Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

The recent anthropogenic activities coupled with population pressures have contributed to the natural resources degradation within the Basin. Such resource degradation resulted in direct or indirect impacts on the existed Lake Hawassa Basin (LHB) ecosystem (study area) and its potential regulating ecosystem services. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the potential regulating ESS of the study area, assessment of regulating services and develop maps that present the use and importance of LHB regulating ecosystem services. The study paper employed various methodologies including gathering primary and secondary data, tools like expert judgment matrix, and mapping of land use land cover (LULC) of the basin and regulating ESS with ArcGIS v10.1. The study prioritize and selected ten (10) LULC and five (5)regulating ecosystem services (ESS) that benefits and contribute for the securing livelihood of the people within and around the LHB. Results of the study is revealed that, the spatial variation of regulating ecosystem services identified within the study area (LHB) based on the relevant capacity of each LULC classes to provide annual potential regulating services. The outcomes of the study have been demonstrated with diagram and maps to show the spatial patterns of regulating ESS. The study results is an important instrument to provide an alternative development option and basic information that will be used by decision makers and other development partners for existing and future planning of watershed management and implementation of other development activities in the Basin to ensure sustainable management of natural resources in LHB.