Farmers’ Perception and Indigenous Knowledge for Natural Resources Management, Abo-Wonsho Woreda, Southern Ethiopia

In this study, the roles of indigenous knowledge and farmers’ perception of natural resources management were analyzed. A total of seventy households were selected by simple random sampling with replacement method for collection of data. Formal interviews were conducted to the 5% plus of households in the study area in addition to the focus group discussions and qualitative field observations. It was expressed by 98.6% of the total respondents that “Sera” which is the traditional practice has being used to manage natural resources in the study area. In the “Sera” systems, individuals are excluded a punishment from any kind of social interaction in a response to their unlawful action in the community natural resources. It was indicated by 84.3% of respondents that deforestation and related problems are the major challenges including grazing and shortage of farm size for the management of the culturally protected forest in the study area. The majority of the respondents (77.1%) believed that soil fertility decline in the study area. Development of effective participatory forest management and encouragement and supporting the traditional method of natural resources management is required to ensure the preservation and protection of these areas essential to ecosystem service provision, provide high biodiversity value and cultural heritage, and maintain the sustainability of culturally protected forest.


Introduction
The Local knowledge, also termed Indigenous Knowledge (IK), may be defined

Location
Abo-Wonshu is located in the outskirt of Bokasso town which is the capital of Wonsho woreda in Sidama Zone, Southern People's National Regional States, Ethiopia. It is about 12 km to the east of Yirgalem town (Figure 1), and 329 km from Addis Ababa. Geographically, it is located between 06˚39'30'' to 06˚46'30'' Northlatitude and 38˚20'30'' to 38˚34'30'' Eastlongitude with an approximate altitudinal range from 1978 m (West end, lower) to 2149 m (East or upper end) above sea level. The area is protected as a sacred place by the Sidama people. The story goes back so many decades and traditionally believed to go as far back as 21 generations.

Climate, Geology, and Soil
The study areas are characterized by mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature ranging from 832 mm to 1658 mm and 18˚C -21˚C, respectively. The pattern of rainfall distribution is bimodal. The short rainy season lasts from mid-November to February whereas the long rainy season is from March to May and it extends from August to October [12]. According to the Sidama Zone Finance and Economic Development Sector [13], the Wonsho Woreda can be divided into four climatic zones as "Wet Dega", "Moist woyna Dega", "Wet woyna dega", and "wet Kola" on the basis of altitudinal and annual rainfall variations. Accordingly, the study site is observed to be "Wet-Woyna Dega" (Wet mid-highland).

Farming System and Land Use
Agriculture in the area is characterized by subsistence mixed crop-livestock farming. Most of the area around the homestead is covered with perennial crops mainly Enset (Ensete ventricosum), which is used as a staple food throughout the year and income source. Coffee (mainly Coffee arabica) and Chat (Catha edulis) are also widely practiced. Fruit trees such as Papaya, Persea Americana (Avocado) and Mango (Mangifera indica) are also cultivated. Grazing is carried out mainly on the communal grazing land, protected forest land, and front yard fields, where cattle used to graze in the morning and afternoon. Land use in this paper refers to the existing use of land with different management practices. The description of each land use type is presented as follow: Protected Forest land is the land use types in which the area is protected culturally for the last 21 generations (Figure 2). This forest is composed of varies indigenous trees, shrubs, and bushes as well as grasses species. The forest comprises of different endemic trees and animal species. Some of the most common vegetation types are Podocarpus falcatus or P. gracilior (Zigba), Strychnos spinosa (Dokma), Croton macrostachyus (Bisana), Arundinaria alpine (Mountain bamboo or Kerkeha locally), Pouteria adolfi-friedericii (or Aningeriaadolfi-friedericii, Keraro), Juniprus procera (Tid), Cordia africana (Wanza), Prunus Africana (Tikur-enchet), Euphorbia candelabrum (Kulkual) Mellettia ferruginea (Birbira), Vernonia amygdalina (Grawa), etc. [14].
Open grassland is the land use type predominantly of very short grasses and situated within the protected area as shown in Figure 3. This  Farmland is the land use type which is characterized by cultivation crops (both perennials and annual crops). The main cropping system is a mixed cropping system where perennial crops such as Coffee (Coffee Arabica), Enset (Ensete ventricosum), and Chat (Catha edulis) are the dominant ones. Farmers usually use live fence around their farmland for shade, firewood, fodder, and soil fertility improvement. This land use system consists of a complex multi-strata system in which crops and trees are growing in the same plot of land as shown in Figure 4.
Grazing land is also one of land use systems where a group(s) of farmers are using for grazing their cattle as a common land, which is considered as communal grazing land ( Figure 5). Other than direct inputs of cow dung and urine to the grazing land, no other soil inputs are applied to the grazing land by the owners.

