SATREPSArid Land Research Center, Tottori University

TEL: +81 (0) 857 30 0216

Related URL:
• http://www.ipdre.tottori-u.ac.jp/English/eng_faculty_nigussie.html
• https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DzUiyGgAAAAJ&hl=en

Drylands; Land degradation; Sustainable land management; Land use change; Integrated watershed management; Spatial analysis; Hydrologic modeling.

Desertification, land degradation and drought affect one-third of the earth’s dryland surface. The situation might worsen due to the unsustainable use of soil and water under present scenarios of climate change and population growth. Degradation of water, soil and vegetation, as well as gas emissions can be limited by sustainable land management practices (SLM) that simultaneously conserve natural resources and increase agricultural productivity. Many SLM practices have been documented but there is a great need to clarify their impact in different contexts and to adapt and optimise them under different conditions. Moreover, additional new technologies need to be developed.

Therefore the general aim of my research is to contribute for the realization of SDGs-15.3 “By 2030, achieve a land degradation-neutral world” by understanding landscape sensitivity to external forces of change and developing appropriate SLM practices through education and research. The research employs integrated approach comprising of field and laboratory experimentation and monitoring; field survey and mapping; socioeconomic surveys; scenarios formulation for climate, land use and population growth; spatial analyses and hydrologic and erosion modelling for selected regions of the world.

1. Haregeweyn, N., Tsunekawa, A., Poesen, J., Tsubo, M., Meshesha, D. T., Fenta, A. A., Nyssen, J. and Adgo, E.: Comprehensive assessment of soil erosion risk for better land use planning in river basins: Case study of the Upper Blue Nile River. The Science of the Total Environment 574: 95-108, 2017.1
2. Haregeweyn, N., Tsunekawa, A., Tsubo, M., Meshesha, D., Adgo, E., Poesen, J. and Schütt, B.: Analyzing the hydrologic effects of region-wide land and water development interventions: a case study of the Upper Blue Nile basin. Regional Environmental Change 16: 951-966, 2016.4
3. Haregeweyn, N., Poesen, J., Verstraeten, G., Govers, G., De Vente, J., Nyssen, J., Deckers, J. and Moeyersons, J.: Assessing the performance of a spatially distributed soil erosion and sediment delivery model (WATEM/SEDEM) in Northern Ethiopia. Land Degradation & Development 24:188-204, 2013.3
4. Haregeweyn, N.*, Tsunekawa, A., Nyssen, J., Poesen, J., Tsubo, M., Meshesha, D. T., Schütt, B., Adgo, E. and Tegegne, F.: Soil erosion and conservation in Ethiopia: A review. Progress in Physical Geography 39: 750-774, 2015.12
5. Haregeweyn, N.*, Fikadu, G., Tsunekawa, A., Tsubo, M. and Meshesha, D. T.: The dynamics of urban expansion and its impacts on land use/land cover change and small-scale farmers living near the urban fringe: A case study of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Landscape and Urban Planning 106: 149-157, 2012.5