Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald The Impact of Land Administration and Common-Pool Resource Management on Wetland Utilisation along the Eastern Shore of Lake Tana, Ethiopia Alteration of Wetlands { Risk or Chance for Rural Livelihoods? Diploma thesis Maxi Springsguth 4th January 2013 Landscape Ecology and Nature Convervation Matriculation number 115518 Supervisor: Dr. Anne Cristina de la Vega-Leinert, Sustainability Science and Applied Geography, Institute of Geography and Geology Co-supervisor: Prof. Dr. Susanne Stoll-Kleemann, Chair of Sustainability Science and Applied Geography, Institute of Geography and Geology Acknowledgements I want to thank Dr. Anne Cristina de la Vega-Leinert and Prof. Dr. Susanne Stoll-Kleemann for the supervision of my thesis. I am very grateful to Dr. Anne Cristina de la Vega-Leinert for her comments and the discussion on my work. I want to thank all the people who took part in Participatory Rural Appraisal and the interview respondents for their willingness to share their knowledge, for the discussions and their time. Very special thanks goes to my counterpart and friend, Babiyew Sibhat. Thanks to your open mind, your endeavours, critique and experience our work was successfully accomplished. I am very happy to have spent my stay in Ethiopia together with Christian Sefrin, Fanny Mundt, Friedrich zur Heide, Ren´eeMoreaux, Johannes Poetzsch, the `fun-raising group' and all the other wonderful people we met. Thanks for sharing a great time and for exchanging ideas. I further appreciate the assistance of Dr. Ayalew Wondie, Getasew Abebaw of the Fogera woreda administration, Tigistu Tilahun, the Michael Succow Founda- tion for the Protection of Nature, the Amhara Bureau of Culture, Tourism and Parks Development, Woinshet Sibhat as well as captain Gebrie and captain Maru in my research. Only with your crucial input, the financial support, the transport facilitation and your care this work became possible. I am very grateful to Thomas Lotze, Telsche Piechottka, Ren´eeMoreaux and Stephan Kuberski for the revision of my thesis, their constructive comments and technical advice. I am thankful to J¨orgBachmann for his technical support and his patience to endure my impatience. I also want to thank my little son, Levi Springsguth, for successfully diverting my thoughts of the remaining work and for the wonderful, unique time we spend together. Last but not least, I want to express my honest gratitude to my family, my sister Gabi Springsguth, Birgit Springsguth, Dagmar and Conny Springsguth as well as Christa and Gerhard K¨unzeland Karl-Heinz Springsguth (y), who supported me throughout this work and my life. Contents Abbreviations ix Abstract 1 Zusammenfassung 3 1 Introduction 5 1.1 Rationale and Research Objective ................. 6 1.2 Structure .............................. 8 2 The Study Area 9 2.1 Ethiopia: Social-Economic Background .............. 9 2.2 The Amhara Region ........................ 9 2.3 The Research Site ......................... 11 2.4 Wetlands between Conservation and Growth . 16 2.5 Land Policy in Ethiopia ...................... 17 3 Theoretical Background and Framework 21 3.1 Common-Property Theory ..................... 21 3.2 Resilience Thinking ........................ 22 3.3 Political Ecology .......................... 23 3.4 Theoretical Assumptions ...................... 23 3.5 Theoretical Framework ....................... 24 4 Methodology and Methods 31 4.1 Research Approach ......................... 31 i ii CONTENTS 4.2 Data Collection .......................... 32 4.2.1 Participatory Rural Appraisal and Group Discussions . 32 4.2.2 Problem-Centred Expert Interviews . 40 4.3 Data Preparation and Analysis ................... 42 5 Results 45 5.1 Values of Wetlands ......................... 45 5.2 Perceptions on Well-being and People's Objectives . 47 5.3 Environmental and Land Use Changes . 48 5.3.1 Flooding and Sedimentation . 48 5.3.2 Rice Cultivation ...................... 49 5.3.3 Conversion of Wetlands . 51 5.3.4 Fishery ........................... 51 5.4 Impact on Rural Livelihoods .................... 52 5.4.1 Impact on Crop Production and Livestock Rearing . 53 5.4.2 Impact on Social Life ................... 54 5.4.3 Impact on Food Security and Income Generation . 55 5.5 Conflicts over Wetlands and Associated Resources . 56 5.5.1 Conflicts Related to Encroachment . 56 5.5.2 Conflicts over Grazing Land . 57 5.5.3 Cropland Boundary Conflicts . 57 5.5.4 Conflicts between Tana Kirkos Monasteries and the Com- munity ........................... 58 5.5.5 Conflicts between Wetland Conservation and Use in Agid Kirigna ........................... 58 5.5.6 Conflicts Related to Fishing . 59 5.5.7 Conflicts Arising from Stakeholders' Perceptions on Gov- ernment Plans ....................... 