This new, low-cost method of repairing gullies and restoring land is working out well in Ethiopia. Courtesy Rediet Girma. Nearly a quarter of the land in Ethiopia is degraded. It has lost its quality and can no longer grow crops, support plant life, or hold water as it used to. The causes are mainly human pressures (deforestation, overuse, poor land management) and natural factors (heavy rainfall that erodes the soil, and variations in the climate).
The consequences are dire and far-reaching. Degraded landscapes do more than reduce agricultural productivity. They are scarred by deep gullies, and water flows very fast over the areas when it rains, sweeping away precious topsoil. Rain no longer soaks into the soil, reducing the groundwater recharge (the amount of water that replenishes aquifers below ground when it rains). Stored carbon is released, making climate change worse.
Therefore, land restoration has become both a development and a climate necessity.
Read more: Lessons from Kenya on how to restore degraded land
I am a senior researcher with over 25 years of expertise in landscape restoration, climate change adaptation, soil science and natural resources management. My work focuses on solutions.
I was part of a team of researchers who set out to explore whether low-cost, nature-based solutions designed and applied by communities could successfully reverse land degradation at scale.
We looked at setting up exclosures (areas of degraded land which are fenced off to allow the space to regenerate naturally). In a separate research project in southern Ethiopia, we investigated:
whether we could rehabilitate gullies or rifts in a low cost manner to minimise further soil loss
what farmers and communities think of these gully interventions
whether involving farmers in practical trials on their farms improves their knowledge and their willingness to restore degraded land in future.
Our research found that exclosures play a critical role in reducing soil erosion and restoring vegetation cover. Without animals grazing, and humans farming or chopping wood in these areas, the land in the exclosures can regenerate naturally within about five years, a short period of time. This increases ecosystem carbon stocks, improving soil moisture and enhancing biodiversity.
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Beyond environmental benefits, exclosures also form useful buffers for communities against droughts and floods. This is because they enhance dry-season water availability, reduce the fast flow of water during floods, and support livelihood diversification.
We also found that there are effective low-cost and locally adapted ways to fill up gullies.
The study found that simple, low-cost methods can stop gullies from growing rapidly. This prevents major soil loss. Farmers supported the measures, and practical field trials helped build knowledge, confidence and willingness to act.
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We concluded from the findings of the two research projects that these two approaches – fencing off areas and filling gullies – are simple yet powerful. By cultivating this work on the ground through trust, community ownership and shared benefit, the people living in these areas can protect their farmland from soil erosion, reduce crop losses, grow grass or feed for their animals and create opportunities to forage for indigenous edible and medicinal plants.
Exclosures, when managed collectively, provide grass, fodder, fuelwood, and non-timber products like edible fruits and honey for the whole community.
These are lifelines for rural Ethiopian households who are trying to cope with life under an increasingly uncertain climate.
We used both numerical data and community feedback to study protected restoration areas and how they affect plant recovery, soil health, erosion, water retention and local livelihoods.