Household Survey Methods
Data and information about perceptions of farmers were collected using formal interviews with the head of the household, focus group discussions with elders and community or cultural leaders and by means of qualitative field observations during 2017. Farmers were randomly selected for interview (using simple random sampling with replacement) from lists obtained from community leaders and "kebele" development agents in the study area. Seventy farmers from Bokasso kebele (from six villages such as Bokasso, Holona, Wonsho, Wondicho, Gowodene) were interviewed, which ensured that at least 5 percent of farmer households were sampled. When a farmer was unavailable or unwilling to be interviewed a substitute was selected. Both open-ended and closed questions were used in the household interview processes. Prior to conducting the full survey, preliminary survey was done to 10 farmers to evaluate the questionnaire, and based on these responses some minor modifications were made in order to get better information for the study. The test survey period permitted standardization of interview technique for all interviewers. Both closed and open ended questionnaires were employed.
Focus group discussion with selected farmers (elders and cultural leaders) during the field visit was undertaken as a means of cross-checking the individual farmer responses.
The field observation was made in a position that allows to capture greatest diversity or ecosystems and land use, extent of degradation of land resources including farmlands, grazing lands and forests, and current land management practices etc. Problems of land degradation, and land management practices and indicators of soil degradation were carefully observed and recorded. From the farmers' responses lists (classified by type of factors and by whether factors are internal or external) of perceived indicators, reasons and known conservation measures were perceived [15].

Data Analysis
The distribution and frequency of the farmers' perceptions were explored using descriptive statistical analysis using Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS) Statistics for Windows release version 20.

Results and Discussion
The household characteristics of the study area were indicated in Table 1 and Table 2. The age of respondents ranged from 30 -92 with an average of 50.5 years. The average males and female in the household were found to be 4.49 and 4.29 respectively. In the study area, the farmers' land holding size ranges from 0.25 ha to 3.67 ha with an average of 1.14 ha. The majority of farm size lies between 0.51 -1 ha (38.6%), followed by 0 -0.5 ha (22.9%) and minimum was found to be ≥2.1 ha (8.6%; Table 2). The major source of livelihood for the households (100%) was  on-farm activities. The majority of the respondents (77.1%) have used crop residues and tree and/or Enset leaves for their animals as fodder, while 22.9 percent haven't used it either because of lack of the resources or they only keep their animals in the protected forest and grazing land. Most farmers used to graze their animal in the communal grazing land (51.4%), private grazing land (47.1%) and protected forest land (64.3%, Table 3). While other farmers (35.7%) were not used the protected forest for grazing their animal due to 1) fear of Abo spirit 2) some farmers live far from the protected forest and 3) fear of parasite while their cattle drink water from the rivers found in the protected forest. However, the protected forest is free for grazing and has been served as open access resources that every farmer has the right to keep their animal in the holy place, Abo-wonsho. About Ninety seven percent of the respondents have raised domestic animals, while only 2.9% of the respondent didn't have livestock. However, in the last two decades the trend of the size of the livestock in the majority of respondents (82.9%) was decreased due to shrinkage of grazing land, inherited to their children and selling for daily consumption, while 11.4% showed increasing and the remaining 5.7% remain the same (Table 3).

