GEOGRAPHY P2 - Ethiopia [Case Study] (Development)

Cities in Ethiopia (population & distance to nearest water source)

- Capital & largest city: Addis Ababa - population density of 6600 people/km² - 4M population

o 10km to the nearest water source

o Main source of drinking water: Gafsara dam

- Other cities: Hawasa (400,000 pop.) - 250m to nearest water source; Bahir Dar Special (350,000 pop.) - at a water source

Elevation & soil in Ethiopia

- Capital is in 2000-2500m elevation

- Near the borders it is <500m

- East is mostly <1000m

- Central and western parts are mountainous, reaching 4500m high with thin soils, active volcanoes, and deep canyons. Clay soils (fertile) become sticky and boggy in the wet season and like concrete in the dry season.

- There are lowlands with land fertile enough for agriculture and grazing animals → overgrazing → soil erosion & desertification. Highlands aren't used as you can't use machinery easily

- Lowlands suffer mosquitoes, tsetse flies & malaria - livestock at risk of disease or malnutrition

Climate in Ethiopia

- Relief rainfall: 2000-2500mm in the west, 100-250mm in the east

- Western Highlands: wettest region with one long rainy season May-Oct. Average 25-35°C, 1200-2000mm rain yearly, good for crops (coffee, cotton).

- Central area: two rainy seasons, one dry season, unreliable rainfall averaging 400-800mm yearly. Lowlands to east are hotter (25-40°C) where land use is limited to grasslands for livestock grazing.

- Eastern Lowlands: two rainy seasons, two dry seasons, unreliable rainfall averaging 0-300mm yearly, consistent temperatures 30-40°C. More drought, soil erosion, desertification.

Benefits of climate in Ethiopia

- Hydroelectricity

- Fresh water supply for humans and plants

- Promotes better farming

- Freshwater storage - water falls to surface, soaks into soil (rehydrating the land & preventing desertification), then hits aquifers to help crops and wild vegetation grow

Problems with climate in Ethiopia (excl. landslides)

- Unreliable nature of rainfall ⇒ drought and famine. Mid 1980s: Severe drought & famine ∵ little rain

- Temperatures vary wildly due to relief and winds. Monsoon season can fail making crops difficult to manage.

- Addis Ababa: <25mm rainfall in Nov-Feb (shortage); >350mm in Jul-Aug (surplus)

- Eastern areas suffer from drought, leading to farmers to over-graze the remaining land ⇒ soil erosion & desertification ⇒ farmers overgraze again in attempt to use remaining land

Disadvantages of precipitation:

- Landslides, mudslides - especially common in Jul-Sep (high rainfall) - 49.1% of Ethiopia's land surface is susceptible to landslides

- Leaching - nutrients (topsoil) washed away - affects farming & ecosystem

- Acid rain - detrimental to environment and human health

- Driving hazard

Effect of landslides

- Damage to infrastructure - people cut off (transport), no access to energy

- Can increase risk of flooding - landslide material can block rivers, decreasing their capacity

- Loss of life & destroying sources/stocks of food - fields, livestock

- Water supplies contaminated

Ecosystems in Ethiopia

- Mountainous regions (montane biome) in NW & SE. In the highest areas of the Ethiopian Highlands, there are chains of mountains near 0°C all year round, sometimes with snow cover

- Woodland forests grow on the lower areas of the highlands which have good, fertile soil and are now mostly used for agricultural use to grow crops and graze animals

- Tropical savannahs and grassland surrounds the highlands - fertile in good years but is vulnerable to drought in years where there is less rain

- Deserts and semi-desert ecosystems in the lowland regions on the eastern border. The vegetation in this area is mainly shrubs, with occasional grassland, and the landscape is dominated by Acacia trees. People living in this area farm the land for their own use but large-scale agriculture is starting to gain importance. In the northeast is a desert area that has the world's hottest place - Dallol, a ghost town with average annual temperature of 34.6°C

- Ethiopia is also home to a diversity of wetland ecosystems. There are 12 river basins, 8 major lakes, and many swamps, floodplains, and man-made reservoirs

Flora and fauna in Ethiopia

There are 6500-7000 species of plants, 15% of which are unique to Ethiopia.

Examples of animals and birds: lions, zebras, gorillas, flamingos.

Endangered species (∵ habitat destruction from deforestation): lions, cheetahs, black rhinoceros, African elephant.

List of natural resources in Ethiopia

Small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, natural gas

Gold mining in Ethiopia

Exports in 2020: $194M

Product complexity (the sophistication of knowledge required worldwide to produce such a product): -2.26

- Lega Dembi mine (Oromia) - 4000kg per year - Southwest

- Sakaro mine (Oromia) - 3600kg per year - Southwest

- Mines in Tigray Regional State - 2200kg per year - Northwest

Disadvantages of gold mining in Ethiopia

Leaking chemicals - Mercury poisoning - endanger people & ecosystems

Clearing of land & habitats

Trade in Ethiopia

- Ethiopia is in trade deficit: Exports ($3bn) < Imports ($11bn) - more debt, less gov income.

