More Secured, More Conserved?

Land degradation in the form of water erosion and soil fertility depletion is a widespread agricultural problem in Ethiopia and has far-reaching economic, social and environmental implications due to its on-site and off-site damages. Farmers’ investments to address the problem remain limited. The rational thinking associating higher land security and higher incentives to invest has been called into question in Ethiopian agriculture since 1974. Land has been the property of the Government and subjected to frequent redistribution since 1974. This book describes the different land tenure systems in Ethiopia since the 1960s. It investigated the impact of land tenure security on soil and water conservation in Ethiopia. The demonstrated the crucial importance of land tenure security for sustainable soil and water management in Ethiopia. This book is expected to serve the as a reference for development practitioners, researchers and policy makers.