UCC Library and UCC researchers have made this item openly available. Please let us know how this has helped you. Thanks! Title Analysis of institutional arrangements and common pool resources governance: the case of Lake Tana sub-basin, Ethiopia Author(s) Ketema, Dessalegn Molla Publication date 2013 Original citation Ketema, D. M. 2013. Analysis of institutional arrangements and common pool resources governance: the case of Lake Tana sub-basin, Ethiopia. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2013, Dessalegn M. Ketema http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1429 from Downloaded on 2021-10-06T09:30:28Z Analysis of Institutional Arrangements and Common Pool Resources Governance: The case of Lake Tana Sub-Basin, Ethiopia. A thesis Presented to The Department of Food Business and Development National University of Ireland, Cork. In Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) By Dessalegn Molla Ketema (December, 2013) Head of Department: Professor Michal Ward (PhD) Research Supervisors: Nicholas G. Chisholm (PhD) Patrick Enright (PhD) Dedicated to My Mom Yelfign Derbew Wahel DECLARATION I, the undersigned, declare that the dissertation hereby submitted by me for the PhD Degree in Rural Development at the University College Cork (UCC) is my own independent work that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, has not previously been submitted by me or somebody else at another university. All sources of materials used for this dissertation have been duly acknowledged. Dessalegn M. Ketema Signature: _____________________________ Place: ________________________________ Date of Submission: _____________________ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost I want to praise almighty God-the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for his love, care, compassion and forgiveness. I want to praise Virgin Mary, Mother of perfect God. When I came to my study, this dissertation would not have been possible without the support and assistance of many individuals and organizations who volunteered their valuable time, expertise and resources. First of all, I would like to express my very great appreciation to my supervisors at University College Cork (UCC) Dr. Nicholas G. Chisholm and Dr. Patrick Enright for their patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement, useful critiques, valuable and constructive suggestions during the planning and development of this research work. Their willingness to give their time so generously has been very much appreciated. I gratefully acknowledge the funding source that my PhD works possible. I was funded by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Capacity Building Project (RCBP). I also would like to thank the Ireland Embassy in Ethiopia and Irish Aid for their additional support in the final year. Very special thanks to my organization Bahir Dar University which gave study leave to undertake my doctoral research. Above all my sincere gratitude is reserved for Mr. Moges Hiluf Abrha, RCBP training and communication specialist, who made the first special and remarkable endeavor towards my journey to accomplish this P…h…D. I would like to thank the staff of the following Governmental and Non-Governmental offices in Amhara Regional State for enabling me to visit their offices, to observe their daily operations as well as to collect data: Bureau of Agriculture, Bureau of Water and Energy, Bureau of Environmental Protection and Land Use Administration, Bureau of Cooperative Agency, Bahir Dar Fishery and Aquatic Life Research Center, Tana Haik No.1 Fishery Cooperative, Ethio-Wetland and Natural Resource Association (EWNRA)- Fogera office etc. I would also like to thank the staff members of Wereta ATVET College for hosting me office and support. My special thanks are extended to the staff of Bureau of ii Environmental Protection Land Use and Administration (BoEPLUA) particularly Mr. Tekelu Damtie, Mr. Woldegebriel G/Kidan and Mr. Abebaw for their honest and genuine information. They helped me to super-impose my almost all group discussions in their community training and awareness creation programmes. I wish to acknowledge the help provided by stakeholder identification and analysis workshop participants for their valuable time and interactive workshop. Special thanks also go to the household survey respondents, key informants and group discussion participants for their time and dedication. I am particularly grateful for the assistance given by Mr. Aklog Tegene, Mr. Babiyew Sibhat and enumerators across all sampled districts, who endure the tedious household survey and organizing group discussions. Mr. Belay Yirdaw, who drove me to the rural areas of libokemkem and Fogera plain, deserves special thanks. The last but not the least I would like to acknowledge my PhD fellow friends at UCC, Admasu Bogale, Kinfe Gebreegziabher, Zemen Ayalew, Bezalem Sinote, Anteneh Belachew, Tsega G/Kirstos and Meried Legesse. Special thanks to Elias Berhe and Ermias Fisiha, for their hospitality while I stayed in Ireland. My special gratitude also goes to my friends at Bahir Dar University, Mr. Asaminew Tassew Wolde, Mr. Mengiste Taye, Dr. Mussie H/Melekot and Mrs. Kelemie Gebretsadike who encouraged me a lot while I was collecting, analyzing and organizing my data and sharing their office. Particularly Asaminew, he was so genuine and open-minded to help people who are in need of help and support. Finally, my mom Yelfign Deribew, my wife Simegn Addissie and lovely daughter Nuhamin Dessalegn deserve special thanks for their patience, love and encouragement to success of my life. Especially Simegn endured my absence in the home and in shouldering far more than her fair share of parenting and household burdens while I pursued all my ‘post-grad’ degrees. She has sacrificed her life for me since long time and provided unconditional love and care. She has been a constant source of strength and inspiration. I love her so much, and I would not have made it this far without her. Dessalegn M. Ketema Cork-Ireland, 2013 iii ABSTRACT Although Common Pool Resources (CPRs) make up a significant share of total income for rural households in Ethiopia and elsewhere in developing world, limited access to these resources and environmental degradation threaten local livelihoods. As a result, the issues of management, governance of CPRs and how to prevent their over-exploitation are of great importance for development policy. This study examines the current state and dynamics of CPRs and overall resource governance system of the Lake Tana sub-basin. This research employed the modified Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. The framework integrates the concept of Socio-ecological Systems and Interactive Governance perspectives where social actors, institutions, the politico-economic context, discourses and ecological features across governance and government levels were considered. It has been observed that overexploitation, degradation and encroachment of CPRs have increased dramatically and this threatens the sustainability of Lake Tana ecosystem. The stakeholder analysis result reveals that there are multiple stakeholders with diverse interest in and power over CPRs that often lead to competition and conflict. Local community, private investors, governmental, non-governmental, national and international stakeholders are engaged in the process of resource use, management and governance. The analysis of institutional arrangements reveals that the existing formal rules and regulations governing access to and control over CPRs could not be implemented and were not effective to legally bind and govern CPR user’s behavior at the operational level. The study also shows that a top-down and non-participatory policy formulation, law and decision making process that overlooks the local contexts (local knowledge and informal institutions) fails to understand the diverse, dynamic, complex and sensitive nature of the natural and human sub-systems. The outcomes of examining the participation of local resource users, as an alternative to a centralized, command-and-control, and hierarchical approach to resource management and governance, have called for a fundamental shift in CPR use, management and governance to facilitate the participation of stakeholders in decision-making. Therefore, establishing a multi-level stakeholder governance system as an institutional structure and process is necessary to sustain stakeholder participation in decision-making regarding CPR use, management and governance. Keywords: Common pool resource, governance, institutional arrangement, stakeholder, Lake Tana, Ethiopia. iv Table of Contents DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ xi LISTS OF BOXES ........................................................................................................................