Chapter Five

Wildlife Resources

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 Contents
5.1. Concepts of Wildlife
5.2. Importance of wildlife
5.3. Threat of Wildlife Resources
5.4. Management approach of wildlife
5.5. Wildlife as resources in Ethiopia

By: Simachew Bantigegn(M.A)

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Objectives: At the end of this chapter, learners will be
able to:

• Explain the concept of wildlife.

• Identify the major wildlife resources.
• Discuss the basic problems associated with wildlife
resources.
• Appreciate the significance of wildlife resources.
• Explain the prominent conservation and management
mechanisms of wildlife resources.
• Identify the common wildlife resources of Ethiopia.

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 5.1. Concepts of Wildlife
• Wildlife is a term that literally refers to animals that are
not normally domesticated (raised by humans).
– It includes all living things (except people) that are not
domesticated; flora and fauna.
• Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, rain
forests, plains and other areas including the most
developed urban sites, all have distinct forms of wildlife.

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 Classification of scarce wildlife
 Three main classification are commonly used for animals
and plants that face possible extinction.
Endangered species – are those wildlife resources which
face the most serious threat of extinction. They require
direct human protection for survival.
Vulnerable species – also known as threatened
species, are generally abundant in some areas, but
face serious dangers. These dangers may result from
unfavorable change of environments, or due to
extensive hunting, fishing, tripping or even due to
collecting by hobbyists.
Lower risk species – are also known as rare species,
have small populations. They often live in restricted
geographical area, but their numbers are not
necessarily decreasing.
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 5.2. Importance of wildlife
® Can you list any of the importance of wild life?
• Wildlife is important to people for four main reasons
1. Beauty: by their unique way of existence, wild creatures
exaggerate the natural beauty of the earth.
Every kind of animal and plant differs from every other
kind and thus contribute in a special way to nature.
Most people feel that such beauty enriches their life. It
also heightens the enjoyment of camping and other forms
of outdoor recreation.

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 Bird watching and Photography
Hiking and tourism industry
Aesthetics , recreational and educational value.
2. Economic value: wild species of plants and animals
provide valuable substances such as wood and other
plant products, meat and other foods, skin, fiber and fur.
In industrialized nations the recreational viewing of
animals at zoos and wildlife refuges is also a source of
revenue.
3. Scientific value: the study of wildlife provides valuable
knowledge about various life process. Such study has
helped scientists understand different phenomena related
to wildlife and apply to different situations that maintain
environmental sustainability and solve societal problems.
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4. Survival value: every species of wildlife plays a role
in helping maintain the balanced living systems of
earth. These systems must continue to function if life
is to survive. Thus, the loss of any species can
threaten the survival of any life forms on earth.

5.3. Threat of Wildlife Resources

• Growing human pressure has caused considerable

destruction to different habitats.
• Hunting is a threat to tropical forest biodiversity than
fragmentation and deforestation.
• Illegal slaughtering of elephants for their ivory tusks
[the process is known as poaching of animals].
• National parks have been severely damaged by
nearby communities and business developments.
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Expansion of human settlement and Poaching Ivory
land cleared for agriculture Illegal hunting

