DYNAMICS OF LAND PRODUCTIVITY IN TERMS OF NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION AS SUB-INDICATOR FOR LAND RESTORATION IN ETHIOPIA: IMPLICATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL-15

Land productivity is described as biological productive capacity of a land used as source of food, fiber and fuel to sustain human needs. Land degradation is one of global challenges of our time resulting to food insecurity and migration of people due to lack of inappropriate land use plan and management practices. Sustainable forest land scape restoration interventions can improve land productivity in meeting for Sustainable Development Goal-15. Study was conducted to analyze dynamics of land productivity in terms of net primary production on six land use and cover class from 2001-2015 using secondary information from Global Earth Trend Observation under Praise-3 portal of UNCCD. Ethiopia has total land mass of 1,119,715.5 km2. The dynamics of land productivity net primary production on six different land use and land cover class were analyzed from baseline year 2000 to target year 2015. The analyses of land productivity change from 2000-2015 showed that a land mass 204,462.9 km2 accounting 18.26% was improved, while, 328,213 km2 accounting 29.31% was degraded and land mass of 555,726.8 km2 accounting 49.63% was remained stable. Result indicated that specifically tree-covered area exhibited the highest productive land by 85,126.99km2, while the least land improvement was exhibited on artificial land by 95.40 km2. Similarly, grass land exhibited the highest stable land by 97,547.88 km2, while the least was exhibited on water bodies by 184.90km2. On the other hand, grass land exhibited the highest stressed land by 97,547.88 km2, while the least was exhibited by water body 184.90km2. Grass land exhibited the highest declined land by 37,936.88 km2, while the least was exhibited on artificial land by 98.88km2. Even though; Ethiopia has made progressive land restoration intervention through sustainable forest/land management, the proportion of improved land is 18.26% which is much lower than the area proportionally degraded by 29.31%. There was fast trend of urbanization in rural area with drastic population growth where large area is being under pressure due to degradation which implies more efforts is needed in reversing land degradation and increase the productivity for increasing the biological and economic return from land. Therefore; additional sustainable forest management strategies and programs are needed to be put in place to bring more land under improved in productivity in line with meeting the national land degradation neutrality targets of Ethiopia by 2030; that ultimately reverse land degradation and combat desertification.