Resurrection of Lake Haramaya and the Watershed Management Challenges in the Face of Climate Change, Eastern Hararghe Highlands, Ethiopia

Resurrection of Lake Haramaya and the Watershed Management Challenges in the Face of Climate Change, Eastern Hararghe Highlands, Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Resurrection of Lake Haramaya and the Watershed Management Challenges in the Face of Climate Change, Eastern Hararghe Highlands, Ethiopia Fozi Abdala, Solomon Asfaw, Sultan Mohamad, Jahar Abas This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8216652/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Lakes in tropical highlands are susceptible to climatic variability and catchment land-use dynamics. This study assesses the trajectory and recent resurrection of Lake Haramaya (Eastern Hararghe Highlands) between 2001 and 2020, links lake surface dynamics to climatic trends and watershed interventions. It identifies current watershed management challenges and opportunities for sustaining the restored lake. We combined Landsat-derived surface-water mapping (Landsat-7 ETM+ and Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS, 30 m), LULC classification (supervised Maximum Likelihood Classification), MNDWI-based water extraction, 2001–2020 meteorological records (Haramaya and Beda stations), and qualitative field data (FGDs, KIIs, observations). Results show large temporal variability: lake surface was estimated at ~549 ha (2001), declined to ~3 ha (2018), then rebounded to ~545 ha (2020), a near full recovery over two decades. Trend analyses indicate increasing interannual variability and a positive slope in both rainfall and mean annual temperature in the catchment (2001–2020). The lake comeback was associated with above-average rainfall episodes and widespread watershed soil and water conservation, but persistent threats remain: population pressure and over extraction, waste dumping, incomplete policy and institutional arrangements, limited community adoption, and livelihood pressures. We recommend integrated watershed management combining conservation, governance, and community-based approaches to ensure sustainability. Lake Haramaya Restoration Watershed Management Climate Change Remote Sensing Land Use Ethiopia Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8216652","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":560124985,"identity":"b834a438-5167-4f6c-9361-c0568a6af982","order_by":0,"name":"Fozi Abdala","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYGhgOMDcwMfAzMBx8ABXj4CGnhOQDVwsbAlmwAEmAjRgsDRAuPmQRIhLAW9vaHB37usJZjYz9jVvk1x06GjYH54aMb+LTwHEg42Hsm3ZiNJ63stuy2ZKDD2IyNc/BosZdIOHCAt+1wYhtD8rbbktuYgVp42KTxaeGRSGw4+LftcH0b/wOzYslt9cRoSWY4DLQlgU0ixYzx47bDRGjhOcZwWPZMumGbxLNkacZtx3nYmAn4BRhijz++3WEtz8+ffPDjz23V9vzszQ8f49OCAph5wCSxykGA8QcpqkfBKBgFo2DEAACpGEXR7EHQNwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Haramaya University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fozi","middleName":"","lastName":"Abdala","suffix":""},{"id":560124986,"identity":"df989ec9-9901-43ef-820a-686a84864799","order_by":1,"name":"Solomon Asfaw","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Haramaya University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Solomon","middleName":"","lastName":"Asfaw","suffix":""},{"id":560124987,"identity":"8ebb0bbe-8d7a-4049-a829-4feb55fd131e","order_by":2,"name":"Sultan Mohamad","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Haramaya University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sultan","middleName":"","lastName":"Mohamad","suffix":""},{"id":560124988,"identity":"fcf7a3f1-3220-4a9a-ac7d-2a6fdcccc5fa","order_by":3,"name":"Jahar Abas","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Haramaya University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jahar","middleName":"","lastName":"Abas","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-11-27 00:38:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8216652/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8216652/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":98435353,"identity":"6cd6d4f1-dd87-4a5f-ba98-1a226e9af382","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-17 16:53:32","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1017058,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Foziarticle.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8216652/v1_covered_3a86212b-64cc-4c62-b1b5-2315ef22405a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Resurrection of Lake Haramaya and the Watershed Management Challenges in the Face of Climate Change, Eastern Hararghe Highlands, Ethiopia","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Lake Haramaya, Restoration, Watershed Management, Climate Change, Remote Sensing, Land Use, Ethiopia","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8216652/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8216652/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Lakes in tropical highlands are susceptible to climatic variability and catchment land-use dynamics. 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