H=husbands, W=wives; *sig.<0.1; mean and correlations
estimated from ratings: 2=more increased, 1=increased but not much 0=no
change, -1=reduced but not much, -2=reduced a lot;¥reversed rating
Provisioning ecosystem services: land productivity
From the survey, it is evident that men and women have different
perspectives on the contribution of restoration measures to land
productivity (Fig. 4). Although both gave positive ratings, men gave a
much higher rating of increase in production while women rated a lower
productivity increase. We also observe that 10% of women in
Basona-worena indicated that productivity was reduced. During the FDG,
men of Amhara indicated that after the restoration intervention, there
are higher satisfaction levels regarding soil erosion decline and
fuelwood availability restoration benefits. Despite the human and
livestock population growth that creates pressure on the land resources,
men indicated that degradation in the area is decreasing. They
attributed the decline to farmer awareness that land is a scarce
resource and a better understanding of the advantages of restoration
structures in improving soil fertility and producing food from the
existing plots. Most farmers construct the stone and soil bunds, and
plant grass along the soil bund (Dehso and Phalaris).
Considering productivity reduction as a degradation syndrome, although
the residual effects of deforestation and overgrazing still cause
long-term productivity loss in Ethiopia (Gebreselassie et al., 2016;
Kumasi and Asenso-Okyere, 2011), both men and women of Amhara and SNNP
rated them as moderate or least contributors to the productivity loss
(Fig. 3). Instead, around 50% of both women and men considered the
ongoing nutrient mining or loss and topsoil loss due to erosion to
greatly affect productivity (Fig. 4). The soil fertility decline
degradation syndrome is perceived to greatly contribute to productivity
decline by more women in Doyogena but more men in Basona-worena. In both
sites, more men consider erosion to greatly impact land productivity
than women. These narratives relate to their perception on causes of
root causes and signals the orientation of men towards more physical
erosion forces measures while women focus on man-made degradation
pathways.