The Fourth “National Abbay Basin Development Consultative Meeting” was held Feb 04–07, 2021 in Assosa town of Benishangul-Gumuz National Regional State of Ethiopia, reports Dr. Amare Bantider, Resource Governance and Socioeconomic Research Division Director at Water and Land Resource Centre of Addis Ababa University.

Organisation and Objectives of the Meeting
Dr. Amare noted that the meeting was organized by the Office of National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation on the Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), in collaboration with stakeholders. The meeting aimed at: a) reviewing the watershed management activities in the different regional states and sharing experiences; b) creating awareness on the approved theme: “One Plan – One Report for Integrated and Collaborative Watershed/Landscape Management in the Abbay Basin’ for enhanced wellbeing of residents and for reduced sedimentation threat of the GERD; and c) visiting a nearby watershed.
Presentations and Visits
A proposal prepared by the Technical Team for “One Plan One Report” (where WLRC of AAU is a lead), to start collaborative and integrated watershed management among major stakeholders, constituting the MoA, MoWIE, EFCCC, PHE Ethiopia Consortium, WLRC, the GERD Office of the National Committee for the Coordination of Public Participation, Abbay Basins Development Authority and Regional States found in the Basin, was presented in the meeting to enhance members’ awareness about it. The proposal has already been endorsed by the Steering Committee, to which Dr. Gete Zeleke Director-General of WLRC of AAU, is a member.
It was also indicated that the Amhara, Benizhangul-Gumuz and Oromia Regional States Bureaus of Agriculture presented their watershed activities in general and that of in Abbay basin in particular. In addition, there were presentations form the Natural Resource Directorate of MoA, EFCC and Basins Development Authority.
From visits to the watershed nearby the Assosa Town where there is a serious land degradation (soil erosion, devegetation and soil acidity) and homesteads that are covered by citrus fruit trees, banana and mango trees, lessons were drawn on the causes of land degradation and effective land rehabilitation strategies in the area.
Issues for follow up
• While the efforts being made by the Amhara, Benizhangul-Gumuz and Oromia regional states to achieve integrated watershed management through different modalities are appreciable, there is need to refocus and prioritise plans and activities on watershed management part of the Abbay basin.
• There is need for attention to implement the approved “One Plan-One Report for Integrated and Collaborative Watershed Management in Abbay Basin”
• Optimising the use of a well-established, but underutilized, Asossa Branch Office of Abbay Basin Development Office would
The Meeting brought together around 120 representatives from the concerned Federal institutions, Regions and Universities. WLRC of AAU was represented by Dr. Amare Bantider, who is a Member of the Technical Team for “One Plan One Report for Integrated and Collaborative Watershed Management in the Abbay Basin”.