Soil & Tillage Research 103 (2009) 197–202

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Soil & Tillage Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/still

Land degradation and soil and water conservation in tropical highlands

Jan Nyssen a,*, Jean Poesen b, Jozef Deckers c
a
Department of Geography, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
b
Physical and Regional Geography, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
c
Division Soil and Water Management, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Land degradation is not uniform, even in the same landscape, but nevertheless an overall consensus
Desertification seems to grow on the fact that many areas are under way of rehabilitation. It is a debateable question
HighLand2006 whether the improving areas are improving because of interventions—or whether this has more to do
Land rehabilitation with processes of innovation and adaptation. The international symposium ‘HighLand2006’ on land
Mountains
degradation and land rehabilitation, held in Mekelle (Ethiopia), from 21 to 25 September 2006, created a
Nutrient management
forum for those conducting research in East African Highlands as well as in similar regions around the
Soil erosion
globe to discuss findings. Tropical highlands (>1000 m a.s.l.) cover 4.5 million km2 with an average
population density of 33 inhabitants km 2. Nearly all tropical highlands suffer from land degradation,
especially medium to very high water erosion. Exchange of experiences during in-door sessions and
excursions led to results which are condensed in this special issue. Studies presented tend to invalidate
hypotheses on irreversibility of land degradation in tropical mountain areas. Circumstances are that in
highly degraded environments, with high pressure on the land, no other alternatives are left open but to
improve land husbandry; and that this is particularly successful in places where decision making
processes at different levels in society give the highest priority to the implementation of soil and water
conservation and other land rehabilitation, in situ and at catchment level.
ß 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Land degradation in tropical mountain areas and scope for
rehabilitation
Due to their important altitudinal gradients, mountain regions
receive much attention (Becker and Bugmann, 2001). Mountain
agriculture systems are vulnerable to environmental change for
various reasons, such as the cost of accessibility and infrastructure
as well as the limited opportunity for production gains associated
with scale of operation (Becker and Bugmann, 2001). Besides, in
most tropical mountains, there are high population densities. In
East Africa and Central America, there are far more than 100
inhabitants km 2 in all areas with an elevation over 2500 m a.s.l.
(Table 1). Short-term increase in agricultural production is often
obtained through increased pressure on the land, i.e. reduced
fallowing, removal of vegetation between cropland, conversion of
forest and woodlands on steep slopes into rangeland and marginal
arable land.
According to the ‘Global Assessment of Soil Degradation’ map
(Oldeman et al., 1991), more than 50% of the northern Ethiopian
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: jan.nyssen@ugent.be (J. Nyssen).
highlands, for instance, suffer from extreme loss of topsoil due to
sheet and rill erosion. Water erosion is a generalised problem in
nearly all tropical mountains.
In many tropical mountains, not the least in northern Ethiopia,
huge efforts are undertaken to rehabilitate the land.
However, the overall productivity of such areas is often
perceived to be so dramatically damaged by human impact that
recovery is deemed impossible (Rasmussen et al., 2001; Reij and
Steeds, 2003). However, several impact studies have demonstrated
that investments in tropical mountains do pay off in economic
terms (Holden et al., 2005; Boyd and Turton, 2000).
Degradation is not uniform, even in the same landscape, but
nevertheless an overall consensus seems to grow on the fact that
many areas are getting substantially better. In a recent exchange of
thoughts, Stocking (2006) stated that it is a debateable question
whether the improving areas are improving because of soil and
water conservation interventions—or whether this has more to do
with boserupian (Boserup, 1981) processes of innovation and
adaptation.
Over the past decade, significant advances have been made by
researchers analysing land rehabilitation efforts in these areas, and
this special issue aims at presenting a representative set of studies
(Fig. 1).

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198 J. Nyssen et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 103 (2009) 197–202

Table 1
Tropical mountain regions (>1000 m a.s.l.)

Sub-continent Major highland Area (1000 km2)a Population (106)a Population Countries with Farming systemsb,c Land
2 a
and mountain density (km ) mountain degradationc
regions population >40%a
>1000 >2500 >1000 >2500 >1000 >2500
m a.s.l. m a.s.l. m a.s.l. m a.s.l. m a.s.l. m a.s.l.

