Impacts of communal grazing land distribution on farmers' livelihoods and the environment in northwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study examines the impacts of communal grazing land distribution on livelihoods, environmental conditions, and institutional dynamics in Baso Liben District, northwestern Ethiopia. A mixed-methods research approach was employed to collect and analyze socio-spatial data. Data were gathered through household surveys from 368 farmers and 150 youths, key informant interviews, document reviews, and geospatial techniques using Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing. Both farmers, as primary users of communal grazing lands, and youths, who benefited from land distribution, participated in the survey and interviews. Descriptive, thematic, and spatial analysis techniques were applied. Land Degradation Neutrality assessment, based on the one-out-all-out principle, was used to evaluate land degradation status in the study area. Guided by a political ecology framework, the findings reveal that communal grazing lands were distributed to youths through politically driven decisions with limited legal justification. While this distribution temporarily enhanced economic opportunities for the youth, it undermined social equity, long-term sustainability, and livelihood security for farmers who used the grazing land as a common resource. Environmentally, the redistribution contributed to significant vegetation decline, indicating land degradation. Specifically, approximately 581.9 ha of communal grazing land, 1,128.9 ha of forest cover, and 89.9 ha of shrubland were converted into other land-use categories with − 41.6, − 80.6, and − 6.4 ha per year, respectively, for the last 15 years (2010–2024). In addition, communal grazing lands exhibited low Soil Organic Carbon values, further confirming ongoing land degradation. These exacerbate a “tragedy of the commons” scenario unless local land-use rights and governance mechanisms are formally recognized and strengthened.