Human Development in Landscapes

People

	Alumnus Engdawork Assefa (Ethiopia, 1970) M.A. in Geography eassefa@gshdl.uni-kiel.de
PhD project	Landscape Dynamics and Sustainable Land Management in Southern Ethiopia The major objective of my Ph.D. research project is to explore the dynamics of landscapes in Arbaminch and Chencha, South Ethiopia, in a spatio-temporal context in order to demonstrate process-cause-effect-response dynamics of the past, current and future land use systems, land cover, and landscape structures. Hypotheses, scenarios, and research questions were formulated for the analysis and evaluation of man-environment interactions and for strategies of sustainable landscape management. Multi- and interdisciplinary research methods and a holistic analysis have been involved in the collection, organization and analysis of both past and contemporary data from geoarchives, bioarchives, laboratory analysis, remotely sensed images (satellite and aerial photos), public agencies, and documents. All data (natural, socio-economic) will be integrated into a GIS database and various analyses will be performed. To this end, data on the dynamics of land use patterns and woodlands of the past were investigated and analysed by geoarchive surveys as well as by an interpretation of aerial photos and satellite images of the different time periods. With regard to soil degradation, patterns and trends of gully development over long periods of time were investigated. The age of organic soil matter and charcoals were dated in order to determine the age of colluvium and indigenous soil/water conservation measures. Moreover, to determine past soil erosion, 16 soil samples were collected for Cs-137 dating at the Leibniz Laboratory. In addition, a large mass of data was also gathered through 120 household interviews, three group discussions and informal discussions with key informants and development agents for an analysis of the driving forces of landscape dynamics and perceptions of people on past landscape change. Different document centers in Ethiopia were accessed and materials were collected in order to develop an analytical summary and synthesis of current knowledge on the landscape dynamics of South Ethiopia. All data collected to date has been entered into a data base. Further activities of this project will include data interpretation, analysis, organization, modelling, and an application of GIS and statistics. Moreover, data consolidation and verification will be carried out by final field investigations as well as soil laboratory analysis and experiments. In addition to thesis completion, papers for presentations and publication in peer-reviewed journals will be prepared.
Research interests	Soils and land use dynamics, land degradation and community participation.
Education	September 1993 - June 1997 Studies of Geography at the Addis Ababa University from (M.A. Degree) September 1986 - June 1990 Studies of Geography at the Addis Ababa University from (B.A. Degree)
Work experience	September 2004 - March 2008 Lecturer at Addis Ababa University July 1992 - August 2004 Lecturer at Arbaminch University September 1995 - June 1997 Part-time lecturer at Addis Ababa University July 1990 - Junne 1992 Assistant lecturer at Arbaminch University September 1990 - June 1990 Graduate assistant at Arbaminch University
Selected publications	2002 Characteristics, classification and potentials of soils of Werkaryia area, South Welo, Ethiopia. SINET, Ethiopian Journal of Science, Addis Ababa University, June 2002, Vol 25, Number 2. PP. 45-70. 2002 Some aspects of watershed management - A case study of Hare River Basin, South Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Water Science and Technology. July 2002, Volume 5, Number 1. PP. 61-70. 2001 Land use patterns and its implication to Hare watershed management in Lake Abaya-Chamo Basins, South Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Water Science and Technology. July 2001, Volume 4, number 1. PP. 28-33. 2000 Land use dynamics and soil degradation of the different land uses in Werkaryia area, South Welo. Ethiopian Journal of Development Research, Addis Ababa University, Institute of Development Research. October 2000, Volume 22, Number 2. PP. 65-93. 1999 Soil characteristics and patterns of land use in Werkaryia area, South Welo, Ethiopia. In Harald Aspen and AbdulHamid Kello (eds) (1999), Poverty and Resources in Ethiopia Reality, Working Papers on Ethiopian Development. Norwegian University of Science and Technology. No. 13. PP. 85-112. 1998 Soil and land use / land cover dynamics in Werkaryia area South Welo, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Water Science and Technology. June 1998, Volume 2, Number 2. PP.18-25
Memberships	October 2005 - October 2007 Head, Department of Geography and Environmental Education, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. 2005 - October 2007 Member of the Academic Commission of College of Education, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. September 2005 - March 2008 Member of the Research Committee, College of Education, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. December 2004 - October 2006 Member of the Students Affairs in the College of Education, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. August 2002 - August 2004 Member of the Consultancy Service Coordination Committee, Arbaminch University, Ethiopia. September 2003 - January 2004 Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Arbaminch University, Ethiopia. October 1998 - August 2002 Dean of Students, Arbaminch University, Ethiopia. October 1998 - August 2002 Member of the Academic Commission of Arbaminch University, Ethiopia. October 1998 - August 2002 Member of the Management Committee, Arbaminch University, Ethiopia. October 1998 - August 2002 Chairman of the Students` Discipline Committee, Arbaminch University, Ethiopia. October 1997 - September 1998 Assistant Dean of Students, Arbaminch University, Ethiopia.

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