As climate change upends Ethiopia’s pastoral wisdom, adaptations can help
[...]
A study published in mid-2024 suggests innovative strategies combined with these traditional techniques can offer pastoralists a lifeline. Co-author Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, head of the Center for Food Security Studies (CFSS) at Addis Ababa University, emphasizes the need for new water-harvesting techniques.
[...]
Because droughts are becoming increasingly frequent, flash floods have also worsened as the severely dried lands can no longer hold and absorb the infrequent rainwater like they used to. For pastoral and agropastoral communities in the lowlands of Ethiopia's Afar, Somali, Oromia and South Ethiopia regions, German development agency GIZ is working with local partners to come up with water-spreading weirs (WSWs). These structures, made of natural stone and concrete, are used to dam the flow of floodwater runoff.
[...]
Communities often struggle with lack of access to timely and comprehensive data, but the waterpoint monitoring platform gives them real-time information that shows water levels at each waterpoint and the condition of different waterpoints spread across the targeted regions.
[...]
Besides these adaptive measures, pastoralists are increasingly shifting to agropastoralism, growing maize and khat (Catha edulis) while also continuing to herd their livestock. "It's not an ideal option, but growing crops helps us get food for sustenance," Kilas says. "However, crop farming doesn't fully replace the need for grazing land, so we've had to limit the number of livestock we keep and adapt to this new way of life."
[...]