2. 2
The Landscape Vision and Strategic Plan outlines the
main opportunities and strategic activities to address
the landscape’s manifold challenges. It is the outcome
of an intensive participatory brainstorming process
involving representatives of the community living in
the landscape, members of the National Chapter, and
government stakeholders.
01 Introduction
Figure 1 - Women group discussing the challenges affecting the landscape and their livelihoods
During the workshop, which was facilitated by
HoA-REC and MetaMeta, participants validated the
preliminary findings of the baseline study, discussed
key challenges, outlined a common vision for the
landscape and, ultimately, identified strategic activities
for implementation.
3. 3
02 Challenges and
opportunities map
Landscape vision:
“Targeted community areas enjoying
high agriculture
and livestock production
with sustainable use of natural
resources”
4. 4
Opportunities Key points
1. Natural
Resources
Management
Natural Resources
Management Plans
- Establish participatory natural resource management plans
Community trainings
on sustainable land
management (SLM)
and water
harvesting (WH)
- Capacity development on environmental management including
invasive species
- Capacity development on soil and water conservation, water
harvesting, and water buffering
- Land use planning
Test and adapt
sustainable land
management and
water harvesting
- Experimentation and adaptation of a variety of locally adapted
SLM and WH methods
- Learning from experience with sub-surface dams
- Gully erosion control
Rehabilitate grazing
land and manage
invasive species
- Re-seeding, controlled grazing, sustainable grazing management
- Test alternative methods to control and eradicate prosopis
- Delineate communal grazing areas
2. Food
security and
Value chains
Ecological Farming
- Soil health and fertility management, biological pest control, crop
diversification, intercropping, crop rotations, and agroforestry
- Experiment with increased capacities on endogenous / locally
adapted crops
- Adapt and adopt soil and water conservation and water
harvesting methods
Agro-pastoral field
schools to share
knowledge and
innovations
- Innovative learning and action approaches to foster self-analysis,
experimentation, adaptation, sharing, and uptake
- Ethno veterinary practices
Improve animal
feeding
- Improve feeding systems (e.g., fodder banks and cut and carry)
- Improve fodder production and diet by integrating multipurpose
trees
Fewer and better
animals
- Rational herd management, herd size should match carrying
capacity of grazing land / farmland
Strengthen value
chains and develop
new market options
- Market surveys (e.g., poultry, honey, propolis, dairy products,
gums, and resins)
- Cow fattening and introduction of good bulls
- Strengthening milk value chain (storage, transportation,
treatment, marketing, labelling)
- Price information system
Beekeeping and
poultry production
- Promotion of poultry production
- Training on beekeeping and provision of beehives
Create / strengthen
women’s
cooperatives and
producer groups
- Financing / credit schemes to support starting small businesses
- Support women’s cooperatives and producer groups
3. Energy and
Waste
Alternative energy
sources
- Solar energy for household use
- Windmills for shallow well pumping
- Household-scale biogas plants
6. 6
As in many other (semi-)arid areas, people in the
Maroodi Jeex Landscape experience periods of water
scarcity even though on a yearly basis there is enough
rainfall and run-off. Water is just not available in the
right place at the right time. In addition, high erosion
rates threaten cultivable areas and the productivity
of the fields. The implementation of water buffering
interventions, the so-called recharge-retention-reuse
(3R) infrastructure, contributes to the storage of water
when it is plentiful to make it available for the dry
periods and reduces the risk of flash floods. It creates
opportunities to expand and improve agricultural
practices and to extend the chain of uses (Tuinhof
et al. 2012)1
. By increasing the amount of water
available for basic hygiene, cooking, and agricultural
production during previously water scarce periods,
the risk of water borne and water washed diseases
is reduced, diets are diversified (Maddrell and Neal,
2012)2
, and more income is generated. Furthermore,
the siting of, for example, sand and subsurface
dams close to settlements highly reduces the time
required to collect water freeing up hours of time. The
household tasks of women and children are made less
burdensome, creating opportunities to spend (more)
time on alternative activities such as education and the
collection, processing, and sale of (natural) products.
At the same time, men do not have to move livestock
so far in search of water and pasture, allowing them to
stay closer to the settlements.
The potential for water buffering in the Maroodi Jeex
Landscape was mapped based on the landscape’s
soil map, greenness, field observations, and satellite
imagery. On the map, the area is divided into zones
indicating recommended land use, soil and water
conservation measures, buffering interventions, and
storage infrastructure. Specific characteristics of the
area are described, and recommendations are made,
indicating what landscape measures are most feasible
and where. This map provides a strong planning tool
when selecting landscape restoration measures and
localizing them within the landscape. The landscape
is divided into three main zones: the upper catchment
and plateaus (zone A), the slopes (zone B), and the
wadis and riverbanks (zone C). A detailed description
of the 3R measures can be found at bebuffered.com, for
example in the publication entitled SecuringWater and
Land in the Tana Basin (Knoop et al., 2012)
ZoneAconsistsofplateausandsteepslopesatthearea’s
plateau ridges. In these locations the soils are shallow,
and the current land use consists of bare land or shrubs.
