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This review paper presents the results of many years’ research and field observations on ecological status of the catchment of Lake Tana in relation to the socioeconomic issues. There are a number of wetlands in Lake Tana region such as shore areas, head springs, permanent and temporary floodplains (riverine and manmade) which serve as crop production, fisheries, sand mining, wetland products harvesting,...
The rapid population growth of Addis Ababa poses the city with many environmental challenges. The current fragmented approach to sanitation and poor waste management has brought serious environmental and health problems. The study deployed purposive and stratified cluster sampling techniques in diagnosing the institutional arrangements for waste management through personal interviews and focus group...
Several cases of the developing water crisis in semi-arid regions of Tanzania are described. Some cases have transboundary causes. These include Lake Victoria and the riparian population as a result of hydroelectricity developments in Uganda, the Serengeti ecosystem threatened by deforestation of the Mau forest and irrigation in Kenya, and several national parks threatened by irrigation projects within...
We sampled fishes of the rivers Gendwuha, Guang, Shinfa, and Ayima with 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 cm stretched mesh gillnet, monofilament of different mesh sizes, hook and line, fykenet and castnet. During October 2007 through January 2008 in both dry and wet seasons. 27 fish species were identified from the four rivers represented by the families: Centropomidae, Cichlidae, Bagridae, Schilbeidae, Clariidae,...
The water resources of the Lake Tana catchment are largely untapped. Currently, water resource development is being promoted to stimulate economic growth. This study utilized the WEAP model to determine the likely impact of a number of possible development scenarios on lake water levels. For each scenario, the model was used to simulate water demand in three sectors (i.e. irrigation, hydropower and...
Fishery and aquaculture play an enormous role in reducing poverty and alleviating food insecurity at household level. The first fish stocking program in Ethiopia was reported as early as 1925. Indigenous Oreochromis niloticus, Tilapia zilli, Clarias gariepinus and non-native Cyprinus carpio, Carassius carassius, Carassius auratus, Ctenopharyngodon idella and Salmo trutta fish species were used for...
The distribution of Lake Tana fish species was studied from January 2000 to December 2003. Samples were collected monthly using gill-nets of 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140 mm stretched mesh size. Labeobarbus spp., Oreochromis niloticus, Claris gariepinus and Varicorhinus beso are commercially important fish species and form 77%, 13%, 9% and 1% of the pooled experimental fish catch. There was significant...
The significance of solid waste management in ecohydrology research is obvious given the potential threat that solid waste poses on the intrinsic services of water purification, particularly in areas of high temperatures and precipitation levels. Improper waste disposal systems have adverse repercussions on environmental sanitation and impede water quality management efforts. The potential risk to...
Semi-intensive aquaculture practice started in 2005 in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. An evaluation survey was undertaken in September 2009. Beneficiaries, key informants and various groups were interviewed. Constructed aquaculture ponds were different in source of water, structure, age, original purpose, level of integration and the type of fish stocked. Farming households integrated aquaculture...
Land degradation caused by soil erosion (sheet and rill erosion) and soil fertility decline is a serious threat in the Ethiopian highlands, especially in the Gumara watershed. In this study the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model was applied to the Gumara watershed to predict sediment yield and runoff, to establish the spatial distribution of sediment yield and to test the potential of watershed...
The input of rain water to the forest floor and the composition of rainfall and throughfall water were monitored between October 2001 and September 2002 in a natural and two plantation (Eucalyptus globulus and Cupressus lusitanica) forests at Munesa, southeastern highlands of Ethiopia. The proportions of throughfall to annual incident rainfall that passed through the different forest canopies were...
In temperate zones, algae biomass may be efficiently controlled by Daphnia sp., which is the most significant grazer among filter-feeding zooplankton. Daphnia population dynamics depends mostly on the trophic state of the ecosystem, which determines both fish community structure and food quality and availability. Relatively invariable water inflow to a reservoir with small amplitudes supports balanced...
This article introduces the rationale and the brief review of the content of the selected papers from the International Symposium “Ecohydrology for sustainable water ecosystems and society in Ethiopia” held on 18th-21st of November 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia” organized by the European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology under the auspices of UNESCO and the Ministry of Water and Energy of Ethiopia,...
To improve our understanding of the hierarchy of human induced modifications of the natural environment, with particular regard to the controlling strength of the habitat or chemical impacts, it was found to be appropriate to employ indicators at a molecular level. This paper examines the potential use of the analysis of the RNA/DNA ratio for the evaluation of the ecological status of two rivers of...
Demographic and socioeconomic pressures resulted in increase of agricultural production, which in turn led to increase in nitrate pollution to groundwater. Biotechnologies create an opportunity to boost the efficiency of groundwater treatment at the ecosystem scale. The aim of the study was to build an underground denitrifying barrier around the manure storing place composed of organic material and...
This paper presents the findings of the socio-economic impact of household-level water harvesting technology. Before water harvesting was introduced, onions were not grown in the area due to lack of seedlings. Thus onion seedlings were grown on 100 m2 plots using water from the ponds in the dry season, then sold or planted under rainfed conditions during the rainy season. The results obtained show...
This paper is based on a country report for Ethiopia prepared as a part of the ecohydrology component of IHP UNESCO’s FRIEND/Nile-phase II Project. It reviews past and current research in the Lake Tana sub-basin around the lake. The objective of the study was to determine the ecohydrological status of the Lake as a tool for integrated water resource management in improving the sustainability of the...
This study introduced the spatial pattern of PCDD, PCDF and dl-PCB concentration in the sediments of Ethiopian small river-lake system. Among the analyzed samples the highest contamination was observed in the lake littoral (222.11 ng kg-1 d.w.). The lowest concentration was noted at the outflow from the lake (26.65 ng kg-1 d.w.). The WHO-TEQ concentrations showed decreasing trend along the river-lake...
Lake Gudera, a highland lake, is highly degraded by agricultural activity, but still serves the local community for irrigation and livestock watering. Preliminary investigations indicated chemical composition of NO3 (0.7 mg dm-3), turbidity (26 NTU) and conductivity (78 μs cm-1) with poor floristic and faunistic composition. The Community Elders explained that the wetland encroachment started in 1986/1987,...
The physico-chemical parameters of coffee effluent consists of very high amount of BOD (2200 mg dm-3), TDS (1810 mg dm-3), NO3 (26.4 mg dm-3), NH4 + (12.6 mg dm-3), low pH (4.3) and zero DO values. Despite the reduction of these values by dilution effect of river water, BOD values as high as 1900 mg dm-3 and 1700 mg dm-3 were found at the downstream sites of Bore and Fite rivers. For biological assemblage...
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