Governance of the water-land-food nexus for integrated achievement of the 2030 Agenda: the case of Lower Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Srigiri, Srinivasa / Waltina Scheumann
External Publications (2022)

in: Breuer, Anita / Daniele Malerba / Srinivasa, Srigiri / Pooja Balasubramanian (eds.), Governing the interlinkages between the SDGs: approaches, opportunities and challenges, London: Routledge, 106-123

ISBN: 978-1-03-218465-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003254683
Open access

Coordination across sectors and levels is crucial for avoiding trade-offs and achieving synergies among SDGs that are directly dependent on water and land resources. However, there is an insufficient understanding of the factors that influence the effectiveness of institutions and governance mechanisms to achieve coherent policy design and implementation. The aim of the chapter is to address this knowledge gap by means of a case study of institutional arrangements for water and land governance in the lower Awash River Basin in Ethiopia. Analysing from a polycentric governance perspective, we find that the existing coordination mechanisms do not facilitate participation and representation of interests of local communities, and local governments while designing and implementing national plans. Ineffective policy instruments for ensuring environmental and social safeguards are leading to major trade-offs between goals of local food security and national economic growth by depriving pastoralists of their rights to communal land and water.

About the authors

Scheumann, Waltina

Political Scientist

Srigiri, Srinivasa Reddy

Agricultural Economist