Tesfahun Tsedey, Abegaz Assefa, Abate Esubalew
Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Addis Ababa University, P.O.Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Department of Urban Environmental Studies, Kotebe University of Education, P.O.Box 31248, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2024 Aug 23;10(17):e36794. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36794. eCollection 2024 Sep 15.
Globally, the degradation of soil, water, and forests has had a significant impact on both livelihoods and the environment. This issue is particularly severe in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Despite extensive efforts to implement conservation measures for soil, water, and forests in the highlands of Ethiopia, there has been a lack of thorough evaluation and documentation regarding the adoption of these practices by rural households. It is crucial to have scientific and up-to-date information at various spatial scales in order to effectively monitor existing practices, scale up successful initiatives, and promote sustainable regional development. Therefore, this paper focuses on analyzing the adoption of soil, water, and forest conservation activities by households in the upper Gelana watershed, South Wollo zone, Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. The field data collection for this study took place from January to March 2022, from 150 rural household heads. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS software version 23. Descriptive statistics, Pearson bivariate correlation, and multinomial logistic regression were used. The survey findings revealed that 69 % of the respondents had implemented various soil, water, and forest conservation measures at different stages. The Pearson correlation results indicated a positive relationship between the adoption of soil, water and forest conservation practices. The multinomial logistic regression analysis has revealed that age, gender, access to credit, and access to extension services, significantly influenced the households' decision behaviour to adopt soil conservation practices. Age, access to extension service, and access to water resource were significant predictors of adoption of water conservation practices; whereas age, educational status, and access to extension service were significant predictors of adoption of forest conservation practices. This study underscores the significance of institutional factors in driving the adoption of technology in the research area. It further recommends policies that prioritize the dissemination of information on effective strategies, improvement of access to extension services, water resources, and credit facilities to promote sustainable watershed management. This study is exceptional in its innovative approach, which explores the convergence of these vital conservation domains within the distinct setting of the upper Gelana watershed. Studying the adoption of these technologies is crucial for informing policy-making and designing effective interventions that promote sustainable watershed practices. In this case, the Ministry of Agriculture, and development agents should scale up the adoption of these practices and take remedial actions for those not yet adopted.
在全球范围内，土壤、水和森林的退化对生计和环境都产生了重大影响。这个问题在包括埃塞俄比亚在内的发展中国家尤为严重。尽管埃塞俄比亚高地为实施土壤、水和森林保护措施付出了巨大努力，但对于农村家庭采用这些措施的情况，缺乏全面的评估和记录。为了有效监测现有做法、扩大成功举措并促进区域可持续发展，在不同空间尺度上获取科学和最新信息至关重要。因此，本文重点分析埃塞俄比亚阿姆哈拉州南沃洛地区上盖拉纳流域家庭对土壤、水和森林保护活动的采用情况。本研究的实地数据收集于2022年1月至3月进行，来自150位农村户主。使用SPSS 23版软件进行数据分析。采用了描述性统计、皮尔逊双变量相关性分析和多项逻辑回归分析。调查结果显示，69%的受访者在不同阶段实施了各种土壤、水和森林保护措施。皮尔逊相关性分析结果表明，土壤、水和森林保护措施的采用之间存在正相关关系。多项逻辑回归分析表明，年龄、性别、获得信贷的机会以及获得推广服务的机会，对家庭采用土壤保护措施的决策行为有显著影响。年龄、获得推广服务的机会以及获得水资源的机会是采用节水措施的重要预测因素；而年龄、教育程度和获得推广服务的机会是采用森林保护措施的重要预测因素。本研究强调了制度因素在推动研究区域技术采用方面的重要性。它进一步建议制定政策，优先传播有效策略的信息，改善获得推广服务、水资源和信贷设施的机会，以促进可持续的流域管理。本研究在创新方法方面具有独特性，它在独特的上盖拉纳流域环境中探索了这些重要保护领域之间的融合。研究这些技术的采用情况对于为政策制定提供信息以及设计促进可持续流域实践的有效干预措施至关重要。在这种情况下，农业部和发展机构应扩大这些措施的采用范围，并对尚未采用的措施采取补救行动。
