CONSERVATION PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES OF THE BAYSO COMMUNITY IN GIDICHO ISLAND, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Author: Ethiophia

Abstract

The Bayso are inhabitants of Gidicho Island and the surrounding areas of Abaya Lake and have developed a remarkable traditional ecological knowledge over time. For them, it is more than just knowledge; rather, it is spiritual and cultural, firmly intertwined with the lives of the community, their livestock, and their environment. It helped the Bayso maintain the abundance (mogossa) of their natural environment (ul) through religious rituals and practices that have been vibrant for generations. Lately, however, this knowledge faces a threat of extinction. Despite its ecological and cultural importance, the conservation practices on Gidicho Island and areas on the western coast of the Lake are not well documented in the literature. This study examines Bayso’s environmental conservation knowledge, strategies, and practices, highlighting what places them in a vulnerable situation. Informants were selected via snowball sampling, and the study sites were selected purposively to get an appropriate representation of Bayso villages. Findings reveal that Bayso’s religious rituals of environmental conservation involve prayers, hulluuqaa, and oborro, while the cultural practices include climate monitoring, taboo, terrace construction (dem), use of floodwater, controlled fire (golla), and crop rotation. These are not only conservation practices but also adaptive patterns of livelihood. Therefore, this paper argues that studying the local conservation practices and challenges of a specific community, such as the Bayso, helps to preserve valuable knowledge that might otherwise be lost. It also offers practical lessons from successes and failures that can guide cultural communities with comparable environments, cultures, and constraints. Sharing these insights strengthens collaboration, enabling cultural communities worldwide to adopt effective strategies without having to start from scratch.