ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION INTERVENTION ON ADOLA REDE WOREDA . ADOLA REDE WOREDA, OROMIA, ETHIOPIA

Abstract Ethiopia is highly affected by land degradation through soil erosion, to reverse the severity of the problem, soil and water conservation practice were introduced in different parts of the regions and woredas including the study area. Even though soil and water conservation methods were introduced to combat land degradation, effectiveness of these practices remains below expectation .This research was conducted in Oromia regional state Guji zone Adola Rede woreda selected seven kebeles. It aimed to assess the effectiveness of soil and water conservation intervention of degraded land on communal land Almost all sampled household heads have high awareness about problem of soil erosion in the area and participated during planning and implementation stage of soil and water conservation .The majority of sampled households heads believed that intervention of soil and water conservation rehabilitated the degraded land. The study revealed that the intervention has good achievements in reducing soil erosion, improving water availability , developing tree plantation and improved vegetation cover in the intervention areas. However, poor kebele leadership ,weak development team , absence of regular maintenance and management of the structures were some of the major limitation of the intervention. Therefore, this study recommends that the stake- holders should make appropriate correction measures for observed failures and further interdisciplinary study should be conducted to explore the problems.