- 80% of exports and 46% of the national GDP is from agriculture & flowers. This economy is therefore vulnerable to climate change

Economic complexity: -0.88 (97th in the world) - describes how varied the country's export basket is

Top 5 imported products in Ethiopia

- Refined petroleum ($1.24B)

- Gas turbines ($532M)

- Planes, helis, spacecraft ($406M)

- Wheat ($320M)

- Medicine ($317M)

Top 3 countries Ethiopia imports from

- China ($2.75B)

- India ($903M)

- UAE ($798M)

Top 6 exported products in Ethiopia

- Coffee (25%)

- Vegetables & Legumes (15%)

- Oily seeds (11%)

- Gas turbines (9%)

- Gold (5%)

- Cut flowers (5%)

Top 4 countries Ethiopia exports to

- US ($410k - 11%)

- Somalia ($294k - 8%)

- Hong Kong (7%)

- UAE ($253k - 7%)

Location of agriculture in Ethiopia

- Wheat & maize grown mostly in the centre near Addis Ababa ⇒ more to sell

- More agriculture near bodies of water

- Less agriculture in the east

Famine in Ethiopia

Problem of famine: Ethiopia is one of the world's main exporters of food - more productive land has been bought by nations like Saudi Arabia to import food from Ethiopia, meaning farmers lose out on land. Solution: ban on exports of cereal crop like wheat, maize, teff.

Advantages & Disadvantages of cereal export ban

+ Improved food security for locals

+ Reduced food prices for locals

- Exact commodities covered by the bans are difficult to determine

- Farmers lose most of their consumers (other countries) ⇒ less profit

Coffee production in Ethiopia

Exports in 2020: $860M

Product complexity (captures the sophistication of knowledge required worldwide to produce such a product): -1.28

- West Wellega: 92tn

- West Harage: 100tn

- Agnewak: 112tn

- West Shewa: 98tn

- North Shewa: 90tn

All of above are in West or centre of Ethiopia

Disadvantages of coffee production in Ethiopia

- Endanger ecosystems - farming clears lots of land

- Water usage

- Soil exhaustion

Economy growth of Ethiopia

- Average of 11% per year and average of 6% in the last 4 years

- Per person income has grown from a GNI per capita of $203 in 1990 to $505 in 2015 to $909 in 2021

Examples of TNCs (Trans-national corporations)

Examples: Hilton Hotels (Leisure & hotel services), Siemens (telecoms, electrical, and medical tech manufacture), General Electric (Aviation & railway manufacturing), Afriflora (flower growing), Dow Chemicals (chemical, plastic, agricultural product manufacture), H&M (Textiles manufacturing and university education in textiles)

Hilton Hotels advantages:

+ Investment in hotels = more tourism

+ Workers paid fair wage and have access to facilities out of hours

Advantages of TNCs

- Can produce more jobs

- Can introduce new skills

- Drive innovation

- Pay tax to gov

Disadvantages of TNCs

- Drives out local businesses

- Bring their own highly-skilled workers instead of creating jobs

- May not want to share info and teach local companies for less competition

- Take advantage of tax incentives so less tax for gov.

- Profits leave Ethiopia

- Take advantage of ecosystems & farming land to use for space

- Take advantage of cheap labour (⇒ forced labour) & relaxed health and safety measures - worse working conditions. Factory workers in Ethiopia may get $50 a month whilst EDC workers get $175

Siemens in Ethiopia

- Focussed on energy sector and industrial solutions for sugar, cement, and oil & gas industries

- Inclusive growth, energy infrastructure, transport solutions

- >200 jobs created through East Africa Interconnection

- Example project: Wind farm of 29 turbines to state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) for Assela project, 150km south of Addis Ababa

▫ Powers >400K households

▫ Saves >260K tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year

▫ Financed by a loan from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Technology development in Ethiopia

- Ethiopia is one of the last African countries to have a state-owned (Ethio Telecom (ETC)) telecom system

▫ Lack of competition ∴ slow tech developments and poor network coverage

▫ Chinese companies have invested in ETC, leading to cheaper mobile and broadband costs

- No international banking systems so no online purchasing

- <4% connected to internet, 12% used phones (2015) - harder for small tech start-ups to develop

Ethiopia - Population stats, life expectancy, HDI

- 109 million people - 12th most populous in the world

- Birth rate of 30

- Death rate of 6.8

- 2.5% growth rate (natural increase)

- 38% of children under 5 suffer malnutrition

- 65yr life expectancy (world average is 72)

- HDI of 0.463 (famine, drought, poor healthcare, disease, poverty, conflict)

Employment structure in Ethiopia

Agriculture: 64% (Cash crop sector - spices, tea, coffee, cut flowers, cotton - employs 60%)

Secondary: 10%

Tertiary: 26% - 1.5M in tertiary service jobs in tourism (2021)

Touristic destinations in Ethiopia

▫ 9 World Heritage Sites

▫ Ethiopian Highlands (highest point is Ras Dashen - 4km high)