{
Southeast Asia Truong Son, 554 50 11 0.4 21 8 Upland intensive W(3–4)

Oceania
Ningling
Shan,
Wuhi Shan
New Guinea
} Papua
New Guinea
mixed s., upland
extensive s.,
sparse forest s.
W(1) S

South Asia Himalaya 684 367 23 4 34 11 Bhutan Highland mixed W(3–4)

s.; sparse mountain s.
Central America Sierra Madre, 85 5 9 1 107 200 Guatemala, Maize-bean W(3–4)
and Carribean Cordillera de Costa Rica, (mesoamerican) s.
Salamanca, El Salvador,
Sierra Maestre Honduras
South America Andes 2033 1114 38 21 19 19 Bolivia, Intensive highland W(2–4)
Colombia, (N Andean) s.; high E(2–4)
Peru, Ecuador altitude mixed
(Central Andean) s.;
sparse forest
(S Andean) s.
Central Africa Mitumbar, 170 6 6 0.4 38 67 Rwanda, Highland perennial s., W(2–3)
Mutchinga, Burundi maize mixed s.
Congo-Nile
crest
East Africa Ethiopian and 710 83 56 11 79 135 Eritrea, Highland perennial s., W(2–4)
East African Ethiopia highland temperate
highlands mixed s., maize
mixed s.
Southern Africa Drakensberg 308 9 6 0.3 20 33 Lesotho, Maize mixed s., W3 P3 C3
and Madagascar Swaziland rice-tree crop system
range
West Africa Hilly coastal 17 0 0.4 0 24 Tree-crop s.
areas

Total 4561 1634 151 38 33 23

a
According to Huddleston et al. (2003).
b
According to Dixon et al. (2001).
c
Dominant types, according to Oldeman et al. (1991); W water erosion, E wind erosion, C chemical deterioration, P physical deterioration, S stable terrain; codes for degree
of severity: 1 low, 2 medium, 3 high, 4 very high.

