Wetlands at SRC

Given the fragility of wetlands, their importance for a range of ecosystem services, and the growing pressures to convert them to agriculture, there is an urgent need to try to achieve wetland use which can sustain their diverse services. This requires management regimes which strike a balance in terms of ecosystem services, helping to maintain some of the regulatory and support services to retain the essential characteristics of wetlands, while also allowing partial conversion to meet the provisioning needs of communities.

Sustainable wetland management regimes are found in various situations. Usually they involve multiple use with partial conversion of the wetland and limited degradation of the catchment. However, more interventionist regimes can be found which are sustainable where more complex water management regimes are applied.

In all cases sustainable management involves some form of multiple-use regime, with a particular pattern of land use in the wetland and catchment being vital for sustaining wetland functioning. This land use regime must be based on viable and attractive enterprise development, responding to market conditions and opportunities so as to achieve economic and environmental sustainability.

The experience of this has been documented in several parts of Africa by SRC staff and other researchers, and a number of projects with Self-Help Africa (SHA) and EWNRA have sought to test the wider applicability of these methods. Overall, it is clear that an integrated wetlands and catchment approach is needed, seeing these two elements as linked parts of the landscape with strong community institutions for management and clear economic incentives. This has been termed “a functional landscape approach”. (See www.wetlandaction.org/functional-landscape)

An area of SRC’s research has focused on the contribution of ‘indigenous’ or ‘local’ knowledge (IK) in natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods.

This knowledge which communities have of their environment / natural resources and their experiences of managing these provides the basis for sustainable use regimes. Such knowledge is dynamic and evolves over time in response to the changing environmental, socio-economic and political conditions. This capacity to adapt to various changes is an important element in achieving long-term environmental sustainability and livelihood security.

The Ethiopian Wetlands Research Programme (EWRP) (1997 - 2000), funded by the European Union, investigated practices and strategies employed by local communities to manage wetlands in a sustainable manner. The research showed that wetland users possessed extensive knowledge of ecohydrological processes and had developed management practices that balanced environmental sustainability with livelihood needs.

Projects funded by the British Academy, ESRC and the Dutch government have explored the practical value of such knowledge and institutions in Ethiopia, Zambia and Malawi.This has been linked to knowledge about new crops and market opportunities which can make wetland use more valuable and so encourage careful management for long-term use.

Research on indigenous knowledge (IK) has also drawn attention to community-based, often traditional, institutions that play an important role in coordinating resource management. These institutions are often culturally and environmentally specific, and rooted in the social capital - the indigenous knowledge, social relationships, shared values and networks, of a society or community

Recognising strengths and weaknesses, empowering and involving these locally-based decision-making organisations within rural development initiatives is important. This is needed to engage wetland users and those in wetland catchments, and so facilitate resource management that is equitable and sustainable, both socially and environmentally.

Much of SRC’s research has focused on the contribution of ‘Indigenous’ or ‘local’ knowledge (IK) in natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods.

Indigenous or local knowledge is the knowledge communities have of their environment, natural resources and their experiences of managing these. As a result, it is dynamic and evolves over time in response to the changing environmental, socio-economic and political conditions. Possessing such knowledge and possessing the capacity to adapt to various changes is an important element in achieving long-term environmental sustainability and livelihood security.

The Ethiopian Wetlands Research Programme (EWRP) (1997 - 2000), funded by the European Union, investigated practices and strategies employed by local communities to manage wetlands in a sustainable manner. The research showed that wetland users possessed extensive knowledge of ecohydrological processes and had developed management practices that balanced environmental sustainability with livelihood needs.

SRC staff have also undertaken British Academy funded research looking into the processes influencing the evolution of IK (innovation, communication and adaptation) among wetland communities.

Recent ESRC funded research has focused on the role of indigenous institutions in developing IK and facilitating communication and co-ordination among stakeholders.

Wetlands play a critical role in the survival of many communities across the world, particularly in semi-arid areas where, during dry periods, they are an important source of water for domestic use and production of crops. Seasonal variations in food supply with a “hungry season” is a key feature of life for many millions of people. This food shortage is often addressed by the drainage of parts of wetlands or the cultivation of areas with seepage water or a high water-table. Such cropping can make a dramatic impact upon the availability of food in the hungry season, and even though the production may be small, its value is great.

