Severe land degradation and recurring droughts have undermined agriculture and livelihoods across Ethiopia’s arid and semi-arid regions, where over 85% of land is degraded. A long-term initiative (2008–2023) implemented community-based watershed restoration in Tigray, East Hararghe, and Dire Dawa using practical, low-cost land and water management measures to reduce erosion and enhance water retention. The interventions improved soil health, restored vegetation, and boosted water availability—demonstrating watershed restoration’s drought-buffering potential and lasting benefits for resilience and livelihoods.
Background
Ethiopia faces a complex convergence of environmental and humanitarian crises driven by climate change and conflict. Over the past two decades, increasingly erratic weather patterns—marked by prolonged droughts, sudden dry spells, and intense rainfall causing floods and landslides—have intensified the country’s already critical land degradation problem. Severe soil erosion, declining fertility, and reduced agricultural productivity have placed immense pressure on communities reliant on rain-fed farming and pastoralism.
Recurring climate shocks, notably the 2015, 2017, and 2022 droughts, have been among the worst in recent history. The 2022 rainy season, the driest in over 40 years, caused widespread crop and livestock losses and acute food insecurity. The hardest-hit areas include Ethiopia’s arid and semi-arid zones—from the highlands of Shewa, Wello, and Tigray to the low-lying agro-pastoral regions of Hararghe, Bale, Sidamo, and Gamo Gofa—where an estimated 28 million people required emergency food aid in the past decade.
In these regions, over 85% of land is degraded due to erosion and unsustainable land use. The loss of fertile topsoil undermines productivity, limits water availability, and increases flood risks and sedimentation—creating a self-reinforcing cycle of poverty and vulnerability. Erratic rainfall further reduces groundwater recharge, compounding water insecurity and weakening rural resilience.
To address these challenges, the initiative implemented long-term, community-based watershed restoration from 2008 to 2023 across Tigray, East Hararghe, and Dire Dawa—areas chronically affected by drought, conflict, and food insecurity. Closely aligned with national priorities such as the Productive Safety Net Program, the initiative introduced practical, low-cost land and water management measures, including soil and stone bunds, terraces, check dams, gabions, and area enclosures. These structures slow runoff, reduce erosion, and enhance infiltration, improving groundwater recharge and dry-season water availability.
Beyond the technical aspects, the initiative emphasized local governance, collective action, and social cohesion—critical for managing resources that cross administrative boundaries. By fostering community ownership and strengthening local institutions, the initiative demonstrated how integrated watershed restoration can build resilience, enhance food security, and sustain livelihoods in fragile, climate-affected landscapes.
Photo by Mayuri Jadhav
Actions taken
Methodology (Actions Taken)
Recognizing the growing urgency to generate credible, science-based evidence on the long-term impacts of watershed restoration, the initiative launched a comprehensive assessment to evaluate biophysical and livelihood outcomes across diverse agroecological zones of Ethiopia. While past interventions had demonstrated visible improvements through community testimonies, systematic impact measurement remained limited by the absence of baseline data and insufficient long-term monitoring systems.
The primary objective of this initiative was to quantify the contribution of community-based watershed management to land, water, and agricultural productivity outcomes over time. The initiative’s technical leadership team, in consultation with national and regional government partners, defined the study’s objectives, indicators, and scope. Researchers, local watershed experts, and community representatives were involved throughout the design and data interpretation processes to ensure contextual relevance and technical rigor.
To capture Ethiopia’s environmental diversity, six representative watersheds were selected from Tigray, Dire Dawa, and East Hararghe—regions characterized by varying topography, rainfall patterns, and land-use systems. These sites reflected different stages of restoration maturity and socioeconomic contexts. The evaluation was structured around two distinct periods: a pre-intervention phase (1984–2008) and a post-intervention phase (2009–2023), with 2008 serving as the threshold year for comparison, as most restoration activities commenced thereafter.
Figure 1: Profiles of the six watersheds.
Given the scarcity of continuous ground-based data, the initiative employed an integrated remote sensing and modeling approach to assess long-term environmental change. Satellite imagery from Landsat (1984–2023) was processed through the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to derive time-series trends for key indicators such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). These indices captured changes in vegetation cover, surface water availability, and drought resilience across wet and dry seasons.
To complement the remote sensing analysis, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)—a widely used biophysical simulation model—was applied to evaluate how watershed restoration interventions affected hydrological processes. The model quantified changes in evapotranspiration (ET), surface runoff, soil moisture, groundwater recharge, and sediment yield. Additionally, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was used to estimate annual soil erosion rates under pre- and post-restoration conditions.
