Academic literature on the topic 'And Peoples Region (Ethiopia)'

The thesis concerns the reactions of groups of people to the introduction of local languages into the primary education system in Ethiopia. The changing patterns of language use in education come in response to the language policies of the Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia, which were first introduced in 1991. The geographical area under consideration is the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR). Eight local languages, spoken by the most populous groups of people in the region, are now in use in the primary education system. Some areas of the region have, however, continued to use Amharic, the national language, in primary schools. The field-work discusses the patterns of language use in education, and attitudes towards language use, in areas where local languages have been introduced, and those where Amharic is used. The thesis considers the wider implications of the reform for the peoples of the SNNPR, and, in furtherance of this objective, an attempt is made to place the reform in its historical context. That historical context includes the development of government language policy and the historical patterns of language use in the Ethiopian state, as well as the history of the peoples of the south-west of the country. The reform raises questions which concern identity and opportunity, for the peoples of the south-west of Ethiopia, considered as whole units, and for the individuals who belong to these groups of people. The reform also has profound implications for the status of these groups of people in the Ethiopian state. Opinions about the implications of this reform vary considerably, and the questions addressed by the field-work are a subject of importance in current political debate in Ethiopia.

The contemporary phenomenon of the global rush for farmland has generated intense debate from different actors. While the proponents embrace it as a 'development opportunity', the critics dub it 'land grabbing'. Others use a neutral term: 'large-scale land acquisitions'. Whatever terminology is used, one fact remains indisputable - since 2007 vast swathes of farmlands in developing countries have been sold or leased out to large-scale commercial farmers. Ethiopia is one of the leading countries in Africa in this regard and, as a matter of state policy, it promotes these investments in peripheral regions that are predominantly inhabited by pastoralists and other indigenous communities. So far, the focus of most of the studies on this phenomenon has been on its economic, food security and environmental aspects. The questions of land rights and political implications have been to a great extent overlooked. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to this knowledge gap by drawing upon the experience of the Gambella regional state - the epicentre of large-scale land acquisition in Ethiopia. To this end, this thesis argues that large-scale land acquisitions in Ethiopia is indeed redefining indigenous communities' right to land, territories and natural resources in fundamental ways. By doing so, it also threatens the post-1991 social contract - i.e. ethnic federalism - between the envisaged new Ethiopian state and its diverse communities, particularly the peripheral minorities and indigenous ethnic groups.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Tigray region in northern Ethiopia is a historic centre of agricultural production and home to many subsistence farmers that still use traditional farming systems and practise rain-fed agriculture. The region has been affected adversely by famines and periodic droughts for centuries and is vulnerable to climate change. Farmers are producing on small plots of often degraded land and through their own actions have depleted the natural resources they rely on, in particular soil, water and trees. This study sought to explore the environmental degradation of Tigray through both a literature review of its agricultural socio-political history and a lived experience in the village of Abraha We Atsebaha among farmers of the region. It uses a variety of methodologies and methods, including a literature review, grounded theory, narrative inquiry and ethnography, to expand on the factors that have contributed to the current degradation, the implications for traditional farming and the potential for land regeneration. The first journal article seeks to explore how Ethiopians have shaped their natural environment. In particular, it focuses on deforestation, soil degradation, the role of changing governance and land-ownership patterns, and the effects of climate change. The article demonstrates that traditional farming systems do not operate in isolation from their socio-political and environmental context. The second journal article provides an in-depth narrative inquiry conducted in Abraha We Atsebaha over a three-month period in 2014. This village is known for its indigenous farming knowledge, commitment to regeneration and innovation in conservation practices. Interviews were conducted with selected farmers and local leaders and informal discussions were carried out with government extension representatives using the ethno-ecological cosmos-corpus-praxis guidelines to enable an integrated exploration of the nature of traditional farming, the causative factors of environmental deterioration and the resultant communal response. In addition to written interview notes, observations and field notes were recorded daily. Photographs are used to give a real sense of the community and their work. It emerged during this process that underlying belief systems were exceptionally important in a context of traditional