In some areas where uplands are badly degraded or not suitable for cultivation, wetlands can play a very important role in year-round food security. This is the case in Western Wellega in Ethiopia, and also in Madagascar, where the concentration of nutrients and water in the valleys is the basis for survival. SRC is concerned with learning lessons from such systems and ensuring that they are environmentally and economically sustainable in the long term.

Seasonal wetland cultivation may also be developed in response to local or distant urban demands for food, addressing both seasonal food shortages and more regular needs. Such trade-based wetland enterprises have been studied by SRC in Zambia and Malawi where onions and garlic are produced for long-distance trade to the mining towns in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Wetland enterprise may allow farmers to accumulate cash - wetland derived capital, which can be invested in farm diversification (such as broiler chickens and pigs) and off-farm enterprises (shops, trading and urban house building), thereby improving livelihoods and security.  

Wetlands play a vital role in the carbon cycle and wetland loss has impacts which lead to global warming and climate change. Understanding the implications of wetland transformation for carbon sequestration and the way in which different wetland management regimes can impact upon this process is important for SRC.

In the medium term it may be possible to link development funds to improved community management of wetlands and thereby have an impact upon carbon storage and climate change. However, for this to come about a better understanding is needed of the link between wetland use, carbon sequestration and appropriate economic incentives.

A critical consideration in this work is the way in which economically attractive uses of wetlands can be developed which meets community / land user needs whilst also maintaining the carbon storage within wetlands.

The need for policies which support the appropriate management of wetlands is now widely recognized as these areas are increasingly under pressure for different uses. However, as yet, for many governments, wetlands are not yet included in the debate about how to address at the same time the different, and sometimes competing, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are different international policy positions, some of which see wetlands as critical conservation areas, while others see them as important agro-development and poverty reduction resources. Many governments are in the process of considering how they should respond to these differing viewpoints when addressing the SDGs.

SRC has sought to contribute to wetland policy debates by seeking to raise awareness of wetland issues and include all stakeholders’ perspectives in policy discussions. The particular expertise of SRC staff and NGO colleagues is in helping bring local and community level perspectives into the debate and in trying to strike a balance between wetland conservation and development through sustainable multi-use.

In most of the SRC work, policy briefing notes have been produced to disseminate findings and inform decision-makers about the issues to be considered in policy development, whether this be for wetlands directly or for policies which indirectly affect these areas in a landscape perspective. Using this material, SRC has undertaken and contributed to workshops at the national and regional level, in several African countries, and with different government and NGO groups to raise awareness. The first reflection of this work has been seen in Zambia (2017) and Ethiopia (2020) where new national policies recognise the need for multiple use of wetlands, balancing the range of ecosystem services. 

Desertification is a growing challenge. One cause of this challenge is the loss of wetlands through drainage and degradation. This can remove critical sources of moisture in dry areas, causing the flow of streams and rivers to become more seasonal. Wetland degradation is often associated with changes in land use in catchments so that there is reduced water infiltration, while specific management practices within wetlands can also contribute to wetland loss.

SRC and partners have been involved in measures to rehabilitate degraded wetlands and to reverse wetland loss through several projects in Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia and Malawi. This work has monitored wetland sites subject to degradation, identifying appropriate measures for rehabilitation.

This work has been undertaken with partners such as Wetland Action, Ethio-Wetlands and Natural Resources Association (EWNRA) and Self Help Africa (SHA) and led to the development of the Functional Landscape Approach (FLA) for integrated wetland and catchment management. (See www.wetlandaction.org/functional-landscape). This FLA package of measures, proven in pilot projects in Zambia and Malawi, is now being mainstreamed in the work of SHA.  It has also been used by EWNRA in a wetland rehabilitation project implemented near Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia with support from the UN’s Convention to Combat Desertification.

The benefits from wetlands are not evenly distributed. Particular skills, divisions of labour or access rights often determine that certain groups within a community gain more or less from the natural resource base. With economic changes, there is a tendency for certain powerful groups to try to appropriate open access resources, which often include wetlands, and to exclude other groups, especially women.

Such trends have been identified through SRC work with respect to wetlands and their various resources. Wetland agriculture for instance often lowers the water table and leads to the drying up of springs so that women have to walk further to get water supplies. In some cases, it is the rich who gain access to the wetlands for farming and have the resources (e.g. treadle pumps) to use these areas, while the poor lose access to collected products, such as craft materials and thatching, when wetlands are drained.