2. Northern Ethiopia, a focal place for studies on land
degradation and rehabilitation in tropical mountains
Following the International Soil Conservation Organisation’s
(ISCO) conference in Addis Ababa in 1989 (Hurni and Kebede,
1992; Kebede and Hurni, 1992), it was the second time that
Ethiopia could host a major international scientific event on land
degradation and rehabilitation. In the framework of the United
Nations proclamation of 2006 as the International Year of Deserts
and Desertification, the international symposium ‘HighLand2006’
(Poesen et al., 2006), held in Mekelle (Ethiopia), from 21 to 25
September 2006, created a forum for those conducting research in
east African highlands as well as in similar regions around the
globe (Fig. 1) to discuss results and to exchange experiences during
in-door sessions and excursions (Fig. 2).
The most important present-day geomorphic processes
observed during the excursions are sheet and rill erosion
throughout the country, gullying (Fig. 2) in the highlands, and
wind erosion in the Rift Valley and the peripheral lowlands
(Nyssen et al., 2004a).
With respect to recent environmental changes, temporal rain
patterns, apart from the catastrophic impact of dry years on the
degraded environment, cannot explain the current desertification
in the driest parts of the country and the accompanying land
degradation elsewhere. Causes are to be found in changing land
use and land cover, which are expressions of human impact on the
environment. Deforestation over the last 2000–3000 years was
probably not a linear process in Ethiopia. Studies on land use and
land cover change show however a tendency, over the last decades,
of increasing removal of remnant vegetation, which is slowed
down or reversed in northern Ethiopia by a set-aside policy
(Nyssen et al., 2004a).
Given its physical geography and land use history, the north
Ethiopian highlands were an ideal location to discuss these and
related questions. ‘HighLand2006’ has allowed participants (1) to
review current understanding of, (2) to report progress in, and (3)
to identify priorities for future research in environmental change,
geomorphic processes, land degradation and rehabilitation in
tropical and subtropical highlands.
Two major questions will be addressed in this special issue:
1. Which factors control the intensity of land degradation, its on-
site and off-site impacts, in tropical mountains? This question
addresses the role of natural and anthropogenic factors in the
degradation of the vegetation cover and in controlling the
intensity of hydrological processes, soil erosion, landsliding,
reservoir sedimentation and flooding.
2. What is the effectiveness and efficiency of traditionally and
recently introduced soil and water conservation techniques? In
tropical highlands, large efforts have been made to conserve soil
and water through a range of techniques (e.g. stone bunds
(Fig. 3), grass buffer strips, in situ land surface management,
check dams (Fig. 2), exclosures (Fig. 4), small reservoirs, nutrient
management, sediment excavation from reservoirs). Many
 J. Nyssen et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 103 (2009) 197–202
Fig. 1. Location map of the case studies presented in this special issue (STR), as well as in the parallel special issue of ‘Catena’.
lessons can be learned regarding their effectiveness, efficiency
and implementation in rural societies.
In parallel with this special issue of ‘‘Soil & Tillage Research’’, a
number of selected papers on environmental change and
geomorphological processes in tropical highlands are published
in a special issue of ‘‘Catena’’ (Billi, 2008; Ciampalini et al., 2008;
Fubelli et al., 2008; Kimaro et al., 2008; Moeyersons et al., 2008;
Munro et al., 2008; Nigussie et al., 2008; Oliveira et al., 2008;
Schmid et al., 2008; Turkelboom et al., 2008; Van de Wauw et al.,
2008).
3. Land degradation and rehabilitation studies
Needless to say, due to steep slopes and high population
density, severe land degradation may occur in tropical highlands
when not properly managed.
Whereas on-site impacts of land degradation (and of
conservation activities) are immediately felt by the farmers
(as demonstrated in the studies presented in Section 4), the
overall impact is much wider than the sum of individual losses
or benefits.
Case studies on land rehabilitation are often limited in space,
time and scope; they may include better endowed regions and/or
Fig. 2. HighLand2006 participants and farmers discussed land rehabilitation issues,
such as gully rehabilitation in the north Ethiopian highlands.
199
high-investment and nearby-monitored NGO-type of interven-
tions. One might therefore question to what extent reports on
recovery are representative of wider areas. Such impact studies
typically do not include detailed botanical, hydrological and
geomorphological components either (Rohde and Hilhorst, 2001).
It is precisely in the area around Mekelle that photo-monitoring
studies could demonstrate an increase in vegetation cover over the
last 30 years as well as a decrease in soil erosion rates (Munro et al.,
2008; Nyssen et al., 2007a).
An interesting aspect of landscape-wide studies is that they are
beyond the scale of experimental plots and represent necessarily the
‘real world’. Similarly, in northern Ethiopia, Nyssen et al. (2008a)
show that reforestation of the uplands has not only benefits for in
situ soil conservation and regeneration, but has also led to strongly
improved spring discharge in the bottomlands, leading to a major
land use change with the expansion of irrigated farmland.
4. In situ surface and nutrient management for conservation of
tropical highland farms
Several studies on the evaluation of physical and biological soil
and water conservation technologies in Ethiopia have been
published (Bosshart, 1997; Descheemaeker et al., 2006a, 2006b;
Desta et al., 2005; Eweg et al., 1998; Fiedler and Gebeyehu, 1988;
Hurni and Kebede, 1992; Kebede and Hurni, 1992; Krüger et al.,
1997; Lakew and Morgan, 1996; Nyssen et al., 2000a, 2000b,
2004b, 2007b, 2008b; Vancampenhout et al., 2006; Wolde et al.,
