Invest in people and planet from source to sea

For #EarthDay we want to tell you the story of Lake Hawassa in Ethiopia.

Around 400 000 people live in Hawassa, many rely on the lake for their survival and livelihood

But the lake is under threat from plastic waste, sediment flow and pollution.

Our Source-To-Sea team visited Hawassa in October 2019 to hold workshops with local and regional stakeholders to share and gain knowledge as well as explore how a source to sea approach could help restore and protect the lake.

The lake is under threat from sediment flow caused by soil eoriosn.

One cause of erosion is deforestation upstream, carried out to make the land suitable for farming and a new income stream for the community. However, the process of removing trees naturally removes their roots as well, roots that hold soil together.

Erosion makes the land very hard to farm on and unstable to walk on making it unsafe for the local community. An attempt was made to solve the issue by planting eucalyptus trees, however this type of tree root actually breaks down soil - worsening the problem. And highlighting how landscape expertise have a role in protecting the community and its water. We saw how wooden structures were used to try and reduce erosion in some areas.

Eroded soil becomes sediment which flows into the lake which has a great impact on biotic environment such as causing chemical changes which can reduce spawning. another factor impacting spawning is reduced visibility due to sediment making the water murky.

The sediment is essentially filling the lake up from the bottom. The lake bed is rising at an alarming rate - the lake has lost 4% of its capacity in the past decade. A nearby lake filled up completely and become a wetland which was catastrophic for the people and nature depending on the lake

An estimated 628 tonnes of plastic waste ends up in Hawassa every year

We saw initiatives such as locally organised litter collections, and recycling of PET bottles at a landfill site all trying to stop plastic litter reaching the lake. Another source of plastic waste discovered was fishing nets, disposed of in the lake and adding not only to waste but endangering the lake's nature. We worked with consultants like Joyce Klu from the Resources and Waste Advisory Group to better understand the various sources of waste found in the lake.

A further potential source of microplastics in the area is plastic production plants upstream of the lake. Waste management plays a crucial role in ensuring that upstream waste doesn't end up in downstream bodies of water like a lake or the ocean.

We visited a plant which created new plastic product from recycled plastic, however they face the same challenges in terms of needed to dispose of any waste responsibly. As we saw with the eucalyptus trees, solutions must be holistic and considered to be sustainable and effective.

Inclusive and participatory processes supporting good governance are non-negotiable in achieving this.

We must invest in people and planet from source to sea, not just on #EarthDay but every day.

Find out more about the Source to Sea Platform here