Abstract:
Soil erosion is causing a major threat to the environment. In view of this fact, this
study assess participatory soil erosion controlling practices and its implication to
land resource management in Dale Sadi Woreda. In order to achieve the objective
of the study, both primary and secondary data were generated by employing
qualitative and quantitative data. Accordingly three rural kebeles namely Wayu
wankir, Badeso guteanani, and Lalo kara were selected in two agro ecological
zone purposively. Questionnaire was distributed to collect the necessary data from
116 sample households, which were selected from three rural kebeles by using
systematic random sampling techniques. Key informant Interview, FGDs and field
observation were also used to collect the relevant data. The findings of this
research indicated that even though government, farmers, and NGOs are
stakeholders involved in the soil erosion control practices & land resource
management programs, but farmers have moderate level of participation in the
practices.. Tree planting, soil bund, contour plowing and closure of grazing land
were indigenous knowledge widely used land resource management practices in
the study area. The study also revealed that there was statistically significant
association in participation of farmers in terms of age, educational back ground,
family size and income level. Based on the findings it was recommended that,
continuous training and experience sharing program, immediate action to increase
the number of literate persons, to practicing compatible practices for the agro
climatic zone and extending effective practices, create opportunities for alternative
means of livelihood and promoting NGOs effort to involve in land management
practices in the highly degraded area. Based on the findings, indigenous
knowledge, continuous training, alternative means of livelihood and promoting
NGOs effort to involve in land resource management practices in the highly
eroded area were recommended. The study also estimated the extent of soil erosion
from tree root exposure measurements during field observation and identified
average rates of soil erosion to be about 1.26 mm/year. As a result 16 t/ha/year
soil lost from the study sites. The study concluded that as the extent of soil erosion
is highly variable spatially, plot and location specific conservation measures
would be required to control soil loss in the study area.