conservation. Both articles discuss the development work undertaken by government in the rural farming sector and the successes and challenges faced. They also show that elements of traditional farming, sustainability measures and environmental care were suspended in favour of short-term survival as a consequence of social, political and population stressors. This study provides learning points, gained from insights gleaned from the literature review and the lived experience, for improving development interventions in this region. This study did not explicitly explore the role of religion in conservation or the potential long-term effects of current government policies and initiatives. However, it contributes to the small pool of literature on the region focused on traditional farming systems by providing a comprehensive overview of the drivers of degradation (historical and current) and offers a unique, “soft” experiential narration of a village in northern Ethiopia that allows insight into farmer experiences, pressures and adaptation efforts.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Tigray-streek in die noorde van Ethiopië is ’n historiese sentrum van landbouproduksie en die tuiste van menige bestaansboer wat nog op tradisionele boerderystelsels en reënbesproeiing staatmaak. Die streek het eeue lank onder hongersnood en periodieke droogtes gebuk gegaan en is kwesbaar vir klimaatsverandering. Boere bewerk klein stukke, dikwels afgetakelde, grond en het deur hul eie optrede die natuurlike hulpbronne waarop hulle staatmaak – veral die grond, water en bome – uitgeput. Hierdie studie was daarop toegespits om ’n beter begrip te vorm van die omgewingsaftakeling in Tigray. Vir hierdie doel is ’n literatuurstudie van die sosiopolitieke landbougeskiedenis van die gebied onderneem, en is die lewe in die dorp Abraha We Atsebaha tussen boere van die streek ervaar. Die navorsing het van ’n verskeidenheid metodologieë en metodes, waaronder ’n literatuuroorsig, gegronde teorie, narratiewe ondersoek en etnografie, gebruik gemaak om lig te werp op die faktore wat tot die huidige aftakeling bygedra het, die implikasies vir tradisionele boerdery, en die potensiaal vir grondvernuwing. Die eerste tydskrifartikel verken hoe Ethiopiërs hul natuurlike omgewing gevorm het. Dit konsentreer veral op ontbossing, grondaftakeling, die rol van veranderende staatsbestuurs- en grondbesitpatrone, en die uitwerking van klimaatsverandering. Die artikel toon dat tradisionele boerderystelsels nie afsonderlik van hul sosiopolitieke en omgewingskonteks funksioneer nie. Die tweede tydskrifartikel beskryf ’n narratiewe diepte-ondersoek wat oor ’n drie maande lange tydperk in 2014 in Abraha We Atsebaha onderneem is. Hierdie dorp is bekend vir sy inheemse landboukennis, toewyding aan vernuwing, en innoverende bewaringspraktyke. Onderhoude is met ’n uitgesoekte groep boere en plaaslike leiers gevoer, en voorligtingsbeamptes van die staat is by informele gesprekke betrek. Die etno-ekologiese cosmos-corpus-praxis-riglyne is gebruik om ’n geïntegreerde studie te onderneem van die aard van tradisionele boerdery, die oorsaaklike faktore van omgewingsaftakeling, en die gevolglike gemeenskapsreaksie. Benewens skriftelike aantekeninge gedurende die onderhoude, is waarnemings en veldnotas ook daagliks opgeteken. Foto’s word gebruik om die gemeenskap en hul werk getrou uit te beeld. Gedurende hierdie proses het aan die lig gekom dat onderliggende oortuigingstelsels besonder belangrik is in ’n tradisionele bewaringskonteks. Albei artikels bespreek die ontwikkelingswerk wat die regering in die landelike boerderysektor onderneem, sowel as die suksesse en uitdagings daarvan. Dit toon ook dat elemente van tradisionele boerdery, volhoubaarheidsmaatreëls en omgewingsorg as gevolg van maatskaplike, politieke en bevolkingsfaktore laat vaar is ten gunste van korttermynoorlewing. Die insigte wat uit die literatuuroorsig sowel as die lewenservaring in die bestudeerde gemeenskap spruit, bied lesse vir die verbetering van ontwikkelingsintervensies in die streek. Die studie het nie uitdruklik die rol van godsdiens in bewaring of die potensiële langtermynuitwerking van huidige staatsbeleide en -inisiatiewe ondersoek nie. Tog dra dit by tot die klein hoeveelheid beskikbare literatuur oor tradisionele boerderystelsels in die streek deur ’n omvattende oorsig te bied van die (historiese en huidige) snellers van aftakeling, en vertel dit ’n unieke, ‘sagte’ ervaringsverhaal oor ’n dorp in die noorde van Ethiopië om sodoende insig in landbou-ervarings, -druk en -aanpassingspogings te bied.

Region 5 is one of the most impoverished and insecure regions of Ethiopia. For decades, the region has suffered from a multitude of armed conflicts involving state and non-state actors. Region 5 is also one of the most underserved states of Ethiopia with some of the lowest levels of human development indicators nationwide. Although the adversities of poverty and conflict are widely acknowledged in their own respect, there has been little or no inquest into why poverty and conflict have prevailed under the same space for decades. Poverty and conflict have often been seen as separate phenomena that are dealt with using different sets of theories and practices in the real world. Nonetheless, a closer look at poverty and conflict in Region 5 reveals that both are strongly connected to each other. The poverty-conflict trap has been an on-going cycle in the region for the last five decades. The main intent of this research paper is analyzing the two-way relationship between poverty and conflict in Region 5. By studying this relationship, this analysis seeks to contribute to a new framework that brings peacebuilding and development closer.

