Photographic record of land degradation and resilience in Dogu'a Tembien after the shock of the Tigray war (northern Ethiopia)

Following two years of combat, blockade, and power outage, the Tigray war in northern Ethiopia has had a substantial negative impact on the environment (2020–2022). This photographic dataset, part of a rare study carried out by the same research team before and after a war, compares 26-year legacy data on land degradation, with post-war observations at 56 sites in the Dogu'a Tembien district of Tigray (13°39'N, 39°30'E), at elevations ranging from 1600 to 2800 meters.

With 30 years of environmental research experience in Tigray, we remained as a lone research team after the start of the war and collected ground data at previous research sites during the war. This culminated in international partners returning to the Dogu'a Tembien district in 2023 after they had been absent for four years due to coronavirus restrictions and the Tigray War. We visited 56 previously investigated sites—which have been documented in 45 prior publications—through transect walks, where we mostly made qualitative observations and discussions regarding the processes of land degradation and recovery. This included degradation processes like sheet and rill erosion, gully erosion, landslides, deforestation, as well as the most common rehabilitation approaches, i.e. stone bunds, check dams, exclosures, improved hydrological cycle, and integrated catchment management. Local farmers and other village residents, along with experts who either reside in or have a good understanding of the research area, participated in the group observations.