Atlas of the Upper Fafan Catchment
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Atlas of the Upper Fafan Catchment Atlas of the Upper Fafan Catchment Atlas of the Upper Fafan Catchment An assessment towards building resilience through ecosystem restoration in Somali Regional State, Ethiopia An assessment by permission of Wetlands International ([email protected]) and without inclusion of This Atlas was designed and edited by Reinier Visser, Mieke Hulshof and Yitbarek Tibe- the following reference: Atlas of the Upper Fafan Catchment. An assessment towards be. The main authors are Reinier Visser, Mieke Hulshof, Yitbarek Tibebe, Lieselotte building resilience through ecosystem restoration in Somali Regional State, Ethiopia. Tolk and Frank van Weert (Acacia Water and Wetlands International). Strengthening Community Resilience in Somali Region, Ethiopia (SCRSE), a Protracted Crisis, Horn of Africa Programme implemented by The Netherlands Red Cross, Ethiopi- Significant contributions were made by: The officers of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society an Red Cross Society, Wetlands International, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate and The Netherlands Red Cross, Mukhtar Abdi, Taye Alemayehu, Theo Kleinendorst, Centre and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs with contributions from Acacia Water Arjen Oord and Arjen de Vries and the communities of Jijiga, Gursum and Tuliguled, and HoAREC&N. Gouda, The Netherlands, August 2016. The program is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Project lead: Acacia Water. Content, analysis and reporting: Wetlands International and Acacia Water. Map production: Acacia Water. Design and editing Atlas: Acacia Additions and remarks are welcome via [email protected] Water. Review by all project partners. The quality and accuracy of the data sources underlying the assessments in this Atlas © 2016, development commissioned by Wetlands International. All rights reserved. may vary. No rights can be derived. The authors cannot be held responsible for any No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any form by use made of the information contained in the document. any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise without the written Atlas of the Upper Fafan Catchment An assessment towards building resilience through ecosystem restoration in Somali Regional State, Ethiopia SUMMARY The Upper Fafan Catchment in Somali Regional State in north-eastern Ethiopia is a disaster prone area where rural communities heavily depend on natural re- sources. Strategic ecosystem restoration targeting water security, food security and disaster risk reduction is key to building community resilience. To select the most effective interventions a good understanding of the landscape is essential. The major challenges and opportunities provided by the landscape were mapped based on biophysical and socio-economic, land use and management, ecosystems and water resources assessments. These assessments incorporate data from a literature study, satellite imagery and GIS analyses, field surveys, focus group discussions and interviews with key informants. Results are present- ed in the form of maps and charts to allow non-experts to understand them, and hence to make it easier to substantively and functionally make use of them in policies and programs. Failing natural resources management turns out to be the core problem in the project area. Disasters are becoming more frequent and intense essentially be- cause traditional systems for natural resources management are weakening. The resilience of the landscape is low and further decreasing. Ecosystems are de- grading at an alarming rate. But there are also many opportunities. The potential to improve access, availa- bility and quality of water is high and there are many possibilities to protect na- ture and develop alternative sources of income. Areas in the Amora Mountains show that with good management practices many challenges can be tackled. An integrated approach that addresses the causes is recommended. The main focus should be on capacity building to self-motivate users to manage the land- scape in a sustainable manner. Efforts can best be concentrated on soft ecosys- tem restoration measures (regulations, capacity building, coordination etc.). Hard measures (e.g. bunds, trenches, dams etc.) also contribute to restoration, but are less effective in the long term. Community mobilization, participatory decision-making and involvement of experts is crucial towards developing sus- tainable strategies to reverse the degradation trend. The project team urges all stakeholders to invest more in strengthening natural resources management, at all spatial and temporal scales. This Atlas makes a case for communities, governments and NGOs to invest in small-scale measures, rangeland and forest management, sustainable farming practices, and soil and water conservation measures. Gouda, The Netherlands, August 2016 The Project Team CONTENTS 1 BACKGROUND 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 05 1.2 Problem analysis and methodology ..................................................................... 07 1.3 Context ................................................................................................................. 09 1.4 Topography .......................................................................................................... 11 1.5 Climate ................................................................................................................. 13 1.6 Droughts ............................................................................................................... 15 2 LAND USE AND MANAGEMENT 2.1 Soils ...................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Land cover and land use....................................................................................... 21 2.3 Erosion ................................................................................................................. 23 3 ECOSYSTEMS SERVICES 3.1 Ecosystems and their services .............................................................................. 27 3.2 Services provided by the different ecosystems ................................................... 29 3.3 Ecosystem functioning ......................................................................................... 31 3.4 Ecosystems: challenges and opportunities for conservation ............................... 33 4 WATER RESOURCES 4.1 Existing water infrastructure ................................................................................ 37 4.2 Surface water ....................................................................................................... 39 4.3 Groundwater ........................................................................................................ 41 5 ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION 5.1 Categories of interventions .................................................................................. 45 5.2 Suitability zones for ecosystem restoration ......................................................... 47 5.3 Intervention area ................................................................................................. 49 5.4 Implementation strategy ..................................................................................... 50 6 CONCLUSIONS 6.1 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................... 53 6.2 Sources and credits .............................................................................................. 55 LEGEND Figure 0.0 Project area with main reference features. List of acronyms and abbreviations IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management NRM Natural Resources Management SCRSE Strengthening Community Resilience in Somali Region of Ethiopia Programme EbA Ecosystem based Adaptation Pnet Net precipitation RUSLE Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation CICES Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services CN Curve Number SWC Soil and Water Conservation Atlas of the Upper Fafan Catchment 2 1 BACKGROUND The current condition of the Upper Fafan Catchment is strongly linked to population growth, sedentarization, and changing livelihoods and lifestyles. This chapter discusses the contextual background, the most important landforms, climate conditions, the recurrence and intensity of droughts, and the forecasted impact of climate change. BACKGROUND | 1.1 Introduction Figure 1.1 Lush pastures in Fafan Valley. landscape characteristics. This Atlas Fact-based decision making implies the identification of challenges, This Atlas presents the baseline assessment for the Strengthening Community Resili- opportunities and target priority areas, in such way that the larger landscape ence in Somali Region of Ethiopia (SRCSE) Programme. The assessment informs deci- profits from investments. Proper assessments, for example, inform where the sion makers about the current state of the system, the main challenges and opportu- potential for water abstractions is highest and how to effectively combat nities, directions for strategy development and suitable interventions. invasive species. The Strengthening Community Resilience in Somali Region of Ethiopia (SCRSE) Pro- Following this line of thought, this Atlas runs from the factual presentation of the gramme runs from mid 2014 to end 2016 and is implemented by a partnership be- landscape characteristics and the description of challenges towards the identification tween