59 5.5.8 The Consequences of Conflicts for Communal Life . 60 5.6 Land Administration ........................ 61 5.6.1 Land Registration and Certification . 61 5.6.2 Constraints to the Land Registration and Certification Process ........................... 63 CONTENTS iii 5.6.3 Land Use Planning ..................... 65 5.7 Common-Pool Resource Management . 65 5.7.1 Local Resource Management Systems . 66 5.7.2 Conflict Resolution Mechanisms . 68 5.7.3 Federal and Regional Policies with Implications for Wetland Management ........................ 69 5.7.4 Constraints to and Recommendations for Common-Pool Resource Management ................... 70 5.8 Summary .............................. 74 6 Analysis 77 6.1 The Cyclical Process of Environmental Entitlements . 77 6.2 Mapping Endowments: Access to Wetlands . 78 6.2.1 Rights-Based Access to Wetland Resources . 79 6.2.2 Structural and Relational Mechanisms of Access . 81 6.2.3 Property Rights to Wetlands . 84 6.3 Power Relations and the Question of Who Benefits . 86 6.4 The Complexity of Conflicts .................... 92 6.5 Institutions Shaping Wetland Use and Management . 93 6.5.1 Land Administration .................... 93 6.5.2 Common-Pool Resource Management . 95 6.6 Summary ..............................107 7 Discussion 111 7.1 The Institutional Framework . 111 7.1.1 A National Wetland Policy? . 112 7.1.2 Signing the Ramsar Convention? . 113 7.1.3 Property Rights to Wetlands { A Critical Issue . 114 7.1.4 Land Administration and Conservation . 115 7.1.5 Land Use Planning and Conservation . 117 7.1.6 Environmental Impact Assessment . 117 7.2 Governance of Wetlands . 119 7.2.1 The Role of Social Actors in Wetland Management . 119 iv CONTENTS 7.2.2 Drawing on Conditions Facilitating the Governance of Wetlands . 122 7.2.3 Unequal Power Relations and Empowerment . 122 7.2.4 Building Trust and Assurance . 123 7.2.5 Ensuring Participation ...................124 7.2.6 Collaboration and Coordination . 124 7.2.7 Recognising Legal Rights . 125 7.2.8 Establishing, Implementing and Enforcing Regulations . 125 7.2.9 Monitoring User Behaviour and Ecological Conditions . 126 7.2.10 Resolving Conflicts . 126 7.2.11 Integrating Knowledge Pluralism and Ensuring Information Exchange . 127 7.2.12 Understanding Heterogeneity . 128 7.2.13 Large or Small? . 129 7.2.14 Delineating Wetland Boundaries: Remarks on a Zonation Proposition . 130 7.2.15 Providing Incentives and Livelihood Opportunities . 132 7.3 Alteration of Wetlands { Risk or Chance? . 134 References 137 Appendices I Appendix 1: Methods of Participatory Rural Appraisal .........I Appendix 2: Interview Catalogue of Questions . XI Appendix 3: Codes ............................XVIII Appendix 4: Well-Being Ranking . XVIII Appendix 5: Responses to Livelihood Insecurity . XIX Appendix 6: Land Use/Cover Changes in the Research Area . XXIV Appendix 7: Overview of the Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on Wetland Ecosystems . XXVIII Appendix 8: Biosphere Reserves . XXIX Glossary .................................XXX List of Tables 2.1 Research sites ........................... 12 3.1 Bundles of property rights associated with positions . 28 4.1 Methods of PRA and group discussions . 36 4.2 Overview of Interviews ....................... 41 5.1 Advantages and disadvantages of rice production . 55 5.2 Social actors involved in conflicts . 57 5.3 Recommendations for the governance of wetlands . 73 6.1 Property rights to wetlands associated with positions . 86 6.2 Beneficiaries, social actors and access mechanisms . 89 8.1 List of codes ............................XVIII 8.2 Responses of social actors to livelihood insecurity . XXI v vi LIST OF TABLES List of Figures 2.1 Regions of Ethiopia ........................ 10 2.2 Map of the research site ...................... 13 2.3 Wetlands around Lake Tana .................... 14 2.4 Mean annual isohyets in the Lake Tana watershed . 15 2.5 Altitudinal range in the Lake Tana watershed . 15 2.6 Organogram of land administration in ANRS . 19 3.1 Three complementary bodies of scholarship . 24 3.2 Environmental entitlements framework .............. 28 3.3 Integrating theory and research questions . 30 4.1 Trend analysis ........................... 38 4.2 Cause-effect diagram ........................ 38 4.3 Impact diagram .......................... 39 4.4 Well-being ranking with youth ................... 39 4.5 Well-being ranking with women . 39 4.6 Pair-wise ranking .......................... 39 5.1 Ecosystem services of wetlands . 46 5.2 Rice cultivation in Agid Kirigna . 50 5.3 Cattle grazing in a wetland .................... 50 5.4 Wetland conversion ........................ 52 5.5 Fishing ............................... 52 5.6 Drivers of environmental and land use change . 53