 Lack of conductive mechanisms for public participation in

wildlife conservation processes
 Overgrazing resulting from livestock encroachment
 Inadequate financial support for conservation areas
 Inadequate law-enforcement mechanisms
 Low public awareness of the value of wildlife
 Lack of institutional capacity
 Inadequate land use policy
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5.4. Wildlife Conservation and Management
• Throughout history, wildlife has suffered because of human
being and their activities. Increasingly efficient weapons such as
bows, rifles and shotguns enabled people to kill game with
growing ease.
 People also have cleared forests, drained swamps and
dammed rivers to clear the way for agriculture and industry.
These activities have seriously harmed large areas of plant
and wildlife habitat.
 Environmental pollution has also affected many wild
species.
• Due to such growing impact, continuous effort are being made
by some anxious people to protect the endangered species of
wildlife as well as those that are on the verge of extinction and
thus save the world from running out its green heritage. Thus,
the following methods are applied.
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• Protecting against habitat destruction
 Wildlife could be helped by ensuring that their environment
provides enough food, water, and shelter. This habitat
management method involves such actions as soil
conservation, good forestry practice, pollution control and
water management.
• Protecting against over hunting
 Animals threatened too much hunting can be protected by
laws that forbid or regulate such killing. These laws may
specify when a certain species may be hunted or how many
may be killed. Laws can also protect plants endangered by
over-collection. If an entire habitat requires protection, the
area may be made a national park or wildlife refuge.
• Tripping: re-introduction of species or hunting may also be
used to help manage desirable or undesirable species.
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• Other method of protection
 If a species can no longer survive in its natural
environment, it may be raised in capacity and released in
to a protected area
 A species threatened by disease may be helped by
sanitation measures in its habitat. Rare plants can be
maintained in botanical garden, or their seeds can be
saved in seed bank for future planting.
 Generally, wildlife management and conservation
depends on knowledge of the ecology of a species and
the forces at work in a habitat. In other words, it requires
un understanding of the way in which a species lives and
how it relates to everything in its environment.
 Wildlife management takes in to account ecological
principles such as carrying capacity of the environment.
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Types of wildlife management
• Generally there are two general types of wildlife
management.
1. Manipulative management: it is applied either
changing the number of species (during too large or
minimum in number) by direct or indirect means of
altering food supply, habitat, density of predator, or
prevalence of disease. This is appropriate when a
population is to be harvested.
2. Custodial management: it is preventive or
protective. The aim is to reduce external influences
on the population and its habitat.

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 5.5. Wildlife as Resources in Ethiopia
• Due to its diverse climate, vegetation type and topography,
Ethiopia is noted for its representation of the whole range
of African wildlife in addition to its possession of unique
verities which exist only in Ethiopia. Wildlife reports by
and large is represented by the following Table

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Young, J. (2012). Ethiopian Protected Areas: A “Snapshot”. 14
• The main wild life concentration of the country occurs in
the southern and western parts of the country such as:
Omo river basin and Mango valley to the south
Gambella enclave are notable for their wild life wealth.
• In general, the over all distribution of wildlife in Ethiopia
seems like the following.
 In the eastern half of the country, wildlife is less plentiful. Any
how lions, leopards, zebras and other savanna animals are more
common in the south eastern lowlands.
 In the western low lands, giraffes, antelopes, gazelles, elephants,
rhinoceros, hippopotamuses and wild asses are found in
substantial numbers with numerous types of bird species.
 The rift valley lakes, Lake Tana and other swampy areas of the
country are famous for the wealth of fish, amphibian and birds
including the beautiful and attractive flamingoes.
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• The wild animals of Ethiopia can be grouped in to six
broad categories.
1. Common wild animals- found in many parts like
Jackals and hyena
2. Arboreal- tree animals such as monkey, colobus
monkey, apes, baboon etc
3. Aquatic animals- those living in water like
hippopotamus, fish, crocodiles etc
4. Game animals- low land big animals inhibit in the
grass lands like herbivores (giraffes, wild ass, zebra,
gazelles, elephants) and carnivores (lion, leopard, and
cheetah).
5. Birds- most of them are found in the rift valley
sanctuaries and forest lands
6. Endemic- rare animals found only in Ethiopia.
® Can you name them?
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 Table 2: Endemic Mammals of Ethiopia and their Location

Name
Walia Ibex (Wild goat)
Mountain Nyala (Yedega
agazen
Menilik’s Bushbuck (dukula)
Swayne’s Harte Beest (Korkay) In Nechsar National Park and Sankalle sanctuary.
Ethiopia wolf (key Kebero)
Wild Ass (yedur Ahiya
Chelada Baboon
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Location
On the Semen mountains
On the Aris-Bale mountains-in the heather and
woodland areas and
On the central and Bale highlands, Borena-Saynt park
(south
On the Semen and Bale highlands, Borena-Saynt
park (south Wollo), Menze Guassa area (north
Shewa)
In Afar and South east lowlands
On the Semein mountains, the north highlands of
Shewa around Debre Libanoes, Borena-
Saynt park (south Wello)
17
 ® What Possible Measures should be taken for the
Conservation of Wildlife in Ethiopia?
• The following possible conservation mechanism enables
to protect wild life resources from destruction.
Establishing more protecting areas.
Formulating strong laws for wildlife protection; that
prohibit illegal hunting.
Protection of the natural habitats of the wild animals.
Educating the public for environmental protection at the
local levels and involvement of the local people in
planning and conservation practices (community based
Natural resource management)
Monitoring and administrating the existing conservation
areas properly
Diversifying the livelihood of the local people
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 Chapter Six
Water Resource
Contents
6.1. Characteristics and Major uses of Water
6.2. Classification and Distribution of Water Resources
6.3. Problems of Water pollution
6.4. Water Resource Management and Conservation
6.5. Ownership and Permits of Water Resource

