The Political Economy of Land Degradation in Ethiopia

The Political Economy ofLand Degradation in Ethiopia Zemenfes Tsighe Addis Ababa University Ethiopia is an agricultural country with more than 85 percent of its population engaged in agriculture. This sector accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's GDP, and earns almost all of the country's foreign exchange. One of the immediate problems facing Ethiopia today is land degradation , particularly soil and vegetation degradation. On the average, soil erosion is 42 tons/hectare/year in the croplands, but erosion rates as high as 290 tons/hectare/year have been recorded in fields cultivated with teff (Eragrostis tef). The average soil rate loss is six times greater than the rate of soil formation, and it causes an annual reduction of 4 mm in soil depth. More than 34 percent of the Ethiopian highland areas above 1500 meters above sea level—which support 88 percent of the population, 60 percent of livestock, and 90 percent of the agriculturally suitable area—have soil depths of less than 35 cm.1 Although up to 40 percent of Ethiopia is believed to have been under forest cover in the past, continuous cutting of trees for cultivation, fuel, building, etc. has reduced the forest cover to less than 3 percent at present . The Ethiopian economy is, indeed, a biomass fuel economy since fuelwood, dung, charcoal, and crop residue account for 93.9 percent of the country's total energy supply, of which 77 percent is derived from fuelwood.2 In many parts of Ethiopia, hills are devoid of vegetation and bare soil is common. On the Shewan Plateau, for instance, the aboveground biomass is as low as 73.35 gms/m.2 in grazed sites, the livestock density of which is three times the carrying capacity.3® Northeast African Studies (ISSN 0740-9133) Vol. 2, No. 2 (New Series) 1995, pp. 71-98 71 72 Zemenfes Taighe The felling of trees for various purposes, the cultivation of upper catchment areas and steep slopes, which should normally remain under protective cover, and the high stocking rates have produced high rates of land degradation. Over the years, a "deplorable landscape"4 has been produced, making Ethiopia "one of the largest areas of ecological degradation in Africa."5 According to estimations made by the Ethiopian Highlands Reclamation Study (EHRS), about 3.7 percent of the Ethiopian Highlands are so degraded that they cannot support crop cultivation any longer. If present rates of land degradation continue uncontrolled , another 18 percent will be unsuitable or marginally suitable for cultivation by 2010 A.D. In general, 75 percent of the Ethiopian Highlands are threatened by degradation, and they require conservation measures of one kind or another,6 while 5 percent of the country's area should be planted with trees to supply it with its fuel requirements in the period 2010-2020 A.D.7 Land degradation is, thus, a serious problem in Ethiopia, and it is an important element in the poverty and backwardness of Ethiopia's rural population. It reduces food production and it has even created barrenness in some parts of the country. It is abundantly clear that if a balance between population and food supply is to be maintained, a concerted effort must be made to reverse present trends. An increase in food production and standard of living in Ethiopia can be achieved only by conserving its land resources and by introducing development programs that ensure sustained yield. To achieve these objectives, however, the real processes and causes of land degradation must be understood. This article aims to present an overview of the various forces that have resulted in the present state of land degradation in Ethiopia. The article , in particular, draws attention to links between political economy and land degradation. Roof Causes ofLand Degradation in Ethiopia Land degradation in Ethiopia has been variously attributed to peasants' ignorance of proper land management practices or even to their sheer laziness. Aregay, for instance, stated that the Ethiopian people have not been traditionally conservation-minded and that "large-scale soil and water conservation dates back to only a few years, at most a decade," The Political Economy ofLand Degradation in Ethiopia 73 and being "unaware of the...