These combined methods provided a robust, multi-scale understanding of how integrated soil and water conservation structures—such as terraces, bunds, and check dams—altered watershed dynamics. Comparative analyses were conducted at both the overall watershed scale and the level of specific intervention sites using development maps.
The methodology thus combined local participation with advanced geospatial technologies, creating a replicable model for evidence-based watershed monitoring. This approach not only generated quantitative evidence of impact but also strengthened local capacity for data-driven decision-making in land and water management.
Outcomes
Outcomes and Results
The watershed restoration initiative achieved significant, measurable improvements across all six study watersheds, demonstrating how integrated land and water management can restore degraded landscapes and strengthen resilience to drought and climate shocks.
Quantitative Results:
Remote sensing and hydrological modeling confirmed consistent gains in vegetation cover, water availability, and soil stability. NDVI and NDWI values increased across all sites, particularly during the dry season, indicating higher soil moisture and sustained vegetation growth when water is typically scarce. In East Hararghe’s Dayaferes and Gambela watersheds, surface water availability rose by more than 36% during drought years, while groundwater recharge increased by up to 76% in Tigray’s Waza watershed. Annual soil loss decreased by an average of 37%, enhancing soil fertility and water infiltration. These changes have reduced erosion, boosted groundwater reserves, and restored the natural hydrological balance—key foundations for productive and drought-resilient agriculture.
Table 1: Summary of watershed-level results showing percentage changes in various indicators following CRS’s watershed management interventions.
Livelihood and Social Outcomes:
The biophysical improvements translated into tangible livelihood gains. Communities reported increased crop yields, expanded irrigation, and the ability to cultivate high-value crops such as onions, tomatoes, sugarcane, and chilies—previously limited by dry-season water scarcity. The availability of water for multiple uses—irrigation, livestock, and domestic needs—has also enhanced household well-being and reduced reliance on emergency food assistance during drought periods.
Resilience and Sustainability
Analysis of watershed during major drought years—1984, 1990, and 1991 (pre-intervention), and 2015, 2017, and 2022 (post-intervention)—confirmed significant gains following the intervention. In the Dayaferes (East Hararghe) for instance water availability increased by 36%, and vegetation greenness by 31% during drought years after the restoration efforts. Areas treated with terracing, bunds, and area enclosures recovered faster after drought events, maintaining vegetation cover and soil moisture even during the extreme dry years of 2015, 2017, and 2022. These findings underscore the role of watershed restoration as both a drought-buffering mechanism and a long-term investment in climate resilience.
Fig 2: Watershed average NDVI and NDWI during major drought years pre- and post-interventions at watershed level and at specific practice’s level
Implementation Lessons and Ongoing Challenges:
While the results are compelling, challenges remain. Some areas continue to experience limited groundwater recharge due to shallow soils or inadequate maintenance of structures. Sustaining the gains requires ongoing community engagement, technical support, and financing for maintenance and scaling. Integrating local governance mechanisms—such as watershed user cooperatives—remains essential to ensure continued collective management and prevent resource-use conflicts.
Broader Impacts and Policy Relevance:
The remote sensing and modeling approach provided a low-cost, scalable method for long-term impact monitoring, filling critical data gaps in fragile and data-poor contexts. This methodology is now being used to inform national programs like the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) and donor investment decisions by identifying cost-effective practices and priority intervention areas.
By combining scientific evidence with participatory learning, the initiative demonstrated that watershed restoration is not only an environmental intervention but also a strategic development pathway—linking ecosystem recovery, food and water security, and rural livelihoods. The experience highlights the transformative potential of data-driven, community-led restoration efforts in achieving lasting resilience and sustainability.
Lessons Learned
Evidence catalyzes policy and scale-up: Empirical evidence from diverse regions will inform government programs such as PSNP and the Green Legacy Initiative. Demonstrating what works, where, and why helps align restoration investments with national climate and food security priorities.
Data and science strengthen credibility: Combining remote sensing and biophysical modeling with community validation provides robust, scalable evidence of impact. This data-driven approach enhances accountability, supports adaptive management, and informs national and donor decision-making.
Integrated watershed management works: A systems approach linking soil, water, and vegetation restoration delivers measurable drought resilience, improved productivity, and sustained livelihoods. Integrating farm- and landscape-level actions ensures impact across ecological and social boundaries.
