ABSTRACT
The Ethiopian Highlands are home to many millions of small-scale farmers. In many areas, steep slopes and intense rainfall combined with the cultivation of unprotected soils have led to very high rates of soil erosion. Yet there is a wide range of indigenous soil and water conservation (ISWC) measures which farmers have developed over many generations, which can often provide the basis on which to construct improved systems of land husbandry. The inventory of ISWC measures described in this chapter provides detailed information about the diverse and ingenious ways which farmers have evolved to try to manage their land. The inventory demonstrates not only the strengths of these practices and the options for improvement, but also where major weaknesses exist.