In the Amhara region of Ethiopia, the government has promoted a range of forestry initiatives aimed at rehabilitation of degraded land and provision of forest products. This research examined household attitudes and technical and institutional aspects of the programmes to determine how they could more effectively improve rural livelihoods and increase environmental sustainability. Households surveyed in nine villages (Kebeles) practiced mixed subsistence farming; asset endowments were variable among households, despite the government’s assumption that all households are similarly motivated to participate in forestry interventions. The majority (82%) of households plant trees on their land; the level of private tree planting is positively correlated with several wealth indicators (e.g., livestock ownership, surplus labour) and frequency of contact with an extension agent. Household tree planting activities are also influenced by Kebele-level attributes, for example, access to forest nurseries and the type of forestry intervention present in the Kebele. Household proximity to the woodland and agro-ecological potential has no effect on tree planting activities; open grazing constrains tree growing in the region. All three types of rehabilitation intervention examined (i.e., community woodlots, hillside closures, land allocation) were implemented on degraded communal land; the opportunity costs of the interventions, in terms of loss of access, have been felt more deeply by households located near intervention sites than those at a distance. Interventions managed by user groups or directly by participants are viewed more positively than those led by local government authorities (the Kebele Administrations, KA). Lack of community involvement in design and decision-making, and an underuse of products and revenue generated from community woodlots are common features in KA-led interventions.

Access to markets is increasingly regarded in development circles as a critical factor in determining livelihood choices in peasant economies. In the northeastern Peruvian Amazon, a multitude of river transporters and market intermediaries based in the central city of Iquitos provide essential services and market opportunities for remote peasant producers across the region. Using a multi-scalar, multi-method approach involving extensive fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon, this research (re)assesses the meanings and implications of "remoteness" and "connectedness" for rural peasants. At the regional scale, I examine the functional heterogeneity of river trading networks and marketing agents. Given the high-risk/high-transaction-cost environment, river trading is found to be expensive for producers and traders alike. High costs are exacerbated by the low gross returns of rural production (mainly food and natural building materials). Thin or missing markets for credit, labour, land and insurance increase the hardships associated with limited access to product markets. Regional findings are complemented with a comparative livelihoods analysis in two remote communities of the Alto Tigre River that benefit from differential access to oil-labour. My study reveals that differential access to labour has significant impacts on the livelihood strategies of working households. However, given limited access to external markets, cash-income from oil-labour is found to offer limited opportunities for growth. In sum, the research proposes insights for advancing the debate on livelihoods and poverty in the Peruvian Amazon.

In these days environmental issues are critical. Environmental concerns mainly rise from energy productions. Fortunately Ethiopia is trying to use renewable energy sources as a means for electrical power production and it is a great start for a long, tiresome green energy journey. The basic job to be done in green energy sectors is to maximize the capacity of renewable technologies to fulfil the best efficiency.  Intermittent nature of the energy production and their inefficiency to meet peak load demands are the basic problems in renewable energy sectors.   Ethiopia’s electrical power production is mainly dependent on hydropower; according to latest data from EEPCO hydro covers 88% of the total production. There are two major nature of this power plant; since the working medium is water it is mainly dependent on the nature of the seasons and secondly it rarely meets peak load demands. After the erection of the power plant the energy production is not time dependent; it can produce power continuously; but the consumption is time dependent which is defined as peak hours and off-peak hours. There is excess load in time of off-peak hours and scarcity in peak hours. So this work can help to maximize the capacity of the water for production by using technological advancements to produce lot of energy in almost full capacity throughout the year to full fill the need of our country. Tana Beles hydropower plant is the largest hydropower plant which starts to work in May, 2010 with an investment cost of $500 million and capacity of 460 MW. The project is planted in Amhara region using the water source of Lake Tana. To make this large and very necessary renewable energy resource sustainable using energy storage system will be vital. This study will figure out a pumped storage system for the hydropower plant for additional power production and for the sustainability of the water resource.    Pumped storage system is the only viable, large-scale resource that is being broadly utilized today for storing energy, and it offers the best option available for harnessing off-peak generation from renewable sources. The contributions of pumped storage hydro to our nation’s transmission grid by providing stability services, storage capacity needs, and expanding the green job market are considerable today.   The high energy demand of the pump will be considered to be covered using the excess electrical power production during night or weekends and if the resource is available using wind solar PV hybrid systems.   The author will try to assess the technology not only for other mini hydro power plants but also for irrigation and other purposes merely in Amhara region, Ethiopia. The feasibility of the system will be considered technically and economically for the hydropower plant.