The erosion at the ridges is generally severe. The main
challenges are to reduce erosion to protect the soil and
support new soil formation, increase the water holding
capacity, increase infiltration, and decrease run-off.
This will help to reduce the sediment load downstream
and make the run-off more gradual, thereby reducing
flash floods and increasing water run-off over a longer
period. Hence, the recommended land-use on the
plateaus is forest or agriculture, supported by one
or more of the following 3R measures: grass strips,
mulching, planting pits, demi lunes, tied ridges, and /
or bench terraces (figure 3). On the ridges, the slopes
are too steep for active land-use. It is recommended
to protect these areas to reduce severe erosion. To do
so, the following 3R measures are recommended: plant
trees, create bench terraces, disallow grazing, install
gully plugs, and check dams.
Zone B consists of slopes (with the exception of the
very steep slopes at the ridges that are part of zone
A). Slopes make up most of the landscape and can
be subdivided into subzones, each with their own
characteristics. The first are the outcrops and other
bare rocks (zone B1) where the soils are absent. These
areas are scattered throughout the landscape and are
currently bare, or built-up (i.e., settlements) and partly
used as grazing grounds. To further develop these
areas, the recommended land use is forest or shrubs,
which can be supported by 3R measures such as tree
planting, contour bunds, and protection of the eroded
areas. Almost the same advice stands for the second
zone (zone B2). In contrast to zone B1, some soil is
presentinzoneB2.Thesoilsinthiszoneareveryshallow
and subject to severe erosion due to high run-off. The
slopes at these locations are medium, and the run-off
stems from the accumulation of water from upstream
1
Tuinhof A., F. Van Steenbergen, P. Vos and L. Tolk (2012). Profit from storage. The costs and benefits of water buffering. Wageningen, The
Netherlands: 3R Water Secretariat.
03 Recommended land use
and 3R measures
7. 7
areas and the very limited infiltration capacity. On these
degraded areas, forest or shrubs is the recommended
land use, so as to restore the soil and increase the
infiltration and water holding capacity. The third zone
type within the slopes zone (zone B3) is locations with
steep slopes. In this zone, thicker soils than in zone B1
and B2 are found, with reasonable depths of about 0.5
- 1m, which are subject to severe erosion. This land is
mostly bare and used for grazing. It is recommended
that this zone type be converted into protected areas
by applying the following 3R measures: tree planting
and the installation of contour bunds and terraces, rock
catchments, and gully plugs. Also, it is recommended
to prevent grazing until the vegetation has recovered.
On the less steep slopes with reasonable soils (0.5
– 1m depth), three zones can be distinguished:
locations where grassland or sparse vegetation is
present (zone B4), where currently trees and orchards
are present (zone B5), and areas with limited erosion
and (potentially) arable land (zone B6). From these
types, zone B6 is most suitable for agriculture and/or
extensive grazing. Here, 3R measures like mulching,
demi lunes, tied ridges, trenches, and bench terraces
are recommended. In zone B5, and to a lesser extent in
zone B6, adapted agriculture, i.e., with soil and water
conservation measures and with specifically selected
robust crop types, could be feasible next to forests. It
is recommended that grass strips, mulching, planting
pits, and bench terraces be combined with adapted
agriculture.
Zone C refers to those areas where the soil consists
of alluvial deposits and that are flat to gently sloping.
This type is relatively limited and can be found along
the wadis and riverbanks where many of the villages
are located. Agriculture, including vegetation and fruit
trees,arefoundinthiszone,whichismostpronetoflood
risks. It is recommended to consider these flood events
when planning here. The weakest soils, wadi banks,
and riparian vegetation can be fenced, appointed as
conservation areas where grazing is prohibited, and
afforested where possible. For this zone, adapted
agriculture is recommended with 3R measures like
grass strips and bench terraces. Additionally, the wadis
have a potential for the construction of sand dams
and/or subsurface dams, which maintain the water in
the riverbed to be abstracted with shallow wells. The
subsurface dams already present in the area can serve
as an example for the broader application of such
measures.
For most of the zones controlled grazing is
recommended. To reduce high livestock pressure on
the landscape, instead of grazing areas, more effective
fodder production could be considered in the zones
most suited for that type of production (zone A1, B5,
B6 and C).
It is important to keep in mind that the map is based on
general data, complemented and further specified with
observations in the field. Therefore, the map provides a
good indication of the location of the different zones,
but the boundaries between zones may not be strict.
When it comes to implementation of concrete soil and
water conservation measures, field validation remains
required.
2
Maddrell S and I Neal (2012). Sand dams: A practical guide, Excellent Development, London.
03 Recommended land use
and 3R measures
8. 8
Figure 3 - Left to right: grass strips, plastic mulch, planting pits, and gully plugs (from Knoop et al., 2012; photos: Mathias Gurtner, GIZ
and MetaMeta)
July 8th, 2015 - Addis Ababa, Hargeisa, The Netherlands