In contrast, some studies by SRC have found that women, both the better-off and the poor, can benefit from new wetland farming enterprises, selling their produce in the village, at the roadside and by travelling to urban centres. Wetland farming development has seen the introduction of a range of new crops and cultivation methods in the last two decades. These have improved village and urban food supplies, especially in the hungry season, reducing child stunting and improving health in general, and especially amongst the chronically ill.

Stakeholder participation in natural resource management and development strategies is fundamental to achieving long-term sustainability. Participation means involving all the resource stakeholders from the outset of the research process, and developing local capacity so that management decisions are based on a consensus and equitable resource use.

Participation also means that field guidance is not a static or prescriptive, but involves communities developing their own capacity to solve problems.  The dissemination and discussion of research findings among those who participate in natural resources research is an essential part of the evolution of resource management capacity and strategy development.

Participation is a fundamental component of SRC’s research, consultancy and development activities. For example, projects involving investigations of IK have facilitated community meetings, farmer exchange visits and empowered communities to share natural resource management information between communities.

Through undertaking a range of projects in a participatory manner, SRC has developed a number of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) field techniques that have been adapted to wetlands research.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Dixon, A., Wood, A.P. & Afework Hailu (2021) “Wetlands in Ethiopia: lessons from 20 years of research, policy and practice.” Wetlands 41,20. doi.org/10.1007/s13157-021-01420-x
• Wood, A.P. & McElwee, G. (2021) “Innovation in Zambia’s wetland farming as a stimulus to rural entrepreneurship.” In S. Dobson (ed.) Enterprising Africa. Chp 7.
• Kotze, D.C.  Wood, A.P. (2021) “Assessing the long-term ecological sustainability of dambo cultivation in southern Africa: ten-year case studies from Zambia and Malawi.” Wetlands, 41.21.  doi.org/10.1007/s13157-021-01399-5 
• Wood, A.P., Dixon, A.D., Holding, C. & Wagstaff, P. (2020) Functional Landscape Approach (FLA). Position Paper 4. Self Help Africa, Dublin. https://selfhelpafrica.org/ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/11/FLA-position-paper-web.pdf
• Everard, M. & Wood, A. (2018) “Agricultural management and wetlands: an overview.” In Finlayson, C. M., Everard, M., Irvine, K., McInnes, R. J., Middleton, B. A., Van Dam, A. A. & Davidson, N. C. (eds.). The Wetland Book: I: Structure and Function, Management, and Methods. Springer Netherlands, p. 1009-1019
• Wood, A.P. (2017) “How farmers in Africa are finding ways to sustainably use wet­lands.” February 1, 2017. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-farmers-in-africa-are-finding-ways-to-sustainably-use-wet­lands-72104
• McElwee, G and Wood, A. (2017) ‘Wetland entrepreneurs: diversity in diversification in Zambian farming’ Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. Vol 25, Issue 5, 752-768. https://doi-org.libaccess.hud.ac.uk/10.1108/JSBED-03-2017-0089  
• Wood, A.P. (2016) “Wetland agriculture helps entrepreneurs in Africa”, Thrive. https://wle.cgiar.org/thrive/2016/02/19/wetland-agriculture-helps-entrepreneurs-africa
• Wood, A.P., McCartney, M. & Dixon, A.B. (eds.) (2013) Wetland management and sustainable livelihoods in Africa. London: Earthscan. https://www.routledge.com/Wetland-Management-and-Sustainable-Livelihoods-in-Africa/Wood-Dixon-McCartney/p/book/9781849714129
• 2011 ‘Striking a Balance: dambo management and poverty reduction in Zambia & Malawi’. Wetlands International and Wetland Action EEIG. On line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ-6cXRFzRg
• Ndiyoi, M., Sampa, J.B., Thawe, P. & Wood, A.P. (2009) “Striking a balance: maintaining seasonal dambo wetlands in Malawi and Zambia.”  Mundy, P. (ed.) Planting trees to eat fish. Field experiences in wetlands and poverty reduction.  Wageningen, Wetlands International, pp. 27-39. 
