The Slow Death of an Ethiopian Lake

Abstract

Hayal Desta first visited Lake Ziway in Ethiopia as a student in the mid-1990s. When he returned to the area in 2012 to conduct a survey on water use, Ziway, an important part of the communities’ economic and cultural life, had deteriorated. The lake is currently threatened by the expanding flower industry, water-grabbing, and polluting agrarian practices, as well as climate change and overfishing. The local community faces a scarcity of water, but the municipality does not take action. If local actors will not adhere to water-use standards, there is a real fear that the lake might soon disappear.