By: Simachew Bantigegn(M.A)

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Objectives: At the end of this chapter, learners will be
able to:
• Identify the importance of water for life on the earth’s
surface
• Explain the major causes of water stress in most parts
of the world
• Identify the main causes of water pollution
• Elaborate major water resource management and
conservation mechanisms

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 6.1. Characteristics and Major uses of Water
• Water is the most abundant and most important resources of
life covering about 71% of the earth’s surface.
• Throughout history, water has been considered as a
resource critical to human survival on the surface of the
earth. It is the bloodstream of the biosphere; elixir of life-
equally fundamental for ecosystems & humans.
• Ancient civilizations developed on the banks of major rivers
such as:
Euphrates-Tigris system- the Mesopotamian civilization
now Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran region.
Nile river- the Egyptian civilization
Indus river- the Indus Valley Civilization- now Pakistan,
parts of India
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 Yellow river- Chinese civilization, and hence
Chinese refer to it as ‘mother river’
• Generally water is important for:
sanitation and dilution of wastes
food production (fishing, irrigation) and cooking
for generating (HEP, steam energy)
transportation (navigation) and recreation
manufacturing process (as a coolant, raw material,
washing, transporting materials, solvent, etc.)
processing of natural resource extractions

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• Various irrigation methods involve different trade-offs
between crop yield, water consumption and capital cost of
equipment and structures.
• Irrigation methods such as furrow and overhead sprinkler
irrigation are usually less expensive but are also typically less
efficient, because much of the water evaporates, runs off or
drains below the root zone
• Other irrigation methods considered to be more efficient
include drip or trickle irrigation, surge irrigation, and some
types of sprinkler systems where the sprinklers are operated
near ground level. These types of systems, while more
expensive, usually offer greater potential to minimize runoff,
drainage and evaporation.
• Freshwater commercial fisheries may also be considered as
agricultural uses of water, but have generally been assigned a
lower priority than irrigation.
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 Terms commonly used to describe water
• Water quantity: the amount of water available to meet
desired demands.
• Water quality: the degree to which water is pure
enough to fulfill the requirements of various uses.
• Fresh water: water having salt concentration below
0.01% . As a result of purification by evaporation, all
forms of precipitation are fresh water as are lakes,
rivers, ground water and other bodies of water that have
through flow of water from precipitation.
• Salt water: water typical of oceans and seas that contain
at least 3% salt (30 parts salt per 1000 parts water).
• Brackish water: a mixture of fresh and salt water,
typically found where rivers enter to oceans.
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• Hard water: water that contain minerals, specially
calcium or magnesium that cause soap to precipitate,
producing scum, curd, or scale in boiler.
• Soft water: water that is relatively free of those minerals
that cause soap to precipitate causing scale buildup.
• Polluted water: water that contains one or more
impurities that make the water unsuitable for a desired
use.
• Purified water: water that has had pollutants removed
or rendered harmless.

® Could you please explain about the different sectors

which uses fresh water?
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Sectorial uses of fresh water
• Uses of fresh water can be categorized as consumptive
and non-consumptive (sometimes called "renewable").
• A use of water is consumptive if that water is not
immediately available for another use. Losses to sub-
surface seepage and evaporation are considered
consumptive, as water is incorporated into a product.
• Water that can be treated and returned as surface
water, such as sewage, is generally considered non-
consumptive if that water can be put to additional use.
• Agricultural: It is estimated that 69% (86% in
developing countries alone) of worldwide fresh water
use is for irrigation, with 15-35% of irrigation
withdrawals being unsustainable.
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• Today the competition for water resources is much more
intense due to competition for water from industry,
urbanization, bio-fuel crops, and water reliant food items.
• Even more water will be needed to produce food because
the Earth's population is forecasted to rise to 9 billion by
2050.
Industrial: It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water use is
industrial. Major industrial users include for fabricating,
processing, washing, diluting, cooling, or transporting a
product, as power source (i.e. hydroelectric plants), and as a
solvent.
 The portion of industrial water usage varies widely, but as a
whole is lower than agricultural use.
Household: It is estimated that 8% of worldwide water use is
for household purposes. These include drinking water,
bathing, cooking, sanitation, and gardening.

