Impact of resettlement on vegetation status and rangeland condition in southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was conducted with the objectives of comparing range condition of an area under different land use practices (resettled and non-resettled) and assessing the possible effect of resettlement on range condition in Meinit-Shasha district of Bench-Maji zone, southwest Ethiopia. Two kebeles were selected purposively where vegetation and soil conditions were investigated in 40 quadrats across 20 sampling sites using 20 × 20 m (400 m 2 ) quadrat, which was distributed along transects. The investigation included the assessment of grass composition, basal cover, litter cover; age distribution of dominant grasses, number of seedlings and soil conditions (erosion and compaction), which were investigated on 1 × 1 m (1 m 2 ) area. Data from range vegetation survey was analyzed using SAS software. The study results showed significant differences (P < 0.05) between kebeles in terms of grass composition, basal cover, number of seedling and soil condition. The total score for range condition rating showed that the resettled kebele was in the category of poor range condition, whereas the nonresettled was in fair condition. Expansion of crop cultivation and the establishment of permanent settlements as a result of resettlement program were considered to be the main contributing factors to the reduction of grazing lands and poor range condition scores in the resettled kebele. The study showed a higher level of degradation in the resettled kebele than non-resettled kebele. Generally, the results of this study indicated that unplanned resettlement program had a negative influence on rangeland vegetation dynamics. Cautious planning and implementation of resettlement programs in recognition of differences in land use between the host communities and resettlers is suggested. Securing inhabitants' land tenure would facilitate the recovery of rangeland vegetation and conservation of biodiversity.

Influence of Agro-pastoral Activities on Land Use and Land Cover Change in Karamoja, Uganda

“…This may be ascribed to increased human demands for survival leading to over cutting of trees for use in charcoal production, firewood, bricks baking, huts building, thatching and bush clearing for crop production. The study was in agreement with earlier studies which were conducted in Ethiopia by Olson et al (2004), and Berhanu et al (2016).…”

Land use/cover change analysis and local community perception towards land cover change in the lowland of Bale rangelands, Southeast Ethiopia

“…Generally, bare land cover was increased at a rate of 22.3 % annually during the study period ( Table 2). The result of this study is in agreement with the findings of previous studies from arid and semi-arid rangelands (Tegegn et al, 2011;Elias et al, 2015;Yonas et al, 2016), which reported high levels of bare soil in the rangelands.…”

“…In general, the woodland cover was decreased at a rate of 33.82% annually during the study period (Table 2). The results of this study are in line with several studies that documented a decline in wood vegetation cover in Ethiopian rangelands (Tsegaye et al, 2010;Belay et al, 2014;Yonas et al, 2016).…”

“…This is also evident in most East African countries where areas under forest cover were converted to grazing land, farmland or used for charcoal production (Olson et al, 2004;Yonas et al, 2016). Similar trends have been observed in rangelands of southeast Ethiopia, and we are losing the most important woody species from time to time (Abate et al, 2010).…”

“…Over all, the shrubby grassland cover showed significant decrease annually at a rate of 3.36% (Table 2). The decline in bushy grassland cover which is attributed to excessive human exploitation of the important woody species for firewood and construction, and land clearing for crop production (Yonas et al, 2016).…”