Ethiopia was the first country to finalise its CSIF and is already rolling out the implementation programme. The Ethiopia Sustainable Land Management Investment Framework (ESIF) is a tool that the country is now using to guide the prioritisation, planning and implementation, by both the public and private sector, of current and future investments in SLM with the aim of addressing the interlinked problems of poverty, vulnerability and land degradation at the rural community level. Through this framework, both government and civil society stake-holders are working together to remove the barriers, and overcome the bottle-necks, to promoting and scaling up sustainable land management (SLM) within Ethiopia. 

Cutting across five key focus areas ranging from land administration and certification, to policy, legal, institutional and financial environment for SLM, is already beginning to show results on the ground. Under its Sustainable Land management Program, the government of Ethiopia has already started issuing certificates to women land holders. During the first phase, certificates were issued to land holders and in the second phase of land certification will involve mapping the land holdings using satellite technology. The goal of this project is to halt land degradation.

•    Through the support of the TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund (TLF), Ethiopia was able integrate SLWM into the national environmental and agricultural frameworks through the development of SLM Country Strategic Investment Frameworks (CSIF). Analyses on the costs and benefits of land management options and implementation of the Country Strategic Investment Framework (CSIF) on SLWM have been completed. 

•    As a result of the development of the CSIF, Ethiopia was able to align stakeholders and resources towards the implementation of The Watershed Management focusing on Smallholder driven SLWM Practices project which is aimed at reducing land degradation and improving the agricultural productivity of small holder farmers in the selected watersheds of six regions in Ethiopia.

•    With the assistance of The Sahel and West Africa Program (SAWAP), capital investments, technical assistance and capacity building for small holder farmers and government institutions at national and sub-national levels would be provided towards  Ethiopia’s Watershed Management Project.