• Howard, G.W., Bakema, R. and Wood A.P. (2009) “The multiple use of wetlands in Eastern Africa.” In Maltby, E. & Barker, T. (eds.) The wetlands handbook. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 850-875. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444315813.ch38
• 2008 ‘Wetlands: supporting livelihoods in Malawi and Zambia’. Wetlands International and Wetland Action EEIG. On line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZmK4aY7RgU
• Wood, A.P. & van Halsema, G. (eds.) (2008) Scoping agriculture-wetland interactions: towards a sustainable multiple response strategy. Rome: FAO. (Water Reports 33). http://www.fao.org/3/i0314e/i0314e00.htm
• Wood, A.P. and Dixon, A. (2008) Wetland Use as an Adaptive Response to Climate Change in East and Southern Africa: Sustainable Wetland Management and the Functional Landscape Approach. Briefing Note 5. Striking a Balance Project, Amsterdam: Wetland Action. Download report
• Thawe, P. (2008) Functional Landscape Approach to Sustainable Wetland Management: Integrating Wetland and Catchment Management in Simlemba TA, Kasungu District, Technical Report 1. Striking a Balance Project, Amsterdam: Wetland Action. Download report
• Sampa, J. (2008) Sustainable Cultivation of “Acid” Dambos. Technical Report 2. Striking a Balance Project, Amsterdam: Wetland Action. Download report
• Sampa, J., Thawe, P., Kafuwa, D. and Dixon, A. (2008) Wetland institutions and sustainable management of natural resources in Zambia and Malawi. Technical Report 3. Striking a Balance Project, Amsterdam: Wetland Action. Download report
• Maconachie, R., Dixon, A. & Wood, A.P. (2008) Decentralisation and local institutional arrangements for wetlands management in Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.” Applied Geography 29, 269-279
• Dixon, A.B. and Wood, A.P. (2007) “Local institutions for wetland management in Ethiopia: sustainability and state intervention.” In van Koppen, B., Giodarno, M & Butterworth, J. (eds) Community-based water law and water resources management reform in developing countries. Wallingford: CABI, pp. 130-145.
• Wood, A.P “Headwater wetlands in eastern and southern Africa: the evolving debate.” In Krecek, J. and Haigh, M.J., (eds.) (2006) Environmental role of wetlands in headwaters. Amsterdam, Springer, pp.211-220.
• Wood, A.P. (2005) “The role of sustainable wetland use in maintaining river flow: some experiences from the headwaters of the Nile in Ethiopia and Rwanda.” In Jansky, L., Haigh, M., and Prasad, H. (eds) Sustainable management of headwater resources. Tokyo: United Nations University, pp.33-59.
• Dixon, A. B. and Wood, A.P. (2003) “Wetland cultivation and hydrological management in eastern Africa: matching community and hydrological needs through sustainable wetland use.” Natural Resources Forum, 27, (2), pp. 117-129.
• Afework Hailu, Wood, A.P. & Dixon, A.B. (2003) “Interest groups, local knowledge, and community management of wetland agriculture in south-west Ethiopia”. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 29, (1), pp.55-63. 
• Wood, A.P. & Dixon A.B. (2002) “Sustaining the flow: Community management of highland wetland in south-west Ethiopia. In: Mountains of the World: community development between subsidy, subsidiarity and sustainability. Proceedings of the World Mountain Symposium, 30^th September to 4^th October 2001, Interlaken. Berne: Swiss Development Cooperation.
• Wood, A.P. (2001) “Gender and wetland development.” In Yilma Dellalegn (ed.) The wetlands of Ethiopia. Gland: IUCN, pp. 58-66.
• Wood, A.P., Abbot, P.G., Afework Hailu and Dixon, A. (2001) “Sustainable management of wetlands: local knowledge versus government policy.” In Gawler, M. (ed.) Strategies for the wise use of wetlands: best practices for participatory management. Wageningen: Wetlands International, pp.81-88. 
• Wood, A.P. and Dixon, A. (2000) Sustainable Wetland Management in Illubabor Zone: Research Report Summaries. Huddersfield: Wetlands and Natural Resources Research Group. Download report
• Wood, A.P. (1999) “Wetlands in highlands: the search for sustainable management of wetlands in Illubabor zone, south-west Ethiopia”. In H.Hurni and J.Ramamonjisoa (eds.) African mountains and environmental management. Berne: African Mountains Association and Geographica  Bernensia, pp. 305-320.