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 Drinking water is water that is of sufficiently high
quality so that it can be consumed or used without
risk of immediate or long term harm. Such water is
commonly called potable water.

Basic household water requirements have been

estimated at around 50 liters per person per day,
excluding water for gardens.
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Recreation: Recreational water use is usually a very small
but growing percentage of total water use. It is a non-
consumptive use of water.
Environmental: Explicit environmental water use is also
a very small but growing percentage of total water use.
Its water usage includes artificial wetlands, artificial
lakes intended to create wildlife habitat, fish ladders ,
and water releases from reservoirs timed to help fish
spawn.
 Environmental water usage is non-consumptive but
may reduce the availability of water for other users at
specific times and places. For example, water release
from a reservoir to help fish spawn may not be
available to farms upstream.
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6.2. Classification and Distribution of Water Resources
 Earth’s water availability
 The total amount of earth’s water is estimated to be
1.386 billion Km3 (1,386,000,000 Km3)
 97.5% is salt water of this
99% exist in the worlds oceans and seas
1% in salt lakes and saline groundwater
 2.5% is fresh water of this
~70% in glaciers and ice caps (Antarctic & Arctic)
~ 30% is groundwater (mostly deep)
~ 0.25% in lakes and rivers
~ 0.1% in soils, wetlands and biota
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~ 0.01% is atmospheric water 30
Sources of fresh water
® Indentify the main sources of fresh water?
Surface water: Surface water is water in a river, lake or
fresh water wetland. Surface water is naturally
replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through
discharge to the oceans, evaporation, and sub-surface
seepage.
 Although the only natural input to any surface water
system is precipitation within its watershed, the total
quantity of water in that system at any given time is also
dependent on many other factors like storage capacity in
lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs, the permeability
of the soil beneath these storage bodies, the runoff
characteristics of the land in the watershed, the timing of
the precipitation and local evaporation rates
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Under river flow: Throughout the course of the river, the
total volume of water transported downstream will
often be a combination of the visible free water flow
together with flowing through sub-surface rocks and
gravels that underlie the river and its floodplain called
the hyporheic zone.
 For many rivers in large valleys, this unseen
component of flow may greatly exceed the visible flow.
The hyporheic zone often forms a dynamic interface
between surface water and true ground-water receiving
water from the ground water when aquifers are fully
charged and contributing water to ground-water when
ground waters are depleted. This is especially
significant in karst areas where pot-holes and
underground rivers are common.
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Ground water: Sub-surface water, or groundwater, is
fresh water located in the pore space of soil and rocks.
It is also water that is flowing within aquifers below the
water table.
• Sometimes it is useful to make a distinction between
sub-surface water that is closely associated with surface
water and deep sub-surface water in an aquifer
(sometimes called "fossil water").
• The natural input to sub-surface water is seepage from
surface water. The natural outputs from sub-surface
water are springs and seepage to the oceans.
• If the surface water source is also subject to substantial
evaporation, a sub-surface water source may become
saline. This situation can occur naturally, or artificially
under irrigated farmland.
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Desalination: Desalination is an artificial process by
which saline water (generally sea water) is converted to
fresh water. Desalination is currently expensive
compared to most alternative sources of water, and only
a very small fraction of total human use is satisfied by
desalination.
• It is only economically practical for high-valued uses
(such as household and industrial uses) in arid areas.
The most extensive use is in the Persian Gulf.
Frozen water: Several schemes have been proposed to
make use of icebergs as a water source, however to date
this has only been done for novelty purposes. Glacier
runoff is considered to be surface water.
® Explain about water crisis, water stress and
water scarcity?
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 6.3. Problems of Water pollution
® What do think are the major causes and sources of water
pollution?
• Water pollution refers to “any contamination of water
with chemicals or other foreign substances that are
detrimental to human, plant or animal health.
• Water pollution occurs when wastes (like human and
animals waste, chemicals, metals ,oils)are dumped to
rives, lakes, oceans and other bodies of water sources.

