GIS for Watershed Based Natural Resource Management : Soil Erosion Assessment, Runoff Estimation and Water Harvesting Site Selection using GIS and Remote Sensing

Soil erosion is a critical problem in the Amhara Regional State. Being part of this, soil erosion at Debre Mewi Watershed has occurred at an alarming rate. Estimating soil erosion, identifying erosion hot spot areas & setting priorities are needed by agencies involved in development works of the watershed to plan & implement soil and water conservation measures. To perform these, the study integrated the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with a Geographic Information System (GIS). Knowledge of runoff due to rainfall is most important for designing any water harvesting structures. Direct measurement of runoff is always good but time consuming, labors and expensive. Therefore, remote sensing technology and GIS combined with runoff models, SCS-CN model, which are less time and labor intensive were used in rainfall-runoff estimation. After estimating runoff amount in the watershed, suitable water harvesting sites were identified considering both social and technical aspects. This research output is therefore critically useful to professionals working in the areas of natural resource conservation and management, soils characterization, Water harvesting, GIS & Remote Sensing.