1 Sustainable land management (SLM): Adaptation response to

Agriculture is the backbone of the Ethiopian economy and comprises large proportion of the GDP, though it is highly dependent on the coming rainfall. Conversely, environmental degradation in Ethiopia has seriously damaging the national economy and affecting well-being of the population. The scale of the problem may vary but it is a great concern and most seriously threatening food production over most parts of the country. Most of the degradation processes are due to inappropriate land use, poor land management practices on steep slopes, and fragile soils. Though the ever increasing population enhanced the pressure both on arable and grazing land, the traditional farming systems of the people also contributed a lot. Forests are cleared and marginal lands are often used for cultivation without any conservation activities. Moreover due to the probable climate change effects Ethiopian agriculture need to transform in a way to withstand variations, in addition to its endeavour to build a climate resilient green economy. Therefore to curb these problems and improve agricultural development activities the government launched sustainable land management strategy based on watershed approach. Several activities have been set to ease the implementation process such as the establishment of federal and regional platforms, awareness creation workshops at all levels, conducting trainings on various topics at all levels, preparation of Community Based Participatory Watershed Development Programs (CBPWDP), execution of interventions / activities based on the CBPWDPs, conducting enhancement workshops, etc. SLM defined as an efficient, effective and sustainable use of land resources for the production of goods to meet changing human need, while maintaining the environment (WOCAT 2005)