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The major sources of water pollution can be classified
as point and non point sources.

Point sources: include discharge Sewage

outflow
pollutant at specific location through
pipes, ditches or sewers in to bodies
of surface water like factories, Waste
sewage treatment plants, electric disposal

power plants, coal mines etc.

Livestock
operations
Pollution types

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Non point sources: are
big land areas that
discharge pollutant in
to surface and under
ground over large area.

This include runoff in to surface water and seepage in to ground

water from croplands, livestock feedlots, logged forests, urban
and suburban lands, septic tanks, etc.

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• The most common types of water pollution are
Disease-causing agents: include bacteria, viruses, protozoa,
and parasitic worms that enter water from domestic sewage
and animal waste.
Oxygen-demanding wastes: include organic wastes, which
when decomposed by oxygen consuming bacteria, can
deplete water of dissolved oxygen gas.
Water-soluble inorganic chemicals: high levels of dissolved
solid chemicals like acid, salts, and compounds of toxic
metals such as mercury, and lead can make water unfit to
drink, harm fish and other aquatic life, depress crop yields,
and accelerated corrosion of equipments that uses water.
Inorganic plant nutrients: water soluble nitrate and
phosphate compounds that can cause excessive growth of
algae and other aquatic plants, which then die and decay,
depletes water of dissolved oxygen and kills fish.
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Organic chemicals: oil, gasoline, plastics, pesticides,
cleaning solvents, detergents, and many other water
soluble and insoluble chemicals threatened human health
and harm aquatic life.
Sediments or suspended matter: insoluble practices of
soil, silt and other solid inorganic and organic materials
can reduce the ability of some organisms to find food,
reduces photosynthesis by aquatic plants, disrupts
aquatic food webs; fills lakes, harbors, stream channels
and reservoirs.
Radioactive substances: radio-stops that are water soluble
or capable of being biologically amplified in higher
concentrations as they pass through food chains and
webs. Ionizing radiations from such isotopes can cause
birth defects, cancer and genetic damage.
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Heat: could be caused by excessive inputs of heated
water used to cool electric power plants. Increases in
water temperatures lower the dissolving capacity of
oxygen and make aquatic organisms more vulnerable
to diseases, parasites and toxic chemicals.
• The four major contributors to water pollution are
agriculture, industry, mining and municipalities &
residences.

® Explain how agricultural activity, industrialization

and waste disposal from municipalities and
residences pollute water?

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6.4. Water Resource Management and Conservation
® Identify and discuss about the major water
resource management and conservation methods?

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• Although we can’t increase the earth’s supply of water, we
can manage what we have better to reduce the impact and
spread of water resource problems.
• Water management is the practice of planning,
developing, distribution and optimum utilization of water
resources under defined water policies and regulations.
• Water conservation refers to reducing the use of water and
reducing its wastage.
• Water management principle is either making the available
water resource sustainable or depositing water in different
water reservoirs and to decrease unnecessary loss and
waste.
One way to manage water resources is to increase the
supply, mostly by building dams and reservoirs and
diverting surface water.
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  The other approach is to improve the efficiency of water use
by decreasing unnecessary use and waste.
• The major methods for managing water resource are:
1. Constructing dams and reservoirs: Rain water and water
from melting snow that would otherwise be lost can be
captured and stored in large water reservoirs like dams.
® Explain the significances and drawbacks of dams as a water
management system.
Advantage of Dams and Reservoirs
 helps to increase the annual supply by collecting fresh
surface water during wet periods and storing it for use
during dry periods;
 reduces the danger of flooding in downstream area;
 provides a controllable supply of water for irrigating arid
and semiarid lands;
 helps to generate electricity;
 Used for outdoor recreation like swimming, boating,
fishing.
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Disadvantages of dams and reservoirs
 Expensive to build
 Displaces people and destroy vast area of valuable
agricultural land, wild life, and scenic /natural beauty
 Raises the water table (the higher water table often water
logs the soil nearby land , decreasing its crop or forest
productivity)
 Evaporation also increases the salinity of reservoir water
by leaving salts behind-decreasing its usefulness for
irrigation.
 Trap silt, so it deprive downstream areas and estuaries of
vital nutrients and decrease their productivity.
 Create favorable condition to reproduce mosquitoes
 Faulty construction, earthquakes, sabotage, war can
cause dams to fail-taking a terrible damage in lives and
property.
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2. Water diversion project: diverting of water from water
rich region to mostly arid and semiarid regions. Even
though it provides enough water for irrigation, domestic
and industrial uses, it can cause different types of
ecological disasters like loss of aquatic life,
disappearance of lakes, and depletion of ground water.
3. Trapping ground water: Even though it helps of satisfy
shortage of water, unwise may cause problems like
aquifer depletion (occurs when ground water is
withdrawn faster than its recharge by percolation);
subsidence (sinking of land when ground water is
withdrawn excessively); intrusion of salt water in to
aquifer; ground water contamination from agricultural
and industrial activities.
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4. Desalinization: removing of dissolved salts from ocean
water or slightly salty ground water through distillation
and reverse osmosis.
 Distillation involves heating salt water until
evaporates and condenses as fresh water, leaving salts
behind in solid form.
In reverse osmosis, high pressure is used to force salt
water through a thin membrane whose pores allow
water molecules but not dissolved salt to pass
through.
 The basic problem in desalination methods is that
they use large amounts of energy and therefore are
expensive.