▫ Awash National Park (environmental tourism)

▫ Erta Ale in Main Ethiopian Rift is Ethiopia's most active volcano

▫ Simien Lodge is the highest hotel in Africa

Disadvantages of tourism industry in Ethiopia

- Pollution + disruption of ecosystems

- Bring diseases locals aren't immune to

- Erosion of highlands

Population age structure in Ethiopia

- Less young dependents (44% in 1950 → 39.9% in 2020) due to: increased knowledge of contraception, want for smaller families, lower child mortality rates (∴ don't need as many children to ensure some survive to help on farms)

- More economically active (53% in 1950 → 56.5% in 2020)

- ≈ Elderly dependents (3% in 1950 → 3.5% in 2020)

Education in Ethiopia

- A national Education Development Plan has ensured 98% of children enrol in primary school (only 50% in 1990)

- 95% of girls are in primary school (only 43% in 2000)

- Adult literacy rate of 51%

Healthcare in Ethiopia

- Maternal mortality has dropped 23% (better care)

- 60% of women receive free access to contraception

- 3% child mortality rate (9.7% in 1990) due to investment in maternal & child health

- 60% of children receive vaccinations for preventable illnesses

- Education teaches importance of hygiene and preventing contamination

- New cases of HIV/AIDS ↓, and the pandemic has stabilised since new treatment centres were established. 1.1M adults live with HIV

- Malaria was leading cause of deaths in adults, but now 100% of population can access nets

- Diarrhoea and Malaria responsible for 20% of child deaths each

- 89% live within 10km of doctor, but 0.3 doctors per 1000 people

Aid in Ethiopia

- Ethiopia depends on international aid of >$550M per year

- 5M receive food aid yearly

- Charities such as Oxfam, Farm Africa, and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) have supported for >30yrs

- MAF was so successful that it led to local creation of Abyssinian Flight Services who now fly aid to those in need

- In 2006, Ethiopia benefited from debt relief. 1995: the national economy was in debt by 155%; 2012: only 12%

Example of aid in Ethiopia: Goat aid

Oxfam's Unwrapped scheme offers people the chance to choose a 'gift' of a goat for £25 to an LIDC - Ethiopia. The goats are vaccinated and locally sourced. Goats can provide for the owner manure for fertiliser and milk for children and the baby goats. The milk, manure, and meat can be sold as well for profit. Goats can be bred to produce as many as 5 kids at a time which can also be sold or given to others in the community. Oxfam only provides livestock where keeping them is a traditional part of people's way of life. Communities are supported in adopting environmentally friendly farming practices to help them use land and water resources more efficiently. They are mostly given to widowed women who often have no job ∴ no income so giving the goats can help create more profit and independence for them.

Disadvantages of Goat aid

- Animals being provided to areas that are already suffering water shortage & desertification will worsen the situation

- All farming animals require nourishment, water, shelter, and veterinary care - hard to find

- Can die of disease

- Small-scale: only helped 3500 women

Political development

Pre-1935: Known as Abyssinia and was one of only two African countries that avoided European colonialism

1935-41: During the build up to the Second World War, Italy colonised Ethiopia 1935-41, when rebels and British troops claimed back independence

1941-74: Although the Italians had invested in highways, rail and power, WWII caused conflict, loss of life, and instability. This unrest, coupled with drought and famine and the growth of Communism, led to a successful military coup in 1974. The Soviet Union and Cuba financed this rebellion, and the military evicted the government leading to many arrests, banishments and deaths.

1974-87: >1.4 million people died in the civil war and the Derg gov remained in power until 1987. The monarchy was abolished, and the land was declared a new republic state.

1977-78 was known as the Ethiopian 'Red Terror', during which the gov grabbed tracts of land and evicted owners leading to migration and economic decline. Up to 50,000 people were killed during the Derg era; 1.5 million were forcibly relocated.

1984-85: The Derg government pursued a strict policy on agriculture, but productivity declined. From the mid-1980s onwards Ethiopia suffered severe drought and famine. The 1984-85 famine killed a million people due to drought and high food prices. International agencies became involved and >$2bn in food aid was delivered by NGOs.

Link to Rostow Model

Ethiopia is in Stage 2. Whilst it may appear in Stage 1 ∵ of trade deficit and primary employment, but gov. spending in healthcare, education, and infrastructure, as well as the arrival of TNCs means Stage 2 is more appropriate

Stage 1: Traditional society - pre-industrialisation, mostly subsistence farming & labour intensive

Stage 2: Pre-conditions for take-off - people trade surplus produce, which infrastructure allows for. Agriculture still dominates but becomes mechanised (improving efficiency) and commercial. Secondary industries ↑ and govt. incentivises TNCs so the economy experiences globalisation (∴ trade and culture ↑)

Stage 3: Take-off - industrialisation occurs, TNCs offshore factories here and dominate economy, more investment into services, more rural-urban migration to factories (causing a rural-urban divide)

Stage 4: Drive to maturity, Stage 5: High mass consumerism