Abstract:
Depletion of natural resources is among the major problems facing human beings all over the
world in general and Ethiopia in particular. Decades ago the natural resources of the country
were in a better condition as compared to today's status which might be due to population
pressure and unwise utilization of the resources in which the management approaches is
completely depend on an externally induced knowledge and system and ignored the traditional
management system. The main objective of this study is to examine the role of the Gada System
in natural resources conservation in Ambo District. The study has employed mixed method
research design. Data for the study were collected using various data collection technique such
as the questionnaire, interview, focused group discussions and document analysis. The findings
of the study show that the Gada system as indigenous knoldge contributed a lot in binding the
importance of conserving natural environment for sustainable human life. It served as a source
of knowledge for the local community regarding the importance of natural resource
conservation. The finding also shows that lack of awareness making on Gada values negatively
affecting the communities’ natural resource conservation practices. Furthermore, the study
revealed that challenges like ignorance of indigenous knowledge by the stakeholders and
absence of the Gada rules in a written form highly affecting the utilization of the Gada values for
natural resource conservation. Based on the findings, the study recommends some important
measures to be practiced. Thus, there is a call for participatory decision-making between policy
makers, implementers and actual resource users to utilize indigenous knowledge for sustainable
development.
