The changing face of the Ethiopian rift lakes and their environs: call of the time

The Ethiopian rift is characterized by many perennial rivers, and a chain of lakes that vary in size, and hydrological and hydrogeological settings. The water resources of the Rift lakes are one of the focal points for large‐scale development in Ethiopia over the last few decades. Some of the lakes and their influent rivers are used for irrigation, soda abstraction, fish farming and recreation, and also support a wide variety of endemic birds and wild animals. Ethiopia's major mechanized irrigation farms and commercial fishery are confined within the Rift region. A few of the lakes have shrunk in surface area because of excessive water abstractions, while others have expanded because of increased surface run‐off and groundwater inflows from percolated irrigation water. Excessive land degradation, deforestation and over‐irrigation have changed the hydrological setting of a few Rift lakes. Human activities, in combination with changes in climate and geology, have influenced the hydrological setting and the water quality of the lakes, with the salinity and major ion composition dramatically changed in some of them. This study tries to address the challenges associated with development of these surface‐water resources, focusing on environmental problems arising over the past few decades on three lakes (Abiyata, Beseka and Ziway) situated along the tectonically active Rift floor. The methods utilized in this study include field hydrological and hydrogeological mapping, supported by aerial photographs and satellite imagery interpretations, as well as hydrometeorological and hydrochemical data analysis, and catchment hydrological modeling. A converging‐evidence approach was adapted to reconstruct the temporal and spatial variations of the lake water levels and surface areas. The study results revealed that the major changes in the Rift Valley are related primarily to recent improper use of water from the large rivers draining the Rift Valley floor and the lake catchments, and from direct lake water abstractions aggravated intermittently by climatic and land use changes. These changes represent grave environmental consequences on the fragile Rift ecosystem that demands urgent intervention in the context of an integrated, basin‐wide water management approach. This study emphasizes lake water level changes and human influences on these changes. It also assesses human interactions and water quality changes, including land use changes and environmental repercussions on the lakes, as well as providing recommendations on how these issues should be addressed.