Abstract

Flooding has been a critical problem in our globe causing huge damage on human lives as well as socio-economic and environmental assets. The upper Awash river basin in Ethiopia, which is the target of this study, is one such region that is affected by recurrent flooding. Thus, there is a need to develop appropriate and sustainable management mechanisms to mitigate flood impacts. An integrated flood management approach which accounts for social and stakeholder involvement, as well as environmental and economic condition of a basin; in addition to technical flood mitigation options (such as structural and/or non-structural measures) can be an alternative. This study emphasized on the need  to consider socio-economic-environmental aspects of a basin while proposing IFM options considering the upper Awash river basin, Ethiopia. It employed structured and semi-structured interviews, field observations, and community and government official consultations to investigate the socio-economic and environmental situations of UARB with the underlying objective of examining existing flood impacts in the basin. The study formulated the basin current socio-economic and environmental baselines. It also pin-pointed the concerned stakeholders in UARB, that shall be addressed and consulted during planning and developing of IFM mechanisms. Ultimately, the results from the interviews and the surveys were used as an essential input to develop flood risk maps within the context of integrated flood management options.

Key words: Awash River Basin, flood impacts, socio-economic baseline, environmental baseline, integrated flood management approach, flood risk map.