ARBA MINCH, ETHIOPIA – Arba Minch University (AMU), the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), and GOPA Worldwide Consultants, under the KfW-supported Sustainable Land Management Program Phase V (SLMP-V), have installed innovative Pumped Active Sediment Samplers (PASS) at selected gully sites within the Lake Chamo watershed. Click here to see more photos.
The PASS technology is designed to collect sediment-rich water samples during rainfall and runoff events, providing accurate field data on soil erosion and sediment transport from gullies and small catchments. This information is essential for understanding erosion processes and evaluating the effectiveness of watershed restoration interventions.
AMU President Dr.-Ing. Abdella Kemal emphasized the importance of generating reliable scientific data to assess the impacts of sustainable land management activities and guide future restoration efforts.
AMU Vice President for Research and Cooperation, Dr. Teklu Wegayehu, welcomed the introduction of the technology and highlighted its contribution to strengthening evidence-based watershed management and environmental monitoring.
According to Dr. Fassil Eshetu, Project Coordinator of the Lake Chamo Watershed Project, PASS fills a critical monitoring gap by providing site-specific sediment data from gully rehabilitation areas, enabling researchers to measure restoration impacts more accurately and within shorter timeframes.
The technology was introduced through GOPA’s collaboration with Streamology, an Australian environmental monitoring company. Dr. Maarten Wynants, Hydrologist and Senior Researcher with Streamology and a long-time collaborator of AMU, reflected on his academic connection with the university, where he began his research journey more than thirteen years ago as an MSc student studying Lakes Abaya and Chamo under the supervision of Dr. Fasil Eshetu.
He explained that PASS was developed in Australia to monitor sediment movement in remote and erosion-prone areas. According to Dr. Wynants, PASS has proven effective in monitoring sediment dynamics in erosion-prone environments and offers a practical solution for generating high-quality field data.
During the event, Prof. Andrew Brooks, an Australian geomorphologist and river scientist from Griffith University collaborating with Streamology, highlighted that gully erosion and landslides are among the major drivers of land degradation and sedimentation in the catchment. He emphasized the importance of targeted conservation measures, including vegetation restoration and riparian area rehabilitation, to stabilize the landscape and reduce sediment inflow into Lake Chamo.
The installation marks an important step in strengthening collaboration between AMU, MoA, GOPA, and international research partners to support sustainable watershed management and reduce land degradation in the Lake Chamo basin.
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