By Mekonnen Teshome Tollera
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Despite being a huge resource of renewable surface and ground freshwater that amounts to 123 billion cubic meters per annum and 2.6 billion cubic meters per annum, Ethiopia is confronting huge challenges of disappearing water bodies owing to climate change and over utilization.
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Ethiopia has 12 major river basins and most of its lakes and rivers are found in the Great Rift Valley where the country shares water with Kenya and other lower riparian countries. Huge demands of water for domestic supply, industrial and irrigation uses has brought a burgeoning pressure on Ethiopian water sources. Various scholars and their studies indicate that climate change takes the lion’s share among the reasons for the diminishing lakes and rivers in Ethiopia.
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The misuse and overexploitation of forests, lakes and rivers has also brought about hard ships and difficulties on people and wildlife in most part of Ethiopia. “Pelicans and other birds are emigrating in high numbers from the diminishing lake Abjata. We used to see thousands of Pelicans and other birds around the lake and now it is difficult to spot them in hundreds,” said Fekadu Abay, a security personnel at the Abjata-Shalla National Park.
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