266 Scarcity and Surfeit
where. Examples include the delineation of national parks in areas used by
pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, the development of large state fuel wood
plantations in areas of mixed smallholder agriculture, the establishment of
large-scale irrigation schemes in vital pastoralist dry season grazing areas, the
alienation of large areas of smallholder agriculture for state farms, and the
establishment of resettlement schemes in areas unsuitable for rain-fed agri-
culture. In addition, there has been uncontrolled expansion of smallholder
agriculture into areas either used by pastoralists for wet season grazing or by
the state for conservation purposes. Examples include: the expansion of rain-
fed agriculture into the grazing areas of the Afar, Boran and Somali pastoral-
ists; the expansion of agriculture into the natural forests; and the intrusion of
livestock into national parks.
Hillman suggests that
"... the system of centralised decision making has resulted in policies of
land use being applied in a 'blanket' fashion over large areas of the
country, that in fact differ very greatly in ecological conditions. Further,
the available information on the natural resources, climate and terrain
of the country is limited, such that there has been no time to carry out
the research necessary prior to the application of ... policies and
changes in land use".75
This has resulted in ill-informed and uncoordinated decision making that in
many cases has resulted in unwanted environmental and socio-economic
impacts.
Environmental Impact of Poor Water ManagementPoor management and coordination of different water uses is manifest in
adverse environmental impacts on water quality and quantity. The most sig-
nificant of these results from many of the large-scale irrigation schemes and
other commercial practices that have attempted to harness Ethiopia's water
resources. First, the water levels of many lakes have dropped, such as Lake
Zwai in the Rift Valley. Since irrigation in this area is continuous, its effect on
water levels is magnified during times of low precipitation and high evapo-
ration. Second, several rivers were diverted for irrigation purposes, not only
those that flow into Lake Zwai, but also into Lake Abijata. This caused water
levels to subside in both lakes because of the reduced inflows. In addition,
rivers were also diverted into lakes to increase water levels for irrigation,
causing dramatic biological and ecological changes. The chemistry of
Bishoftu Crater Lake was completely altered, including a three-fold increase
in the concentration of nitrate and a more than 200-fold drop in phosphate-
phosphorous con~entration.'~