. Moreover, data analysis involves a number of closely
related operations which are performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and
organizing these in such a manner that they answer the research question(s).
As tried to discuss at the beginning of this chapter, the researchers’ will employ both qualitative
and quantitative research methods (triangulation) based on the nature of the study. Apart from
these research methods, data processing and analysis methods are the major one. Accordingly, in
order to summarize and organize the collected data, it will be classified and tabulated and will be
analyzed by using descriptive statistical tools such as percentages, tables, graphs, figures and
multiple response analysis. Therefore, the quantitative data analysis in this research will involve
tables, percentages, figures and charts. However, to analyse data obtained through interview
open-ended questions and personal observation, qualitative analysis will also be applied to
elaborate qualitative data and document reviews. Hence, the researcher will employ both
quantitative and qualitative approaches in data analysis methods to achieve the study objectives.

21
 CHAPTER FOUR
4. TIME FRAME AND BUDGET BREAKDOWN
4.1. Time Frame and Activities

22
This plan shows that what, where, and when the researcher will going to do the activities. However
this estimation of the time schedule may take less or extra time out of the expected time frame by the
researcher.

No Activities Place Duration

1 Preliminary Observation and Literature Review Gololcha Sep-Nov10
2 Preparation of the research proposal Hawassa Dec.1/12/2011-Dec29/12/2012
3 Developing interview questions & Checklists Hawassa Jan.5/01/2012-Jan 30/01/2012
4 Asking official permission from woreda officers Gololcha Feb.1/02/2012-Mar.05/03/2012
5 Data collection Gololcha Mar.10/03/2012-Mar.15/03/2012
6 Tabulation and organization of data Gololcha Mar.18/03/2012-Mar.30/03/2012
7 Analysis and interpretation Hawassa Apr.05/04/2012-May.10/05/2012
8 Writing the first draft papers Hawassa May.15/05/2012-Jun.10/06/2012
9 Submission of the completed final draft Hawassa ------------
University
10 Presentation Hawassa ------------
University

4.2. Working Budget breakdown

To accomplish the stated research objective and achieve the expected outcome, it’s obvious that a
financial resource has to be present. With the assumption of the researcher the cost of this research
project has the following budget estimation presented to cover the needed expenditure that will be
incurred.

Unit cost Total cost

Items Unit Qty.
Birr Cent Birr Cent

Stationary Materials needed

Duplicating paper Ream 2 80 00 160 00

23
 Unit cost Total cost
Items Unit Qty.
Birr Cent Birr Cent

Lined paper Ream 1 80 00 80 00

Square paper Ream 1 80 00 80 00

Note books Unit 5 15 00 75 00

Pen (Blue, red) Piece 5 3 00 15 00

Flash disk Piece 1 400 00 400 00

CD-Rom Piece 10 15 00 150 00

Stapler Piece 1 50 00 50 00

Binder Pac 2 35 00 70 00

Total Cost 0f Stationary Material 1080 00

The Stationery Services

Printing draft proposal Page 25 1 00 30 00

Printing the corrected proposal Page 20 1 00 30 00

Printing the drafted research report Page 100 1 00 150 00

Printing the finalized research work after defense

Page 80-90 1 00 120 00

Binding the research work Piece 6 50 00 300 00

Photocopying Piece 1600 0 50 800 00

Browsing internet Hr. 65 20 00 1300 00

Data analysis using SPSS - - - - 1200 00

Total Stationery Service Expenses 3930 00

Field Expenses

Transportation cost from Hawassa to GololchaTrip 2 210(2) 00 840 00

District of Oromia region.

24
 Unit cost Total cost
Items Unit Qty.
Birr Cent Birr Cent

Transportation cost from Hawassa to Sodo Trip 4 50(2) 00 400 00

to contact my advisor at W/Sodo Unversity
Expense for Lunch when contacting my Trip 4 65 00 260
Advisor at W/Sodo town
Hotel expenses in Adama, Chole and ChanchoTrip 2 350 00 1400 00

Coffee and Tea expense for study participant Trip - 500 - 500 00

Total Field Expenses 3400 00

Other Miscellaneous Expense Rough estimation 700 00
Total Expense 9110 00

25
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