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5. Encouraging the public to reduce unnecessary
water waste and use: manufacturing processes can
either use recycled water or can be redesigned to use
and waste less water. Leaks in pipes, water mains,
toilets, bath tubs and faucets waste an estimated 20-
30% of water withdrawn for public supplies.
6. Decreasing evaporation of irrigation water: it can
be done by preventing seepage (by placing plastic,
concert tile liners in irrigation canal), by mulching etc.
7. Purifying polluted water for use

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 6.5. Ownership and Permits of Water Resource
® Who is the owner of water resource in a country?
• There are different national and international laws
which declare water resource ownership.
• For instance, the FDRE Constitution underlines that all
urban and rural lands as well as natural resources are
belong to the State and the people of Ethiopia. Since
water is also one form of natural resource, the state is
the owner and administrator.
This principle is also emphasized in the water
resource management proclamation under article 5
which states: “All water resources of the country are
the common property of the Ethiopian people and
the state.”
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® Dear student, assuming that water resource is owned by
the state how are going to people use the water resource?
Do you think they can freely use it, e.g. dig water well,
shift and use a running river for irrigation etc?
• In modern water use theories and laws there are three main
approaches: Riparian System, Prior Appropriation System,
and Permit System.
i. The Riparian System: The theory says that land so situated
with respect to a body of water, because of such location,
the possessor of the land is entitled to the use and benefit
of the water. It emphasizes that only water users who
own riparian land (i.e., land through which or tangential
to which a waterway flows) have common right to
withdraw water from that waterway.
Laws are generally designed in such a way that upper riparian
should use the water in equitable manner so that they
should not affect the interest of lower riparian. This kind
of approach was adopted by the 1960 Ethiopian Civil
Code, which assumes private ownership of land.
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ii. The Prior Appropriation System: Most countries have
largely rejected the riparian doctrine in favour of prior
appropriation doctrines.
• Under prior appropriation, rights to water are separated
from the ownership of riparian land. Anyone, riparian or
non-riparian, is entitled to “appropriation,” or divert, water
from a river or lake for use even scores of miles away so
long as the water is not already being used by someone
else.
• The water is hence distributed on a first-come, first-served
basis. If you are the first one to take water out of a river,
you have the first priority to that amount of water for as
long as you continue to use the water. If in drought year
there is only enough water to meet your right, no one else
can take any water from the stream.
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iii. Permit Systems: Other countries, including Ethiopia
today, prefer to adopt the permit system for use of water
resources. The reason for adopting such systems may be
in need of high security for the water rights or for other
policy reasons.
• In Ethiopia the reason is simple, because the state owns
the water resource it grants permission for its use. This
system presupposes the establishment and existences of
state water agencies or water authorities.
• The principle says that any one wishing to divert water
from a stream must apply for an appropriation permit
from the state agency, which will check to ensure that
unappropriated water is available in the stream and that
the applicant plans to use the water for a reasonable and
beneficial purpose.
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