Climate-Smart Village Model as a Pathway for Socio-Ecological Resilience: A Qualitative Case Study from the Koga Catchment, Northwestern Ethiopia

Continuous land degradation in Ethiopia’s highland catchments is being driven by unsustainable land use practices, climate variability and inherited top-down conservation interventions that failed to gain community support. The study explores how the challenges were addressed by the CSV approach in the Koga catchment in northwestern Ethiopia and their contribution to socio-ecological resilience. A qualitative before and after case study design was used involving focus group discussions, key informant interviews, participatory transect walks and community meeting records. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze data. The results demonstrate that the CSV approach restored community trust through participatory decision making, strengthened local institutions through Watershed Associations, Savings Cooperatives and community-developed bylaws, and facilitated integration of livelihood improvement with landscape restoration. The participants stated that climate smart horticulture had enhanced gully stabilization and household income. But challenges remained, with uneven participation, gendered differences in participation, exclusion of some landless households, institutional fragility and concerns about long-term sustainability. These results suggest that CSV model can enhance local ownership and support restoration outcomes but its effectiveness depends on addressing existing social and institutional inequalities. The study delivers empirical evidence on opportunities and limitations of participatory restoration approaches in tropical African highland landscapes.