Abstract:
In Ethiopia, natural resources management interventions have been implemented since
the 1980s to restore degraded landscapes. However, little effort has been made to
investigate the impacts on socio economic and bio-physical. The current concerted effort
of the Ethiopian government for the establishment of IWM in every rural area is an
emerging agricultural development and rural livelihood strategy aiming at developing
environmental protection and enhancing rural household‟s income. This study was
therefore aimed to investigate, the impacts of integrated watershed management
interventions on socio economic and biophysical and challenges faced during
implementation and practices of watershed management. To address these, a total of 184
sample households were randomly selected across various topographic settings.
Household survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and personal
transect observations were employed to collect data. The data obtained were analyzed by
using statistical package for social science (SPSS) versions 20. The results of the
investigation showed that, the majority (67.4%) of the household respondents revealed
that they participate only during construction of SWC measures. The results of the
investigation also showed that the majority of the households (96.6%) revealed that after
implementation and practice of watershed management the livelihood of socio economy
of local community was improved. The majority (91.8%) of respondents affirmed that
before watershed management intervention land and natural resource was degraded
because of: deforestation, population pressure, topography, overgrazing, and others
factors. However after implementation and practice of integrated watershed management,
the degraded land and natural resources found in study area was rehabilitated. Thus the
result of the study showed that the integrated watershed management has a Positive
impact on natural resources, socio-economic and environment of the micro watershed.
The results of the study on the other hand indicated that the IWM faced institutional and
implementation challenges.
