Climate-Smart Integrated Watershed Management in Tigray, Ethiopia •	Short general project overviewIn the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia is an essential part of the Nile Basin, 80% of water of the Nile comes from Ethiopia. Rainfall in many parts of Ethiopia is limited, highly variable and erratic. Lack of infiltration results in limited rainwater-use efficiency, resulting in low yields and food insecurity. Excessive runoff has a huge impact on regional and supra-regional down-stream environments. Initiatives to improve this situation, often failed as a result of a lack of integration of the natural and social context.Securing water for food is a big challenge for social and economic development in the country. The consortium deems it critical to reduce water scarcity in the food value chain via:- Enhancing water use efficiency to considerably expand agricultural productivity under limited water resources;- Effective water harvesting and storing technology allowing the expansion of temporally availability of water, especially in regions with water scarcity and erratic availability of water resources over space and time.•	Goal of the projectThe goal of the project is to develop and promote combinations of innovative climate-smart agricultural technologies and practices that respond to the challenges and opportunities that the Ethiopian semi-arid regions are facing in terms of food security, integrity of (agro)ecosystems and water management, while developing pathways that build-up social capital and the institutional frameworks required, based on an Integrated Watershed Management approach at sub- regional scale-level.•	Initial activities and results of the projectSmart indicatorsI. Bring-adapt-implement technical innovations(a) Farmers technical capacity1. Rainwater harvest- Number of m3/ha stored in t1 and t2 in pilots vs. control;- Number of m3/ha used for agriculture/household in t1 and t2 in pilots vs. control.2. Physical soil and water conservation- Number of farmers groups assisting to demonstration sessions;- Number of households effectively employing the real- time monitoring system in t1 and t2;- Number of practices in use/household in pilots in t1 and t2.3. Biological soil and water conservation – Sapling survival in t1 and t2 in pilots vs. control- Number of selected practices/households;- Number of practices in use/household in pilots in t1 and t2.4. Gully rehabilitation – Sapling survival in t1 and t2 in pilots vs. control- Number of selected practices at household/community level;- Number of rehabilitated gullies in pilots in t1 and t2;- Number of successfully rehabilitated gullies in t2.5. Forestry/Agroforestry – Sapling survival in t1 and t2 in pilots vs. control- Number of selected practices/households;- Number of practices in use/household in pilots in t1 and t2;6. Drainage management- Number of selected practices/household;- Number of practices in use/household in pilots in t1 and t2.For the overall performance of technologies/practices:- Number of farmers/households involved in the pilots in t1 and t2;- Number of workshops conducted;- Number of demonstration sessions;- Developed methodologies.(b) Market opportunities- Number of farmers aware of market opportunities in t1 and t2;- Number of identified existing or forming networks.II. Strengthen institutional and rural people capacities and willingness to plan and implement integrated watershed management- Rate of adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices in t2 at community and watershed level;- Relative proportion of adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices in t2 by female headed households vs. male headed households.III. Spatial planning and monitoring at watershed level- Mechanisms in place to monitor and plan spatial planning in a participatory fashion.