Wetlands are one of the world’s most valuable ecosystems, performing a variety of important ecological functions. Local communities depend on wetlands for many things; food, fodder for animals and water. People have managed wetlands sustainably for generations. However, planners have often seen wetlands as wasted land, which needs to be made economically productive. New management approaches that depend heavily on technology, together with environmental change, mean that many wetlands are now threatened.

Local or indigenous knowledge develops over time from a detailed understanding of local environmental conditions, and is modified in response to changing conditions.   It is a resource that can help development processes become more sustainable. This has not always been recognised and respected by all wetland stakeholders. The stability of wetlands has been undermined by development initiatives that ignore indigenous knowledge.  While neither indigenous nor scientific knowledge alone can solve the problems of development, they can be complementary sources of wisdom in wetland management.

Research from Huddersfield University explores how local people manage wetlands in southwest Ethiopia, and examines the options for sustainable wetland development.

• Farmers in southwest Ethiopia have extensive knowledge of the role and behaviour of water in their local wetlands (known as hydrological processes). In some cases, this knowledge goes beyond that generated by scientific monitoring. However, there are also some areas where knowledge from scientific monitoring is greater than local knowledge.
• There are some problems and socio-economic changes that are too great for farmer to adapt effectively.  Increasingly unpredictable climatic conditions are one such issue; government policy is another.
• Farmers argue that external influences on their management practices have been very small. Management techniques, such as drainage design, have been adapted by their communities through generations. 
• While no wetland farmers are experimenting greatly with new management techniques, there were many examples of small-scale modifications to existing management practices and tools. 

Wetlands in Ethiopia are at a critical point in their history, due to a new government policy that attempts to address the increasing food security problems. This policy has instructed farmers to intensify wetland agriculture and to start cultivating plots that are currently left to restore naturally (known as fallow plots). Both of these ideas disagree with local approaches to wetland management.  Farmers have demonstrated that their indigenous hydrological management can be sustainable, but the government ultimately possesses the power to change the way that wetlands are managed. 

The research suggests:

• Maintaining an effective network for sharing local knowledge and experimenting with new techniques should be a key principle of sustainable wetland management.
• Non-governmental organisations and donors should introduce reviews of varying local knowledge, to support these networks. For example, they could organise meetings between members of the wetland farming community to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different management techniques.
• Issues of sustainable hydrological management need to be discussed by each wetland community.  Then they can be evaluated, adapted and refined to meet the needs of each unique wetland.
• Wetland management strategies need to include both external and indigenous knowledge.

A better understanding of how local communities utilise and manage wetlands may be the key to avoiding further destruction. Farmers possess adequate knowledge to manage wetlands sustainably, but that they are not always able to act on what they know. They are constrained by lack of time and resources to concentrate on wetland management. There may also need to be more effective co-operation between farmers if their vast and valuable knowledge of wetlands is to be used effectively.

Source(s):
Indigenous Management of Wetlands: Experiences in Ethiopia, Kings SOAS Studies in Development Geography, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.

Funded by: Study undertaken as part of the EU-funded Ethiopian Wetlands Research Programme

id21 Research Highlight: 26 January 2005

Further Information:
Alan Dixon
Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences
University of Huddersfield
Queensgate
Huddersfield
HD1 3DH

Tel: +44 (0) 1484 473121
Fax: +44 (0) 1484 472347
Contact the contributor: a.b.dixon@hud.ac.uk

Centre for Wetlands, Environment and Livelihoods, UK

University of Huddersfield, UK

Other related links:
'Regulating access to land and water in Africa: implications for local governance'

'Anarchy in Zimbabwe’s wetlands: any way out?'

'Supporting local knowledge and protecting resources'

Wetlands Research, Inc.

The Exeter Centre for Wetland Research

IUCN Wetlands & Water Resources