Water supply dams in Ethiopia and sustainability

Holistic water resource management needs the integration of community participatory water supply development and catchment management activities for sustainable livelihood improvement and ecological conservation. Proper management of water supply development dam projects contribute a lot for social development, economic growth, environmental conservation and climate change adaptation. But inadequate quantity and quality of water due to poor management of the catchment area limits development resulting in poor water supply, sanitation, hygiene, food insecurity and reduce energy production. Sustainable use of water depends on the functionality of the whole ecosystem. The need for holistic water resources management is well understood by the government and the people of Ethiopia and effort are made to conserve the natural resources. The objective of is paper is to integrated catchment management for the development of water supply dam projects, improve livelihood of the community and reduce sedimentation in reservoirs.