| Abstrakt: |
Disasters have been affecting human and animal lives and the livelihoods of communities more recently than before and pose dangers to the communities in the Wolaita zone in southern Ethiopia. A lack of comprehensive, participatory, and location-specific research on multiple risks and various adaptation strategies has impeded more focused strategies to reduce risks and vulnerability. This study assessed the types, mitigation and adaptation strategies of humanitarian risks in the zone. Data were collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, storytelling of victims, and secondary sources. Results show that the area has been susceptible to drought, erratic rainfall, floods, pest infestation, human and livestock diseases, the high cost of fertilizer and improved seeds, population pressure, land scarcity, youth unemployment, water scarcity, and poor infrastructure. Adaptive included the Productive Safety Net program, relief and rehabilitation assistance, early warning, small income generation, and saving works. The mitigation options that can sustainably reduce the potential disaster include livestock feed production and disease control, small-irrigated crop farming, integrated pest management, select seed supply, natural resource conservation, land fertility management, infrastructure, social service development, family planning, and arranged or regulated migration. These call for integrated action in an interdisciplinary and community-centered approach by government, civil society, and humanitarian organisations to reduce exposure to hazards and vulnerabilities and subsequently to enhance the resilience of communities to manage risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