Farmers' Awareness and Natural Resources Management of Abo-Wonsho
Local knowledge (LK) has great significance and refers to the use of resources and the management of natural habitats and agroecosystems [16]. In this study it was explained that the area was established by Abo, a person who has been believed to come from abroad and settled in the current place called "Abo-Wonsho". Table 3. Frequency (N) and percent (%) of the major sources of animal feed and major reasons for the change in farm size and livestock population in the study area. ing of tree remnant, debarking of tree stems to dry for fuel wood and construction materials, and soil erosion were the pressing problems occurred in the forest ( Table 4). The protection and preservation of forest as a cultural knowledge and heritage is an uphill battle for the societies [17].
Majority of the respondents, 74.3%, believed that trees are still alive as a result of spiritual protection of Abo and there is a remarkable regeneration of seedling underneath. It was expressed by the entire surveyed household believing that reforestation/Afforestation or replacement of dead trees with new seedlings within the protected forest and any kind of human induced management is not allowed for the sake of keeping the word of Abo and culturally leaders. Local participation can be more effective if the community understands the value of its participation [18]. The majority of the respondents (84.3%) understood that the problem of deforestation has been increased from time to time. In contrast, 12.9 percent of the respondents believed that the problem of deforestation has been  (Table 4). This indicates that most of the respondents were aware of the problem of natural resource degradation, however, they preferred to maintain their culture and beliefs; which may need intervention of the regarding stakeholders for the sustainability of the resource. The respondents were also asked whether the cover of the forest has been changed or not. Accordingly, most of the respondents (47.1%) perceived that the forest cover remained the same; in contrast 37.1 percent believed that the cover of the forest has been decreased due to human and animal interference, while the remained 15.7% of the respondent agreed that the forest cover has been increased (Table 4) as a result of natural regeneration. As community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a major global strategy for the sustainable of management natural resources [19], attention should be given for awareness creation.

Indigenous Knowledge and Participatory Management of Abo-Wonsho Forest
Unique culture and cultural practices of society have a great importance for natural resource management. Understanding how indigenous people manage their natural resources, supporting the indigenous knowledge with scientific way can provide a basis for formulating appropriate policies for natural resources management that benefits them while preserving their cultural beliefs [20]. In the study area, the responsibility of managing and protecting the forest falls fully on the shoulder of cultural leaders named as "Gana", "Woma", "Gadala" and "Karicho". Any kind of management activities like reforestation, soil and water conservation activities are not allowed in the culturally protected forest due to cultural reasons. The survey revealed that most of the respondents (95.7%) were aware of the prohibition of cutting of trees and 98.6 percent believed that cultivation has not been allowed in the sacred place. However, some farmers (4.3%) weren't aware of the prohibition of cutting of trees and 1.4 percent weren't aware of the prohibition of cultivation in the protected forest (Table 5)  "Sera" is a cultural management system that inhibits the involvement of individual from participation in any aspect of social affairs and absolute exclusion from the community.
accepted and agreed with this cultural rule, while only 1.4% of the respondents didn't agree and accept this rule (Table 5) following the conversion of cultural beliefs to Christianity. The communities highly respect this rule because of fearing of the spirit of Abo and cultural leaders and it has been believed as the most important instrument for conserving the forest. This is the proof that the religious beliefs are very useful tools in natural resource management [22]. Thus, the trends of religion and believes can continue to be used as a powerful tool for managing the negative impacts of human related pressures on the natural resources [23].
The study revealed that all members of communities (100%) have the right to Agricultural Sciences keep their animals in the protected forest area throughout the year ( Table 5).
The farmers were asked their opinion about the impact of grazing on the forest and soil degradation. Accordingly, most of the farmers (62.9%) didn't perceive the impact of grazing on forest and soil degradation which could affect the forest area and affect the diversity as grazing is negatively correlated with forest health [24]. While some of the respondents (37.1%) were recognized its impact on forest and soil resources and they were able to suggest some solutions to alleviate  Table 5). On the other hand, most of the respondents (84.3%) believed that the trend of deforestation has been increased, while only 12.9% believed the problem has been decreased, whereas 2.9 percent of the respondents believed that the problem remained the same (Table 4) in the last two decades.
The focus group discussion also revealed that the main causes of deforestation were believed to be lack of fuel wood and alternative energy sources, lack of awareness, poverty, population pressure, lack of integration of cultural and government management system. In the study [11] reported that except around churches and some inaccessible pockets owing to deforestation associated with, mainly, expansion of farmlands, spurred by the rapidly increasing populations of humans and domestic animals, over centuries. In the same way [25] also reported that increase in population size and its dependence on agriculture have forced people to expand cultivation into the forest and marginal lands. They also reported that the traditional practice of free grazing in Ethiopia is also a major cause of land degradation. Most farmers were also aware of the consequence of deforestation and they tried to mention as much consequences as possible. Accordingly, the majority of the respondents believed that soil fertility decline habitats, and loss of plant genetic diversity [26]. Generally, all the respondents (100%) believed that the problem of deforestation can be controlled through integration of cultural and modern participatory forest management systems.

