Some
of the projects and activities Wetland Action and its partners have
been involved in include:
GAWI - Guidelines on Agriculture and Wetland Interactions
Following up on the Ramsar COP 9 discussions on wetlands and agriculture, a team from Wetland Action is working on reviewing experiences of agriculture/wetland interactions.
Striking a Balance: maintaining seasonal wetlands and their livelihood contributions in central Southern Africa
The Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project of Wetlands International, funded by a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairds, has five demonstration Projects. "Striking a Balance" is one of these five projects. It builds on the research outlined below on dambos and other seasonal wetlands, and seeks to explore how to develop functional wetland catchment landscapes which can sustain ecosystem regulating services and provisionary sources.
Wetlands
and Headwater Management in the Nile Basin
In collaboration
with the International Headwater Association and the Nile Basin Initiative, Wetland Action is
involved in a series of studies of the role of
headwater wetlands and land use changes in the Nile Basin, with experience from Ethiopia
and Rwanda. Awareness of the hydrological role of wetlands for basin
functioning is being raised through this work. A recent output was an assessment of the Baro-Akobo sub-basin.
Dambo Management and Sustainable Poverty Reduction in Central Africa
In
collaboration with CWEL research funded by the Leverhulme Trust in Zambia
and an EU funded project in Malawi implemented by a local NGO, Maleza,
this work explores the role of dambo wetlands in contributing
to poverty reduction strategies and food security. It is especially
relevant given the recent poor harvests in these countries. The
work takes a system-wide approach, recognising the need for catchment
and downstream integration with dambo management.
Valley
Transformation for Post Conflict Food Security in Rwanda
The
need to manage wetland transformation in environmentally sound ways
in order to meet food security needs has been recognised by international
NGOs working in Rwanda. Wetland Action has provided inputs into
environmental assessment and planning as well as training in participatory
needs assessment and planning.
Integrated
Catchment and Wetland Rehabilitation in the Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia
Funded
through the Global Mechanism of the Convention to Combat Desertification,
this field project tests ways of rehabilitating degraded wetlands
and catchments. The work is undertaken in collaboration with the Ethio
Wetlands and Natural Resources Association who work with local communities and government field staff.
Indigenous
Wetland Management Institutions for Sustainable Livelihoods
A one
year project supported by the UK
Economic and Social Research Council investigating
the role of local wetland community institutions in achieving equitable
and sustainable wetland management. The project sought to identify
the spatial and temporal characteristics of these institutions,
their structure, organisation and potential to manage wetlands in
an environmentally sound and economically and socially sustainable
manner.
Wetlands
and Food Security in Western Ethiopia
This
study, designed in collaboration with the local government Rural
Development Coordination Offices has identified how wetland use
is helping prevent famine in this part of Ethiopia which is rapidly
being deforested and degraded. Funded by the Dutch government through
Wetlands International it has led to several local government and
community initiatives and raised awareness of the role of wetlands
in local livelihoods.
Indigenous
Knowledge Systems and Wetland Management
Members
of Wetland Action have been involved in research into the role of
indigenous knowledge systems in wetland management. One project
was supported by the British
Academy. The research focused on the mechanisms through
which indigenous wetland knowledge is acquired and disseminated
throughout local communities and sought to establish how the acquisition,
distribution and application of knowledge influences wetland management.
Sustainable
Wetland Management and Multiple Use in East and Southern Africa
On-going
Wetland Action research, supported by the University
of Huddersfield, is identifying case studies of sustainable
wetland management and their supporting indigenous management systems
and institutions throughout East and Southern Africa. It is envisaged
that these will provide evidence in support of the concept of multiple
use for sustainable wetland management in highland Africa, and will
lead to guidance for best practice and sustainability assessment
of wetlands.
Gender Relations
and Wetland Management
Recent
research in South-west Ethiopia, supported by RDP
Livestock Services BV, has drawn attention to the
important contribution of women to sustainable wetland management.
The research suggested that whilst women play a key role in managing
water resources and assisting in wetland agricultural production,
their contribution remains largely unrecognised by local government,
extension services and local communities themselves. Further, women
have little say over the land use decisions for wetlands despite
the way in which drainage may cause springs to dry up. >
Community
Capacity Building for Sustainable Wetland and Catchment Management
Supported
by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ethiopia, Wetland Action partner EWNRA (Ethio Wetlands and Natural Resources Association) has undertaken
a programme of wetland awareness and training on sustainable wetland
management in the West of Illubabor Zone, South-west Ethiopia. This
especially looks at the contribution of wetlands for food security.
Wetland Drainage
and Pastoral Needs
WA's
associate member EWNRA has undertaken a study for the international
NGO World
Vision of the issues raised by drainage of the margins
of the Cheffa Swamp in the famine-prone area of South Wollo in the
northern highlands of Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian
Wetlands Research Programme
CWEL,
a constituent member of Wetland Action, has been involved in a three
year investigation of the sustainable management of wetlands in
Illubabor Zone, South-west Ethiopia.The Ethiopian Wetlands Research
Programme (EWRP) was developed from concerns that many wetlands
throughout the region were becoming degraded as a result of an intensification
of their use for cultivation and grazing. This project was undertaken
in collaboration with Addis Ababa University, IUCN's East African Regional Office and the University
of East Anglia, and funded by the European Union.
Wetland Awareness
Creation Workshop, Bahar Dar, Ethiopia
Wetland
Action, in association with the Ethio Wetlands and Natural Resources
Association (EWNRA) and the Amhara Regional State Bureau of Agriculture,
has organised and run two Wetlands Awareness Creation Workshop in
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia in January 2001and March 2005. At these workshops
staff from government and projects in the Region identified the
need for, and reviewed research to assess the current and potential
contribution of wetlands in the development and environmental management
of this part of Ethiopia.
Seminaire
sur l'amenagement des zones marecageuses du Rwanda", 5-8th
June 2001, at the National University of Rwanda, Butare
In June
2001, representatives of Wetland Action attended a Seminar on Wetland
Management in Butare, Rwanda. A paper drawing upon Wetland Action's
experiences in Ethiopia, with a particular focus on the interaction
of local knowledge, government policies and globalisation in wetland
management, was presented at the seminar. As a result, Wetland Action
is currently developing several collaborative activities in Rwanda.
EWPR
Ethiopian Wetlands Research Programme
The project “Sustainable Wetland Management in Illubabor Zone,
South-west Ethiopia” was run by the Ethiopian Wetland Research
Programme between April 1997 and June 2000. The project reports
are now released for public consultation following approval of the
final reports by the European Union which provided the majority
of the funds for this study.
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