This paper draws lessons from two years of work with ‘innovation platforms’ that were established by the Nile Basin Development Challenge (NBDC) program in an attempt to strengthen landscape-level rainwater management in Ethiopia. The NDBC’s work included the use of an innovation fund to support pilot interventions.

In the past decades, both upstream and downstream countries ofthe Blue Nile Basin (BNB) had developed and adopted several policies and strategies related to land and water management. Yet there are important policy and institutional gaps that irnpeded adoption of improved land and water management strategies. An example of these gaps is the lack of upstream-downstream linkage and incentive-based policy enforcement mechanisms. In spite of long-standing efforts in improving land and water management in the BNB, achievements have been negligible to date.

“Why do so many forestry aid projects fail?” is a question being asked more frequently. Most replies list technical difficulties in implementation. However, this paper argues that the answer can only be found through understanding two much more general processes; how a forestry activity relates to the broader socio-economic context in which it is embedded; and how development assistance operates in practice.

Termites are a major pest in the semi-arid and sub-humid tropics. They pose a serious threat to agricultural crops, forestry seedlings, rangelands and wooden structures. In Ethiopia the problem is particularly serious in the western part of the country, specifically in Wollega Zones of Oromia Region. In the past, several attempts were made to reduce damage caused by termites, including extensive termite mound poisoning campaigns. These interventions not only had a negative effect on the environment, but were also largely ineffective.