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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Resilience of the densely populated and semi-arid highlands of Tigray (Northern Ethiopia) – evidence from photomonitoring with 30 years interval
| Panel |
77. Conceptualizing natural hazards, risks and resilience in Africa
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| Paper ID | 219 |
| Author(s) |
Nyssen, Jan ; Munro, R. Neil; Poesen, Jean ; Deckers, Jozef ; Haile, Mitiku ; Grove, A.T. Dick; Segers, Kaatje
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | Studies on the impact of environmental rehabilitation in semi-arid areas are often limited in scale, and do typically not include detailed bio-physical components. As a first in its kind, the present study makes a multi-scale assessment over a time span of 30 years of environmental rehabilitation in one of the worlds’ most degraded areas: the Tigray highlands in Northern Ethiopia, where population has more than doubled over that period. Using methods related to geomorphology, hydrology, soil science and multi-temporal photomonitoring, we show that in Tigray, soil erosion rates have decreased, infiltration and spring discharge are enhanced, vegetation cover has increased and crop production improved compared to the prevailing situation a few decades ago. These impacts are quantified and substantiated by a comparison of current landscapes to the past situation by means of a comprehensive database of 30-year old photographs of representative landscapes covering the major agro-ecological zones of the region. This resilience will be discussed in the light of the socio-economic context in which it has taken place. |
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