Table of Contents

A. Unit Five Questions (The Climate of Ethiopia and the Horn)

1. Differentiate between weather and climate.

2. Which control of weather and climate predominantly affect Ethiopian climate? How?

3. Discuss spatiotemporal distribution of temperature and rainfall in Ethiopia.

4. Do we have dynamics in temperature and rainfall in Ethiopia? Is it warming or cooling?

5. What causes climate change?

6. How can we respond to the changing climate?

B. Unit Six Questions (Soils, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources of Ethiopia and the
Horn)

1. Discuss the major soil types of Ethiopia.

2. What are the three types of soil degradation?

3. What are the mechanisms of controlling soil degradation?

4. Discuss the five groups of natural vegetation’s in Ethiopia.

5. Discuss the vegetation and wildlife degradation.

6. What are protected areas? Identify the major protected areas of Ethiopia.

C. Unit Seven Questions (Population of Ethiopia and the Horn)

1. What conditions makes provision of infrastructure and services for temporary settlement
difficult? Do you know any strategies the government is taking to address the problem?

2. What were the problems of the villagization program attempted by the Dergue?

3. Justify why Ethiopia still remains to be the least urbanized country in the world.

4. Discuss the major problems of urban centers of Ethiopia.

Unit Five: The Climate of Ethiopia and the Horn
1. Differentiate between weather and climate.
 Climate refers to the weather of a region averaged over a long period of time, but
weather refers to the short term atmospheric condition.

2. Which control of weather and climate predominantly affect Ethiopian

climate? How?
 The climate of Ethiopia is therefore mainly controlled by the seasonal migration of
the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and associated atmospheric circulations
as well as by the complex topography of the country.
Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ: Seasonal rainfall in Ethiopia is driven mainly
by the migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Most of Ethiopia
experiences one main wet season (called "Kiremt") from mid-June to mid-September
(up to 350mm per month in the wettest regions), when the ITCZ is at its northern-
most position.
Topography: Ethiopia's climate varies with elevation. Elevation is the most important
determinant of the average annual temperature of the country with a reduction of 0.5-
0.7 °C per 100 m increase in altitude.

3. Discuss spatiotemporal distribution of temperature and rainfall in Ethiopia.

 In Ethiopia, the climate varies mostly with altitude, and it goes from the hot and arid
climate of the lowlands to the cool climate of the plateau. Lying just north of the
Equator, the country experiences little variation in temperature throughout the year.
Mean annual rainfall distribution is approximately 2,000 mm over the south-western
highlands and less than 300 mm over the south-eastern and north-eastern lowlands.
Temperatures across Ethiopia can range from 15°C over the highlands, to above 25°C
in the lowlands. The average daily mean is around 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees
Celsius), but average highs for the hottest month, June, exceed 95 degrees Fahrenheit
(35 degrees Celsius).

4. Do we have dynamics in temperature and rainfall in Ethiopia? Is it warming

or cooling?
 In Ethiopia, the climate varies mostly with altitude, and it goes from the hot and arid
climate of the lowlands to the cool climate of the plateau. Lying just north of the
Equator, the country experiences little variation in temperature throughout the year. It
is warming up.
5. What causes climate change?
 As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun's heat. This leads to
global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any
point in recorded history.

6. How can we respond to the changing climate?

 Responding to climate change involves two possible approaches: reducing and
stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
("mitigation") and adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline
("adaptation").

Unit Six: Soils, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources of

Ethiopia and the Horn
1. Discuss the major soil types of Ethiopia.
 Nitosols and Acrisols: nitosols are stongly weathered soils basically associated with
highlands with high rainfall, acrisols are infertile soils found along with nitrosols
mostly in some pockets of south western highlands
 Vertisol: vertisol are heavy clay soils with a high portion of swelling clays when wet,
and cracks when dry.
 Lithosols, Cambisols and Regasol: these soils are mostly found in rugged topography
and steep slopes, are found in areas of low rainfall.
 Xerosols, Yermosols and Solanchaks: these soils are mostly found in deserts or dry
slope soils majorly available in arid and semi-arid areas, have poor humus content and
nitrogen, but are rich in phosphorus and potash and can be very vertile if irrigated.
 Fluvisol: develop on flat or nearly ground on recent alluvial deposits and are
associated with fluvial (river), marine (sea), and lacustrine (lake) deposits.
 Luvisols: Develop mainly in areas where pronounced wet and dry seasons, they have
good chemical nutrients and they are among the best agricultural soils in the tropics.

2. What are the types of soil degradation?

 Physical Degradation
 Biological Degradation
 Chemical Degradation

3. What are the mechanisms of controlling soil erosion?

 Biological Control Measures
 Physical Control Measures
4. Discuss the five groups of natural vegetation’s in Ethiopia.
 Afro-Alpine and sub-Afro-Alpine region: the afro-alpine region is found at very high
altitudes; soils in this region or ecosystem are mostly shallow and eroded. The sub-
afro-alpine region is found at a lower elevation.
 Forest Region: Forest is a complex ecosystem consisting of predominantly of trees
that shield earth and support numerous life forms.
 Woodland Savannah Region: they are similar to forests but woodland savannahs are
also found in areas of wide altitude ranges.
 Steppe and Semi-Desert Regions: These are regions in the arid and semi-arid parts of
the country where the temperature is very high and the rainfall is very low and both
regions are generally alkaline and saline.

5. Discuss the vegetation and wildlife degradation of Ethiopia?

 The rapid growth in the Ethiopian population has led to the overexploitation of the
land and as a result the natural wildlife and the vegetation are degrading by to the
clearing of forests for cultivation, clearing for construction and many more.

6. What are protected areas? Identify the major protected areas of Ethiopia?
 Protected areas are a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and
managed, through legal or other effective means, to longer achieve the long term
conservation of nature.
 Major protected areas in Ethiopia are national parks because we find wildlife reserves,
controlling hunting areas and wildlife sanctuaries. Ethiopia’s protected areas cover
14% of the country.

Unit Seven: Population of Ethiopia and the Horn

1. What conditions make provision of infrastructure and services for temporary
settlements difficult? Do you know any strategies that the government is taking
to address the problem?
 The provision of infrastructure and services for temporary settlement is difficult
because they move from one place to another and for services to be provided such as;
schools and hospitals; they would need a permanent settled area.
 The government can show and teach them how settling and being provided an
infrastructure is a better way to live.

2. What were the problems of the villagization program attempted by the

Dergue?
 Providing defense and threshold population to support basic social services.
3. Justify why Ethiopia still remains to be the least urbanized country in the
world.
 The self-sufficiency of agriculture which reinforced rural peasant life.
 The morphology of the country that hindered transportation and communication.
 The continual warfare for centuries between kingdoms in to which the country is
divided; and the frequent changes of the royal residence.
 Political instability, ethnic conflict and social unrest during the late 1970s and 1980s.
 Low level of industrialization, low level structural transformation and economic
development.
 Lack of employment, and housing shortage in urban areas that discourage in
migration.

4. Discuss the major problems of urban centers of Ethiopia.

 The urban centers are failing to meet the demands of growing numbers of urban
residents in three areas: access to jobs, infrastructure and services, and housing. While
urban unemployment and underemployment rates have recently gone down, compared
to other African countries they are still high, resulting inadequate infrastructure and
services; poor housing; environmental degradation, high rates of unemployment,
increasing incidence of poverty, and inequality.