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Land system resilience amidst the ravages of war : insights from Tigray (Northern Ethiopia)

Jan Nyssen (UGent) , Emnet Negash (UGent) , Hailemariam Meaza, Sofie Annys (UGent) , Mitiku Haile, Zbelo Tesfamariam, Jean Poesen, Jozef Deckers, Jan Moeyersons, Amanuel Zenebe, et al.
(2025) ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE.
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Abstract
The Tigray war in northern Ethiopia (2020–2022) had substantial environmental impacts due to fighting, blockade, and power outages. This study contrasts post-war observations at 56 sites with 26 years of legacy data on land degradation, a rare before-and-after analysis by the same research team, in Dogu’a Tembien, a district of Tigray that did not experience large influxes of internally displaced people. The qualitative repeat study used transect walks alongside group observations and discussions. Unlike the war and environmental catastrophe of the 1980s in Tigray, basic soil conservation interventions including stone bunds, check dams and forest conservation have served as buffers against the conflict's repercussions. However, notable geomorphic changes occurred in battlefield areas and downriver banks. Still, restoration efforts over the last 30 years have largely withstood degradation. Under challenging conditions, farmers have maintained most soil conservation systems. Many gullies remained stable, although some formed due to enhanced water channeling in the upper area. The conflict caused a decline in woody vegetation, but, away from the main roads, many forests remained in good condition. Farmer-led irrigation expanded, supported by good spring discharges, improved marketing conditions for local produce due to isolation, and the lack of off-farm work opportunities. We attribute this land system resilience not only to long-term conservation investments, but also to the co-production of resilience through social and ecological systems. The intrinsic properties of the land (clayey, stony soils, stress-adapted vegetation, and reduced hydrological connectivity) helped buffer degradation. Meanwhile, communal land ethics, informal institutions, and local stewardship practices persisted despite the collapse of state support, echoing long-standing tenure traditions. In some areas, however, these systems frayed, revealing the spatial and social contingency of resilience. Our findings contribute to land resilience theory by showing how ecological durability and socio-political agency interact to shape land outcomes under crisis.
Keywords
Land rehabilitation, community stewardship, soil erosion, gully, exclosure, farmer-led irrigation, tragedy of the commons paradigm, SMALL-SCALE IRRIGATION, CONTROL SOIL-EROSION, CHECK DAMS, HIGHLANDS, EXCLOSURES, COVER, GOVERNANCE, SATURATION, VEGETATION, CONFLICT

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MLA
Nyssen, Jan, et al. “Land System Resilience amidst the Ravages of War : Insights from Tigray (Northern Ethiopia).” ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE, 2025, doi:10.1177/25148486251374659.
APA
Nyssen, J., Negash, E., Meaza, H., Annys, S., Haile, M., Tesfamariam, Z., … Ghebreyohannes, T. (2025). Land system resilience amidst the ravages of war : insights from Tigray (Northern Ethiopia). ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486251374659
Chicago author-date
Nyssen, Jan, Emnet Negash, Hailemariam Meaza, Sofie Annys, Mitiku Haile, Zbelo Tesfamariam, Jean Poesen, et al. 2025. “Land System Resilience amidst the Ravages of War : Insights from Tigray (Northern Ethiopia).” ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486251374659.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Nyssen, Jan, Emnet Negash, Hailemariam Meaza, Sofie Annys, Mitiku Haile, Zbelo Tesfamariam, Jean Poesen, Jozef Deckers, Jan Moeyersons, Amanuel Zenebe, Amaury Frankl, and Tesfaalem Ghebreyohannes. 2025. “Land System Resilience amidst the Ravages of War : Insights from Tigray (Northern Ethiopia).” ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE. doi:10.1177/25148486251374659.
Vancouver
1.
Nyssen J, Negash E, Meaza H, Annys S, Haile M, Tesfamariam Z, et al. Land system resilience amidst the ravages of war : insights from Tigray (Northern Ethiopia). ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE. 2025;
IEEE
[1]
J. Nyssen et al., “Land system resilience amidst the ravages of war : insights from Tigray (Northern Ethiopia),” ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE, 2025.
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  abstract     = {{The Tigray war in northern Ethiopia (2020–2022) had substantial environmental impacts due to fighting, blockade, and power outages. This study contrasts post-war observations at 56 sites with 26 years of legacy data on land degradation, a rare before-and-after analysis by the same research team, in Dogu’a Tembien, a district of Tigray that did not experience large influxes of internally displaced people. The qualitative repeat study used transect walks alongside group observations and discussions. Unlike the war and environmental catastrophe of the 1980s in Tigray, basic soil conservation interventions including stone bunds, check dams and forest conservation have served as buffers against the conflict's repercussions. However, notable geomorphic changes occurred in battlefield areas and downriver banks. Still, restoration efforts over the last 30 years have largely withstood degradation. Under challenging conditions, farmers have maintained most soil conservation systems. Many gullies remained stable, although some formed due to enhanced water channeling in the upper area. The conflict caused a decline in woody vegetation, but, away from the main roads, many forests remained in good condition. Farmer-led irrigation expanded, supported by good spring discharges, improved marketing conditions for local produce due to isolation, and the lack of off-farm work opportunities. We attribute this land system resilience not only to long-term conservation investments, but also to the co-production of resilience through social and ecological systems. The intrinsic properties of the land (clayey, stony soils, stress-adapted vegetation, and reduced hydrological connectivity) helped buffer degradation. Meanwhile, communal land ethics, informal institutions, and local stewardship practices persisted despite the collapse of state support, echoing long-standing tenure traditions. In some areas, however, these systems frayed, revealing the spatial and social contingency of resilience. Our findings contribute to land resilience theory by showing how ecological durability and socio-political agency interact to shape land outcomes under crisis.}},
  articleno    = {{25148486251374659}},
  author       = {{Nyssen, Jan and Negash, Emnet and Meaza, Hailemariam and Annys, Sofie and Haile, Mitiku and Tesfamariam, Zbelo and Poesen, Jean and Deckers, Jozef and Moeyersons, Jan and Zenebe, Amanuel and Frankl, Amaury and Ghebreyohannes, Tesfaalem}},
  issn         = {{2514-8486}},
  journal      = {{ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE}},
  keywords     = {{Land rehabilitation,community stewardship,soil erosion,gully,exclosure,farmer-led irrigation,tragedy of the commons paradigm,SMALL-SCALE IRRIGATION,CONTROL SOIL-EROSION,CHECK DAMS,HIGHLANDS,EXCLOSURES,COVER,GOVERNANCE,SATURATION,VEGETATION,CONFLICT}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{23}},
  title        = {{Land system resilience amidst the ravages of war : insights from Tigray (Northern Ethiopia)}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1177/25148486251374659}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}
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