Socioeconomic Survey in Afar Region for the Project “Multi-towns Water Treatment System from Tendaho Dam”

Abstract

This report is a socioeconomic study of multi-towns Water treatment system project in Afar Regional State. It is prepared by Bright Research Consultants outsourced from Beles engineering. The project proponent is Afar National Regional State Water and Energy Bureau. The project lies along the program target towns of Samara, Logia, Dubti, Aysaita, Dichot, Det Bahari and Galafi towns. These towns are located in one of the five zones of Afar region known as Awsi Rasu Zone ( Zone 1). All these towns are accessible by asphalt road. Topographically, these towns are widely surrounded by flat landscape with some hills and small mountains that range in altitude from 350 to 480 masl.

Like in many other developing towns in Ethiopia; a rapid population growth and high rural-urban migration also poses many social and environmental challenges for these towns. Hence, all these towns face critical shortages of water and sanitation services to meet the demands of its expanding population, manufacturing industries and commercial enterprises. It is proposed that shortage household drinking water would be improved and large area of land should be irrigated by the water that is going to be produced from the Tendaho Dam. The project beneficiaries are communities living in the proposed area.

Populations of the project towns have been projected based on CSA 2007 census results and rates recommended by CSA after making appropriate adjustments to suite to the pertinent population growth pattern of towns. Thus, the population is projected over the design horizon with medium variant growth rate and base population of CSA 2007.

Policies and development strategies designed at national level are expected to be adopted across all regional states within the country with the existing socioeconomic contexts. The Afar Regional State has been playing its role in terms of implementing these development policies, strategies, and programs in the context of the pastoral and agro-pastoral societies predominant in the region. It has been working on improving the livelihoods of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists throughout the region covering key sectors including education, health, infrastructure, revenue, and women and youth affairs. It has also been trying to build up institutional capacities at different administrative levels of the region.

The major objective of this study is to assess its socio-economic conditions as well as identify development priority areas for multi-towns Water Treatment System project. Despite its huge natural, physical and human capital resources, the region has remained one of the least developed, food insecure, and impoverished regions of the country. Lack of up-to-date study result has made it necessary to begin by undertaking an assessment of the access to drinking water, irrigational agricultural, marketing, household economy and livelihoods, income and expenditure, gender issues, cost sharing and willingness to pay for water supply, availabilities of credit and saving services and other public institutes as well as the environmental and social impacts anticipations of the dwellers and their possible cope up mechanisms they suggest. ii. Socioeconomic Survey for the project “ multi-town Water Treatment system from Tendaho Dam” 3 The proposed projects have been assessed based on primary and secondary data obtained from the proposed project towns. The water treatment project has both positive and negative environmental and socio- economic impacts. But, the positive impacts outweigh the negative once. The positive impacts of the project are increasing the availability of the relatively clean water for domestic and for cattle, reduce the diseases caused by water borne, reduce the burden on women and girls to fetch water, improve sanitation and hygiene, increasing in local development and employment and increased opportunities for alternative livelihoods.

These can help the region to draw lessons for the formulation of regional strategies to improve the livelihoods of people in the towns, pastoralists and agro- pastoralists for future planning The socioeconomic study result of the project came up with conclusions that the adverse impacts of the projects are found by far less compared to the socio-economic benefits of the projects beneficiaries in the area. Therefore, the Multi-Towns Water Treatment System project from Tendaho Dam is found environmentally feasible and help in achieving water and food security plan of the project’s beneficiaries.