Dr Gizaw Desta Gessesse, a seasoned Senior Scientist with expertise in Landscape Management, serves as the Cluster Lead for Landscape, Soil Fertility, and Water Management. Dr Gizaw's background lies in land and water management engineering, and he embarked on his research journey focusing on soil and water conservation, hydrology, irrigation agronomy, and soil erosion. Over the past 25 years, he has pioneered innovative landscape management approaches, emphasizing sustainable water and land management, soil and water conservation, land restoration, landscape practices, soil fertility, and soil health.
Dr Gizaw is adept in various aspects of his field, including watershed experimentation, scenario planning methods, integrated system analysis tools, erosion modeling, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Dr Gizaw's research centers around community-led farm and landscape restoration practices in humid and dryland regions. Dr Gizaw mainly engages in landscape soil health management, agronomy, flood-based farming, and agricultural intensification. Dr Gizaw's recent focus on drylands has led him to tackle complex challenges at the intersection of land degradation, drought, and flood risks, necessitating integrated landscape solutions.
With a substantial portfolio, Dr Gizaw has authored over 20 peer-reviewed papers, numerous book chapters, briefs, blogs, databases, and manuals. Dr Gizaw's influence extends to mentoring post-graduate students in advanced soil and water conservation, watershed management, and agronomy courses. Dr Gizaw has supervised MSc and Ph.D. candidates, drawing on his extensive experience.
Dr Gizaw has traversed various roles within the national agricultural research system, universities, and think-tank centers throughout his career. This has facilitated the establishment of a broad professional network encompassing academia, Ethiopian R&D, funding organizations, and policy domains. Currently, Dr Gizaw is a Senior Scientist in landscape management at ICRISAT Ethiopia.
As a landscape scientist, Dr Gizaw is dedicated to advancing the field of soil, land, and water management in agricultural landscapes. Dr Gizaw aims to enhance landscape management science and contribute tangible evidence to guide development initiatives. Dr Gizaw's aspirations revolve around creating a significant impact by fostering sustainable and multifunctional landscapes, benefiting communities engaged in dryland and humid farming across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
Dr Gizaw's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Land & Water Management Engineering from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria (2009); an M.Sc. in Soil & Water Conservation Engineering from Alemaya University, Ethiopia (2003); and a B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from Alemaya Agricultural University, Ethiopia (1994).