Farm Management Practices and Soil Fertility
In recent years the value of traditional knowledge of indigenous people, particularly their traditional environmental knowledge has been recognized. Local communities manage their soil resources through better decision making and local monitoring of their environment [27]. In the study area, most farmers (82.9%) used mixed cropping system, while few of them (17.1%) used mono cropping system (Table 6) (Table 6). Farmers were able to mention the major perceived reasons for the decline of soil fertility. Farmers identified "shortage of manure", "soil erosion", "deforestation", "lack of crop rotation" (85.7%), "continuous cultivation" (78.6%), "drying of farm lands" (70%) and increasing of the price of inorganic fertilizer as major reasons for the decline of soil fertility. Study by [6] reported that repeated cultivation, soil erosion, lack of manure, lack of fertilizer as the most farmers' perceived reasons of soil fertility decline in southern Ethiopia. Similarly, [15] reported runoff, no manure application, lack of fertilizer and deforestation as the most important suggested reasons for soil fertility loss in Umbulo catchment in southern Ethiopia. Maintaining soil fertility is the basis of all forms of sustainable land use, that is, land use that remains productive in the long term. If fertility has fallen below a critical level through long-term agricultural use without replacement of nutrients or as a result of erosion, or if it is naturally very low, the replenishment of soil fertility may be a precondition for productive agriculture [28]. Low and declining soil fertility are recognized by many tropical farmers as major constraints to agricultural production [29]. Generally, 75.7 percent of respondents' farm land didn't satisfy their family basic needs due to an increasing family size and degradation of farm land, while only 24.3 percent satisfied their family basic needs ( Table 6).
Trees in crop fields can contribute to the maintenance and improvement of soil organic matter levels through increased inputs of litter and roots, reduction of soil temperatures through shading, and soil protection from erosion [28].
Some 20 years ago soil fertility was maintained predominantly by animal dung.
In addition to animal dung, organic matter input to the soil consists of leaves of native trees. Currently, insufficient application of organic manure both from animal dung and from plants was mentioned as the major cause of declining soil fertility. All interviewed farmers suggested that the decline of soil fertility is mainly due to the decline of livestock in the systems. They also mentioned that insufficient manure and declining soil fertility arise from small farm sizes and poverty. The decline of soil fertility is generally perceived as a problem and most of farmers made some cognizant effort to maintain soil fertility by growing Vernonia amygdalina (Grawa), Croton macrostachyus (Bisana), Mellettia ferruginea (Birbira), and Cordia africana (Wanza) in their farmland. Studies in southern Ethiopia, [30] also reported that the decline of soil fertility is generally perceived as a problem and most of farmers made some conscious effort to maintain soil fertility by growing Millettia and Cordia.

Conclusion
This study was conducted to assess farmers' indigenous knowledge and percep- Sidama "Sera" system is among the model indigenous natural resources management methods which have been practiced for decades. The study recom-Agricultural Sciences mends that traditional rules and regulations regarding sustainable management of forest resources should be well maintained and support of regarding stakeholders is needed to strength the knowledge. Hence, as community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a major global strategy for the sustainable of management natural resources, attention should be given for awareness creation and integral use of indigenous knowledge and modern natural resources management system.