PERCEIVED CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF WETLAND MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF CHELELEKA WETLAND, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Cheleleka wetland is one of the few wetlands in Ethiopia and located in the upstream of Lake Hawassa where a chain of mountains stretch out and occupy a wide flat marshy land. The study was conducted to assess the challenges and opportunities of Cheleleka wetland management. The primary data were collected from 398 respondents (376 HHs, 12 FGDs and 10 KIs) and secondary data were collected from all available published, unpublished materials and in-situ personal experiences. The study used simple random sampling technique to select household respondents from four kebeles adjacent to the wetland. The socioeconomic data were collected through different instruments and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The study finding shows that 90% of households rely on mixed farming as their main economic activity; the demand for food has significantly increased which led to shrinking of the wetland. Cheleleka wetland has been providing a number of services that are socially and economically important to the local community. The majority of households benefited from wetland cultivation through growing of different crops. Also direct conversion of wetland to cultivated land and eucalyptus plantation were considered to be extremely high triggering factors followed by overgrazing and deforestation. Moreover, lack of awareness, absence of separate wetland policy and lack of clear institutional arrangement are the main problems that aggravated wetland degradation. The result also shows that extensive change of wetland to other land uses was occurred from 1998 to 2007 followed by 2008 to 2017. The availability of fertile soil, ample water, minerals and grasses are suitable for livestock production, open access to all actors and others are main pull factors. Population growth, socio-economic and cultural life, shortage of grass and water during dry seasons and others are push factors. As a result, many local communities experienced scarcity of some of their basic livelihood such as fresh water supply, some crops as well as some important edible fishes like African Catfish and others. Hence, government has to provide special attention to minimize the conversion of wetlands and maximize their socioeconomic and ecosystem benefits. The development of wetland policy, proper institutional arrangement, capacity building, and integrated research are recommended to safeguard the wetlands.