Rural Women And Environment Degradation The Case Of Aseko Buta-ber Kebele Arsi Zone

The purpose of this study was to look into the impacts of water resource degradation andrndeforestation -orrfhe tife "of rilral wOmen! The study attempts to explore the extent of thernproblem on women, investigate the change in women's life style and identifY the copingrnmechanisms adopted by rural women to cope with the problem they encountered.rnThe target population of the study is rural women living in Aseko- Buta Ber kebele. Indepthrninterviews, key informant interviews, Focus Group Discussions and structuredrninterview are employed to collect data and both qualitative and quantitative analysis hasrnbeen carried out.rnThe study has found that women are forced to wait an average of 4-6 hours to get turn atrnthe water point and are forced to travel longer distance an average of six kilometers inrnsearch of new sources. The study further reveals that, fetching water from distant sourcernand carrying heavy loads exposed women to higher health risks. Common problemsrnrepeatedly mentioned are headache, chest and back pain and other complications. Thernfindings show that the depletion of forest resources has forced women to travel longerrndistanc~s in search of fu~lwo()d. They travel an average 9-25 kms in search of fuelwood,rn. . '-- - .. - . . ' ''' '. - . .. . ,. ' . I·· . , 2-3 times per week, and to switch to inferior quality fuel. Women spent more time in therncollection of fuel and it requires their scarce time and limited energy. The study has alsornrevealed that in the prucess of gathering fuelwood and waler women have been rapedrnand abducted.rnThe study found that the participants employed a variety of coping mechanisms to copernup with water and fuelwood scarcity. The copings mechanisms most often used by thernwomen are traveling long distance to fetch water and more efficient utilization of water.rnUsing dung and waste materials is also the predominant means of coping mechanism ofrnthe women for fuelwood scarcity.rnEnvironmental degradation has adverse implications for women and girls in the area.rnThe main reason for this is that it is usually women who are the main collectors and userrnof water, fuelwood and animal feed. This specific study has found that in Aseko- Buta Berrnkebele the facts of forest and water resource degradation are extremely severe:rnshockingly, it h(1~ 4dller!i~_ (la.s and g(ndpr effects.

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