ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND LAW DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN SOIL CONSERVATION PRACTICES: THE CASE OF DALE SEDI WOREDA, OROMIA, WESTERN ETHIOPIA BY Oluma Benti August, 2018 Adama, Ethiopia ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND LAW DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES A THESIS PREPARED ON COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN SOIL CONSERVATION PRACTICES: A CASE OF DALE SEDI WOREDA, WESTERN ETHIOPIA BY OLUMA BENTI THESIS ADVISOR TSETADIRGACHEW LEGESSE (PhD) August, 2018 Adama, Ethiopia Declaration I declare that the thesis entitled “community participation in soil conservation practices : A case study of Dale Sedi Woreda, Western Ethiopia” has been carried out by me under the supervision of Dr Tsetadirgachew Legesse at Adama Science and Technology University Department of Geography and Environmental Studies as part of Master program in geography. I also declare that it is my original work and is not submitted to any other University or institution for the award of any academic degree. Name __Oluma Benti Gutema_________________________ Signature ________________ Date 18 / 08 /2017 Approval sheet 1 As thesis research advisor, I hereby certify that I have read and evaluated the thesis prepared under my guidance by Oluma Benti Gutema entitled “Community Participation in Soil Conservation Practices in Dale Sedi Woreda Western Ethiopia”. There I recommend that it is accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirement and defended in public. Approved by Tsetadirgachew Legesse (PhD) ______________ __________ Thesis Advisor Signature Date ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND LAW This is to certify that the thesis prepared by Oluma Benti Gutema entitled: Community Participation in Soil Conservation Practices: Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Art in Geography and Environmental Studies Compliances with the regulation of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Approved by Board of Examiners Signature Date 1. Advisor ________________ ____________ _________ 2. Internal Examiner _______________ ______________ __________ 3. External Examiner ______________ ______________ __________ 4. Chairperson _______________ ________________ __________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Above all, I would like to thank the almighty God for helping me all the time to overcome Challenges I faced throughout the period of my study and realize my dream. First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude for my thesis advisor Dr Tsetadirgachew Legesse for his continuous guidance, invaluable comments, and introducing me to many techniques and methodologies that helps to finalize the paper. Special thanks go to Arsi University for financial support to conduct the research, staff members of Adama Science and Technology University for their material support, Dale Sedi Woreda Educational office, Dale Sedi Woreda Agricultural and Natural Resource Development Office, DAs and Kebele Administrative bodies, and farmers who participated in the research for their cooperation during data gathering. My heartfelt thanks also go to my father Ato Benti Gutema, my wife Wakete Gudeta my two sons Dagaga Oluma and Masara Oluma my only daughter Simera Oluma ,my brothers and my sisters, Yonas Telila, Dinsa Regassa,Tamiru Bekele, Kasa Doja and Waklate Amante for their material support throughout my study. I am indebted to my friend Ato Bulti Hambisa for his constructive comments for the accomplishment of this thesis. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................................i Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. ii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vii Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the study ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Objective of the study .......................................................................................................... 4 1.3.1. General objective ........................................................................................................... 4 1.3.2. Specific objective........................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Significance of the study ....................................................................................................... 4 1.6 Limitation of the study .......................................................................................................... 5 1.7 Scope of the study ............................................................................................................... 5 1.8. Organization of the Study .................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................ 7 REVIEW RELATED LITERATURES .......................................................................................... 7 2.1. Concepts of community participation .................................................................................. 7 2.2 Approaches of community participation ............................................................................... 9 2.3. Factors Affecting Community Participation ...................................................................... 11 2.4 Principles of Natural Resource Management...................................................................... 12 2.5. Land management Practices in Other Countries ................................................................ 13 2.6 Soil conservation Practices in Ethiopia ............................................................................... 14 2.7. Soil conservation practices ................................................................................................. 15 2.7.1. Biological Soil conservation Practices ........................................................................ 16 2.7.2. Physical soil management practices ............................................................................ 18 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................... 19 STUDY AREA, RESEARCH METHOD AND MATERIAL ..................................................... 19 3.1 Physical back ground .......................................................................................................... 19 3.1.1 Location ........................................................................................................................ 19 3.2. Demographic and Socio Economic feature ........................................................................ 20 3.2.1 Population and settlement pattern................................................................................. 20 3.2.2 Physical relief ............................................................................................................... 20 3.2.3 Soil ................................................................................................................................ 20 3.2.4 Natural Vegetation ........................................................................................................ 20 3.2.5 Climate.......................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.6 Economic activity ......................................................................................................... 21 3.3 Research methods and materials ....................................................................................... 22 3.3.1 Research design ............................................................................................................ 22 3.3.2. Study Population and Sampling techniques ................................................................ 23 3.3.3 Sampling size ............................................................................................................. 24 3.3.4. Sampling Techniques..................................................................................................