introduction and adoption of vegetative measures
can improve the performance of physical SWC
measures to reduce runoff and soil loss, improving
soil fertility and thereby agricultural productivity.
3.4 Suggested Research Strategy
to Reduce the Challenges
for Adoption
of Interventions in Ethiopia
To address the outlined challenges and increase
the chance of successful implementation of
identified management options, we propose a
generalized research strategy (Fig. 9) to address
the nexus approach at the watershed scale. The
strategy has four stages, even though it is open
for improvement using inputs coming from different angles. These stages are as follows:
(i) Stage 1: baseline data collection, (ii) Stage 2:
decision-making (selection of suitable interventions through participatory approach), (iii) Stage
3: implementation and monitoring, and (iv) Stage
4: evaluation. The overall goal of the strategy
described in Fig. 9 is similar to that of Mannschatz et al. (2015) and Benavides et al. (2019)
as all three approaches demand baseline information, participation of stakeholders, possible
site-specific management solutions, an evaluation stage, and project sustainability.
Stage 1: Baseline data Benavides et al. (2019)
reported that establishing baseline information is
crucial for the introduction of scientifically sound
sustainable interventions. They also stated that
collecting baseline data is a key practice in many
environmental fields, as it is impossible to carry
out “before” and “after” comparisons and that it
is difficult to engage stakeholders without baseline data. It is essential to increase the number of
monitored watersheds, producing baseline data
such as socioeconomic, institutional, farm attributes, and biophysical information. Communication of baseline data with all stakeholders to
create a common understanding is also important
in further steps. Both quantitative and qualitative
data should be collected from primary and
secondary data sources. These baseline data will
be used to identify the causes and extent of land
degradation and its indicators (erosion, sedimentation, soil fertility, vegetation, and agricultural production) using the following two
approaches. The first approach is the extraction
of the knowledge of local communities (farmers)
using participatory tools (transect walks, group
discussions, and interviews), and the second
approach is the application of scientific (expert)
knowledge (soil sampling, modelling). For this
reason, this first stage is also known as the
problem identification stage. To facilitate
scaling-up and out of the practicality of local
knowledge, a comparison of the locally derived
data with the scientific approach is necessary
using statistical indicators. An overview of Stage
1 is shown at the top of Fig. 9. The information
obtained at Stage 1 will be used to ensure all
stakeholders are participants in the project and to
provide a basis for comparison after the completion or exit of the project.
Stage 2: Decision-making stage. On the basis of
the results in Stage 1, different alternative solutions that improve the degraded condition of a
watershed (to address the nexus problem) and
thereby the livelihoods of the community will be
discussed with all the stakeholders. This will be
used as an input for scenario development
(identification of the optimal interventions). The
scenarios developed will be analyzed and the
results interpreted at this stage based on both
local knowledge and scientific perspectives.
Finally, the best scenario considering both
socioeconomic and ecological factors will be
selected. At this stage, all stakeholders should
agree on the resources available and their mobilization for the implementation of the selected
scenario as the best practice at the appropriate
site. At this stage, it is necessary to initiate and
motivate watershed communities to create
awareness and develop a sense of ownership by
the farming community. This can be achieved
through (i) discussion with communities to reach
consensus on key issues and resources in line
with the nexus approach, (ii) organizing
Opportunities and Challenges to Adopting Sustainable …
179
can improve the performance of physical SWC
measures to reduce runoff and soil loss, improving
soil fertility and thereby agricultural productivity.
3.4 Suggested Research Strategy
to Reduce the Challenges
for Adoption
of Interventions in Ethiopia
To address the outlined challenges and increase
the chance of successful implementation of
identified management options, we propose a
generalized research strategy (Fig. 9) to address
the nexus approach at the watershed scale. The
strategy has four stages, even though it is open
for improvement using inputs coming from different angles. These stages are as follows:
(i) Stage 1: baseline data collection, (ii) Stage 2:
decision-making (selection of suitable interventions through participatory approach), (iii) Stage
3: implementation and monitoring, and (iv) Stage
4: evaluation. The overall goal of the strategy
described in Fig. 9 is similar to that of Mannschatz et al. (2015) and Benavides et al. (2019)
as all three approaches demand baseline information, participation of stakeholders, possible
site-specific management solutions, an evaluation stage, and project sustainability.
Stage 1: Baseline data Benavides et al. (2019)
reported that establishing baseline information is
crucial for the introduction of scientifically sound
sustainable interventions. They also stated that
collecting baseline data is a key practice in many
environmental fields, as it is impossible to carry
out “before” and “after” comparisons and that it
is difficult to engage stakeholders without baseline data. It is essential to increase the number of
monitored watersheds, producing baseline data
such as socioeconomic, institutional, farm attributes, and biophysical information. Communication of baseline data with all stakeholders to
create a common understanding is also important
in further steps. Both quantitative and qualitative
data should be collected from primary and
secondary data sources. These baseline data will
be used to identify the causes and extent of land
degradation and its indicators (erosion, sedimentation, soil fertility, vegetation, and agricultural production) using the following two
approaches. The first approach is the extraction
of the knowledge of local communities (farmers)
using participatory tools (transect walks, group
discussions, and interviews), and the second
approach is the application of scientific (expert)
knowledge (soil sampling, modelling). For this
reason, this first stage is also known as the
problem identification stage. To facilitate
scaling-up and out of the practicality of local
knowledge, a comparison of the locally derived
data with the scientific approach is necessary
using statistical indicators. An overview of Stage
1 is shown at the top of Fig. 9. The information
obtained at Stage 1 will be used to ensure all
stakeholders are participants in the project and to
provide a basis for comparison after the completion or exit of the project.
Stage 2: Decision-making stage. On the basis of
the results in Stage 1, different alternative solutions that improve the degraded condition of a
watershed (to address the nexus problem) and
thereby the livelihoods of the community will be
discussed with all the stakeholders. This will be
used as an input for scenario development
(identification of the optimal interventions). The
scenarios developed will be analyzed and the
results interpreted at this stage based on both
local knowledge and scientific perspectives.
Finally, the best scenario considering both
socioeconomic and ecological factors will be
selected. At this stage, all stakeholders should
agree on the resources available and their mobilization for the implementation of the selected
scenario as the best practice at the appropriate
site. At this stage, it is necessary to initiate and
motivate watershed communities to create
awareness and develop a sense of ownership by
the farming community. This can be achieved
through (i) discussion with communities to reach
consensus on key issues and resources in line
with the nexus approach, (ii) organizing
Opportunities and Challenges to Adopting Sustainable …
179