Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia

Drought is one of the challenges in Ethiopia that affects the agricultural production. Ecosystems can mitigate the effects of climate-related hazards including drought. For this reason, nature-based solutions (NbS) are becoming more prominent to manage climate-related impacts in developing countries...

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Autores principales: Sintayehu, Dejene Workeneh, Kassa, Asfaw Kebede, Tessema, Negash, Girma, Bekele, Alemayehu, Sintayehu, Hassen, Jemal Yousuf
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: MDPI 2023
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Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174018
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author Sintayehu, Dejene Workeneh
Kassa, Asfaw Kebede
Tessema, Negash
Girma, Bekele
Alemayehu, Sintayehu
Hassen, Jemal Yousuf
author_browse Alemayehu, Sintayehu
Girma, Bekele
Hassen, Jemal Yousuf
Kassa, Asfaw Kebede
Sintayehu, Dejene Workeneh
Tessema, Negash
author_facet Sintayehu, Dejene Workeneh
Kassa, Asfaw Kebede
Tessema, Negash
Girma, Bekele
Alemayehu, Sintayehu
Hassen, Jemal Yousuf
author_sort Sintayehu, Dejene Workeneh
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Drought is one of the challenges in Ethiopia that affects the agricultural production. Ecosystems can mitigate the effects of climate-related hazards including drought. For this reason, nature-based solutions (NbS) are becoming more prominent to manage climate-related impacts in developing countries; however, there is still limited empirical evidence, which would inform NbS policy and practices. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize droughts in Eastern Ethiopia (the case of Erer Sub-basin) and assess the effectiveness of various NbS for drought. The temporal changes in soil moisture deficit index (SMDI) (agricultural drought) and standard precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) (meteorological drought) at various timescales (1, 3, and 6 months) between 1981 and 2020 were analyzed. Qualitative analysis was used to categorize and evaluate the effectiveness of NbS to mitigate drought risk by adopting a Living Labs approach. Overall, the study revealed that droughts showed an increasing trend with more frequency, longevity, and severity. The drought analysis results showed that SPEI’s variants were less reliable than SMDI0–5 and SMDI5–100. With an increase in rainfall, SPEI showed stronger relationships with SMDI0–5 at one and two-month delays between May and July. SPEI and SMDI5–100 performed better in terms of capturing actual drought occurrences than SMDI0–5. The results of focus group discussions (FGD) suggested NbS such as habitat restoration, structural restoration, reforestation, rehabilitation, revegetation, land enclosures, conservancies, and locally managed areas have been practiced as a strategy to manage drought risks. Overall, the study indicated that a new, comprehensive approach through nature-based solutions to reduce the risk of drought is urgently needed.
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spelling CGSpace1740182025-12-08T10:29:22Z Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia Sintayehu, Dejene Workeneh Kassa, Asfaw Kebede Tessema, Negash Girma, Bekele Alemayehu, Sintayehu Hassen, Jemal Yousuf climate change adaptation nature-based solutions restoration drought reforestation rehabilitation Drought is one of the challenges in Ethiopia that affects the agricultural production. Ecosystems can mitigate the effects of climate-related hazards including drought. For this reason, nature-based solutions (NbS) are becoming more prominent to manage climate-related impacts in developing countries; however, there is still limited empirical evidence, which would inform NbS policy and practices. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize droughts in Eastern Ethiopia (the case of Erer Sub-basin) and assess the effectiveness of various NbS for drought. The temporal changes in soil moisture deficit index (SMDI) (agricultural drought) and standard precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) (meteorological drought) at various timescales (1, 3, and 6 months) between 1981 and 2020 were analyzed. Qualitative analysis was used to categorize and evaluate the effectiveness of NbS to mitigate drought risk by adopting a Living Labs approach. Overall, the study revealed that droughts showed an increasing trend with more frequency, longevity, and severity. The drought analysis results showed that SPEI’s variants were less reliable than SMDI0–5 and SMDI5–100. With an increase in rainfall, SPEI showed stronger relationships with SMDI0–5 at one and two-month delays between May and July. SPEI and SMDI5–100 performed better in terms of capturing actual drought occurrences than SMDI0–5. The results of focus group discussions (FGD) suggested NbS such as habitat restoration, structural restoration, reforestation, rehabilitation, revegetation, land enclosures, conservancies, and locally managed areas have been practiced as a strategy to manage drought risks. Overall, the study indicated that a new, comprehensive approach through nature-based solutions to reduce the risk of drought is urgently needed. 2023-07-27 2025-04-07T11:51:19Z 2025-04-07T11:51:19Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174018 en Open Access application/pdf MDPI Sintayehu, D.W.; Kassa, A.K.; Tessema, N.; Girma, B.; Alemayehu, S.; Hassen, J.Y. (2023) Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia. Sustainability 15(15): 11613. ISSN: 2071-1050
spellingShingle climate change adaptation
nature-based solutions
restoration
drought
reforestation
rehabilitation
Sintayehu, Dejene Workeneh
Kassa, Asfaw Kebede
Tessema, Negash
Girma, Bekele
Alemayehu, Sintayehu
Hassen, Jemal Yousuf
Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia
title Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia
title_full Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia
title_fullStr Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia
title_short Drought characterization and potential of nature-based solutions for drought risk mitigation in Eastern Ethiopia
title_sort drought characterization and potential of nature based solutions for drought risk mitigation in eastern ethiopia
topic climate change adaptation
nature-based solutions
restoration
drought
reforestation
rehabilitation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174018
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