Protecting Lake Hawassa is a broad and inclusive multi-stakeholder collaboration platform established in 2017, currently facilitated by the NatuReS programme, to improve water security for people, business and the environment in Hawassa, its lake and sub-catchment area. The partnership brings together private, public and civil society organizations to address shared natural resource risks.

The Protecting Lake Hawassa (PLH) partnership in Ethiopia seeks to improve water security for the residents and businesses established around Lake Hawassa.

Project Results

The partnership sought to reduce sedimentation of the lake by undertaking Afforestation and Soil Erosion Control (ASEC) which planted trees on the upper catchment area of the lake. As part of this project, the partnership created a task force team to develop a strategy to reduce sedimentation and soil erosion. The team identified sites for afforestation and consulted with communities to understand how they might improve the livelihoods of communities who depended on farming and small-scale commercial forestry (for charcoal) from the land needed for afforestation. The team took this step to ensure that local communities would not be adversely impacted by the loss of cropland for afforestation. The task force included the district offices Hawassa Zuria Woreda (SNNP Region) and Shalla Woreda (Oromia Region) in their activities so that these offices could maintain the work longer-term. The partnership trained district office experts and communities on how to conserve soil and water. To support the community, the partnership provided nursery fruit trees, introduced poultry and beekeeping, and promoted water harvesting technology to reduce dependency on farming on the upper catchment area of Lake Hawassa.

To raise awareness in the local community about how poor solid waste management can impact local water supply, the partnership organized a half marathon in Hawassa with a trash collection event the day before. They also organized smaller activities in the industrial park, including jerry cans with educational messages, and created an essay competition for local schools on the benefits of protecting Lake Hawassa.