Water harvesting experiences from the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network

This paper shares experiences of the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network on rainwater harvesting.It also shares the lessons drawn from policy research awareness creation and networking building of national networks and assessment of promising water harvesting techniques in the Sub-Saharan Africa.The concerted promotional effort of the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network has resulted in the general acceptance of rainwater harvesting as a viable option for boosting domestic water supply agricultural production and environmental sustainability.To date twelve nationally registered rainwater harvesting associations have been established which are providing leadership and capacity building in rainwater harvesting.Governments and donors are also aligning their policies towards providing increased financial institutional and technical support for upscaling rainwater-harvesting techniques. This paper concludes that diligent land and water management is necessary for yielding the highest benefits from rainwater.In addition to enabling policies and institutions there must be ample budgetary support to increase adoption of the technology.

Relationship between Prosopis juliflora invasion and livelihood diversification in the South Afar region,Northeast Ethiopia

This study assessed the effects of Prosopis juliflora invasion on livelihood diversification and evaluated the determinants of livelihood diversification in two districts in the South Afar region of Northeast Ethiopia.Using random sampling method,154 households and 2 focus groups composed of 10 individuals were selected from four sites in the two districts.The relationship between P.juliflora invasion and incomes obtained from P.juliflora varied across the study sites.In Awash Fentale District and Amibara District,11.0%and 3.2%of households,respectively,earned income from P.juliflora charcoal production.In total,14.3%of households were involved in charcoal production.In addition,19.9%of households earned income from selling P.juliflora pods and wood materials in the two districts.With the exception of income from P.juliflora charcoal production,the sex of households did not affect incomes from other livelihood activities.Moreover,household educational attainment significantly affected income obtained from vegetables,fruits,and cereal crops.Male householders were engaged in more diverse livelihood activities than female householders.Reversing the severe invasion of P.juliflora on grazing and woodlands in the region is advisable through integrated natural resources,pastoralist participation,and multidisciplinary research strategies.

Charcoal production through selective logging leads to degradation of dry woodlands:a case study from Mutomo District,Kenya

Provision of woodfuel is an important ecosystem service of dry forests and woodlands. However, charcoal production through selective logging of preferred hardwood species has the potential to alter the physiognomic composition of the residual or re-growth woodlands and may lead to their deterioration and degradation. This study, conducted through forest inventory in Mutomo District in Kenya, assessed the impact of charcoal production on unprotected dry woodlands in terms of tree density, targeted species basal area, species richness, evenness and Shannon diversity. The parameters of the disturbed woodlands were evaluated for significant differences with those of the neighbouring protected Tsavo East National Park, which served as a reference for an ecologically undisturbed ecosystem. By evaluating a consequence of tree harvesting for charcoal production, this study confirmed the overall significant differences between the protected and unprotected woodlands in all the tested parameters. To confirm if the differences in the land-covers of the woodlands had any influence on their degradation, all mentioned parameters were compared between the four differentiated classes and their respective control plots in the protected areas. At the ＂land-cover level＂, the statistically significant difference in the basal area of tree species preferred for charcoal production between the protected and unprotected open trees confirms that the class with a high density of large mature trees is the prime target of charcoal producers. In addition, there seems to be a general trend of lower values of tree species richness, evenness and Shannon diversity for the unprotected woodlands subjected to charcoal production. On the other hand, the disturbed woodlands display the potential to recover through their comparably high saplings density. The findings make an important contribution to the discourse on the impact of charcoal production in dry woodlands, a topic that is highly controversial among researchers.

Invasion of Prosopis juliflora and its effects on soil physicochemical properties in Afar region,Northeast Ethiopia

Woody species within pastures and savannas are often associated with‘resource islands’characterized by higher fertility under canopies trees.The aims of this study were to evaluate(1)the effects of Prosopis juliflora on some soil physicochemical properties and(2)the impacts of Prosopis invasion on soil salinity.For soil physicochemical analysis,a total of 104 soil samples from Teru and Yalo Districts were collected.The soil samples were collected from soil depths of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm in Prosopis invaded and non-invaded open grazing lands.Invasion of Prosopis had significantly affected soil pH,exchangeable Na^(+),water soluble Ca^(2+)+Mg^(2+),water soluble Na^(+),and exchangeable sodium percentage in Teru and Yalo Districts(p<0.05).The invasion of Prosopis significantly increased soil pH(1.5%),but decreased exchangeable Na^(+)(24.2%),exchangeable sodium percentage(21.6%),and water soluble Ca^(2+)+Mg^(2+)(39.9%)than non-invaded lands.Clay content of Prosopis invaded lands was higher by 19%than non-invaded lands.However,sand content of soil was higher under non-invaded lands by 5.6%than Prosopis invaded lands.Most results indicated that invasion of Prosopis had positive effects on physicochemical properties and thus conducive for cereal crops and forages.