[WLRC, July 2025] Multi-disciplinary teams from the Water and Land Resource Centre (WLRC), the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE), the Rift Valley Lakes Basin (RVLB), and sector offices from Gamo Zone and Chencha, Dita and Arba-Minch Zuria weredas conducted extensive biophysical and socio-economic baseline assessments in the Hare Catchment. The missions were conducted between May and June 2025 in two batches to generate evidence on baseline situations, which is required as a base for planning the BRIGHT Project’s initiative to restore critical hotspots in the catchment by implementing Integrated water Resource Management (IWRM) across the Rift Valley Lakes Basin (RVLB).
The assessments involved nearly 100 experts in total, across the biophysical and socio-economic major thematic groups. The assessment was effectively coordinated by Dr. Yilikal Anteneh, with thematic leadership provided by Dr. Tibebu Kassawmar (biophysical) and Dr. Desalegn Gugssa (socioeconomic assessment). Other contributors included experts from WLRC, MoWE, RVLB Coordination, Gamo Zone Administration, local Woredas, and Arba Minch University (AMU). The fieldwork was based at the Gircha Highland Fruits and Vegetables Research Centre in Chencha, a strategic site selected for its accessibility and infrastructure. Sector Office experts and communities in the Hare catchment were consulted as data sources.
The findings of the biophysical thematic groups and preliminary observations of the socio-economic and institutions, stakeholders and participation thematic categories were reviewed by WLRC senior management and technical staffs on July 3, 2025. Useful inputs and comments were shared to each sub-thematic assessment team and July 21 was set as a deadline for submitting the final synthesised research reports with executive summaries.