The Daily Monitor

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopian development researcher Dr. Nigussie Haregeweyn won an award of the Belgian Development Cooperation Prize 2007 (BDCP), Belgian Embassy in Addis Ababa announced.

A scientific research works award winner, Dr. Nigussie’s essay under the theme “Sediment-bound nutrient export from micro-dam catchments in northern Ethiopia” is deemed one of special contributions to sustainability and poverty reduction.

The embassy stated that Dr. Nigussie’s study is framed in “a wonderful example of co-operation between Ethiopian and Belgian research units which involves quantifying the mechanisms at play in soil erosion and sediment and nutrient retention (nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, potassium, calcium and magnesium) and consequently assessing their impact on the efficiency and cost of agricultural practices in Ethiopia.

The essay moreover engages the factors that cause increased erosion often linked to human activity (mainly climate change and poor use of soil: deforestation, agricultural practices, building, etc.). The numerous negative impacts include increased sedimentation in the catchments whose barrages were built in order to manage water resources better.

Comparing several small basins, the essay also recommends better management which makes it the first study of its kind to be carried out in Ethiopia especially in the region where the loss of nutrients can not be easily compensated by fertilizers given the severe financial constraints to which the population is subject. “This fact alone is enough to prove the significance of this work and its contribution to sustainable development as the quality of the approach is an exhaustive end-to-end and multidisciplinary study, remarked the embassy’s statement.

The researcher holds a Master of Soil Engineering and Water Conservation, Alemaya University, Ethiopia, and Doctor in Geography, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and presently following a specialized training at the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.