2007; Yohannes and Herweg, 2000), as in other tropical highlands
(to name but a few: Braud et al. (2001), De Noni et al. (2000) and
Dercon et al. (2003) in the Andes, Kloosterboer and Eppink (1989)
in Cabo Verde, or Mati and Veihe (2001) in savannah environments
in Africa).
A new paradigm was confirmed at the HighLand2006 con-
ference, which is also reflected in the composition of this special
issue: the great importance that is accorded to in situ management
for soil conservation and land rehabilitation. Attention is given to
experiments with alternative soil nutrient management systems,
whereby soil nutrient replenishment treatments were tested in the
Kenyan highlands (Shisanya et al., 2008); and simulation models
developed for the Ethiopian highlands (Assefa and van Keulen,
2008) that can be used to explore long-term dynamics of soil C, N
200 J. Nyssen et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 103 (2009) 197–202
Fig. 3. Stone bunds for soil and water conservation are aligned along the contour in May Leiba catchment, Tigray, Ethiopia.
and P in support of the design of appropriate farmland manage-
ment for higher yields and improved livelihoods.
Of particular interest in semi-arid mountains and other tropical
areas is the in situ conservation of water and soil. The effectiveness of
stone bunds and exclosures for soil and water conservation on the
slope was studied earlier (for instance in Ethiopia: Descheemaeker
et al., 2006a; Descheemaeker et al., 2006b; Desta et al., 2005; Nyssen
et al., 2007a; Vancampenhout et al., 2006). At the same time it was
however shown that these interventions (1) still allow soil and water
to be lost and that (2) the conserved soil and water is being kept
either outside of the farmland, or in narrow strips at the lower side of
farmland. Hence the large number of emerging studies on farmland
surface management. Engel et al. (2008) demonstrate how no-tillage
cultivation in the Santa Catarina highlands, southern Brazil strongly
reduces runoff and soil loss; and Tewodros et al. (2008), show how in
Ethiopia, conservation agriculture with beds and furrows, shaped
using the local ‘ard’ plough, leads to strong decreases in runoff and
increases in soil water content. To broaden the picture, Govaerts
et al. (2008) report on long-term experiments in the Central Méxican
highlands, whereby selected soil quality indicators (i.e. time-to-
pond, aggregate distribution and soil moisture) are investigated to
give insight into the feasibility of conservation agriculture as part of
a sustainable production system in tropical highlands. Stroosnijder
(2008) reviews soil water drought in Africa, which occurs where
plant production suffers because water is not available due to
deteriorated physical properties of soil. There is great potential to
Fig. 4. Land resilience on steep slopes (exclosure since 9 years in Hechi, Tigray).
mitigate this type of drought via appropriate land management
practices.
5. Conclusions
Studies presented in this special issue tend to invalidate
hypotheses on (a) irreversibility of land degradation in tropical
mountain areas; and (b) futility of SWC programmes. The studies
furthermore demonstrate that (a) land management has become
an inherent part of the farming system in several tropical mountain
areas, (b) it is possible to reverse environmental degradation in
these areas through an active, farmer-centred SWC policy, and (c)
keeping small-scale farmers on their land by providing adequate
levels of subsidies is an effective way to sustain the agricultural
system of tropical mountain areas in the long term and to provide
ecosystem services to the society.
The challenges to be met include (a) in situ SWC of farmland in
addition to contour terracing, (b) appropriate and concomitant soil
nutrient management and (c) involving local communities in
decision making about farmland management.
Coming back to the issue whether land rehabilitation is due to
interventions or to ‘‘boserupian’’ (Boserup, 1981) processes of
innovation, the papers in this special issue tend to demonstrate
that rehabilitation is linked to both. In highly degraded environ-
ments, with high pressure on the land, no other alternatives are left
open but to improve land husbandry (‘‘more people – less erosion’’
– Tiffen et al., 1994). Furthermore, such rehabilitation will be
particularly successful in regions where the highest priority at
different levels in society is given to the implementation of soil and
water conservation and other land rehabilitation.
Acknowledgements
Organisers and participants in the HighLand2006 conference
are especially thanked for fuelling discussions during in-door and
field sessions. This contributed significantly to shaping the papers
published in this special issue. As a post-conference activity, some
50 scientists visited the May Zegzeg Integrated Watershed
Management area, jointly with 200 farmers from the wide
surroundings; again many issues regarding conservation could
be raised there.
The HighLand2006 conference was financially supported by
VLIR, the Flemish Interuniversity Council (Belgium) and K.U.
 J. Nyssen et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 103 (2009) 197–202
Leuven. During this conference and during the preparation of this
special issue, J.N. was at the Division Soil and Water Management,
K.U. Leuven, Belgium, and based at Mekelle University.
We thank overseeing editors Rattan Lal and Miroslav Kutı́lek as
well as the reviewers (Abiye Astatke, Hilaire Desmedt, Hans Hurni,
Jan-Peter Lesschen, Roel Merckx, John Quinton, Eric Roose, Francis
Turkelboom, Lieven Van Holm, Bas van Wesemael, Ann Verdoodt,
Gert Verstraeten) of the manuscripts submitted for this special
issue. Without their efforts, this special issue would have been
impossible to realise.
Last but not least, Sofie Bruneel (Department Earth and
Environmental Sciences, K.U.Leuven), handled in a very profes-
sional way the crucial manuscript-submission-despatching-
reminding-and-so-much-more process. Thanks a lot, Sofie!
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