Arero
Encyclopedia
Arero is one of the 180 woreda
s in the Oromia Region
of Ethiopia
. Part of the Borena Zone
, Arero is bordered on the southwest by Dire
, on the west by Yabelo
, on the north by Hagere Mariam
, on the northeast by the Guji Zone
, on the east by the Somali Region
, and on the south by Moyale
; the Dawa River
, the only river in this woreda, separates Arero from Odo Shakiso and Liben. Towns in Arero include Meta Gefersa.
, and the remaining 38.1% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. The forested area includes Arero State Forest, which covers about 10.65 square kilometers and is the most southerly of the high forests of Ethiopia, one of the few places in the Borena Zone with well-grown trees of Juniperus procera
. Teff
, corn
, haricot bean and wheat
are important crops in this woreda.
Industry in the woreda includes 2 grain mills; deposits of gold
, molybdenum
, cobalt
and graphite
are present but have not been commercially developed. There were 11 Farmers Associations with 7624 members and 4 Farmers Service Cooperatives; about 40% of the farmers are pastoralists. Arero has 260 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 24 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 33.8% of the urban and 12.5% of the rural population has access to drinking water
.
In April 2005, ethnic conflict between the Guji Oromo
and the Gabbra in southern Oromia led to massive displacement of people. An NGO working in the area reported as many as 50,000 people were forced to flee in Hagere Mariam, Yabelo and Arero woredas, and several thousand huts burnt.
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 44,020, of whom 21,679 are men and 22,341 are women; 7,338 or 16.67% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 11.6%. With an estimated area of 10,841.88 square kilometers, Arero has an estimated population density of 4.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 21.1.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 30,800, of whom 15,644 were men and 15,156 women; 4,099 or 13.31% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of several rural kebele
s, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 9,228 inhabitants, of whom 4,714 were men and 4,514 women.) The largest ethnic group reported in Arero was the Oromo
(97.23%); Oromiffa
was spoken as a first language by 98.6% of the inhabitants. The plurality of the inhabitants practiced traditional beliefs, with 39.68% of the population reporting answers in that category, while 22.41% of the population said they were Muslim
, 4.04% professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 2.35% were Protestant
, and 2.3% were Catholic
.
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
s in the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Part of the Borena Zone
Borena Zone
Borena is one of the 17 zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Borena is named after a tribe of the Oromo people. Borena is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, on the north by Guji and on the east by the Somali Region. The...
, Arero is bordered on the southwest by Dire
Dire (woreda)
Dire is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the southern part of the Borena Zone, Dire is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the west by Teltele, on the north by Yabelo, on the northeast by Arero, and on the east by Moyale...
, on the west by Yabelo
Yabelo (woreda)
Yabelo is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after its administrative center, Yabelo. Part of the Borena Zone, Yabelo is bordered on the south by Dire, on the west by Teltele, on the north by Hagere Mariam, and on the east by Arero....
, on the north by Hagere Mariam
Hagere Mariam (woreda)
Hagere Mariam is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after its largest town, Hagere Mariam. Part of the Borena Zone, Hagere Mariam is bordered on the south by the Dawa River which separates it from Arero, on the southwest by Yabelo, on the west by the Southern Nations,...
, on the northeast by the Guji Zone
Guji Zone
Guji is one of the 17 zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Guji is named after a tribe of the Oromo people. Guji is bordered on the south by Borena, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, on the north by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Bale and on...
, on the east by the Somali Region
Somali Region
Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...
, and on the south by Moyale
Moyale, Oromia (woreda)
- Overview :The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1150 to 1350 meters above sea level; Mount Juldessa is the highest point. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 9% is arable, 60% pasture, 21% forest, and the remaining 10% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable...
; the Dawa River
Dawa River
The Dawa River is a perennial river in southeastern Ethiopia. Rising in the mountains east of Aleta Wendo, the Dawa flows south and east to join with the Ganale Dorya at the border with Somalia to become the Jubba. The river forms part of the Ethiopia–Kenya border and part of the Ethiopia–Somalia...
, the only river in this woreda, separates Arero from Odo Shakiso and Liben. Towns in Arero include Meta Gefersa.
Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 750 to 1700 meters above sea level. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 20% is arable (1.7% was under cultivation), 40.3% pasture, 1.6% forestForestry in Ethiopia
In the late nineteenth century, about 30% of Ethiopia was covered with forest. The clearing of land for agricultural use and the cutting of trees for fuel gradually changed the scene, and today forest areas have dwindled to less than 4% of Ethiopia's total land. The northern parts of the highlands...
, and the remaining 38.1% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. The forested area includes Arero State Forest, which covers about 10.65 square kilometers and is the most southerly of the high forests of Ethiopia, one of the few places in the Borena Zone with well-grown trees of Juniperus procera
Juniperus procera
Juniperus procera, commonly known in English as African Juniper or East African Juniper, is a coniferous tree native to the mountains of eastern Africa from eastern Sudan south to Zimbabwe, and the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula...
. Teff
Teff
Eragrostis tef, known as teff, taf , or khak shir , is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the northern Ethiopian Highlands of Northeast Africa....
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, haricot bean and wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
are important crops in this woreda.
Industry in the woreda includes 2 grain mills; deposits of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
, cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
and graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
are present but have not been commercially developed. There were 11 Farmers Associations with 7624 members and 4 Farmers Service Cooperatives; about 40% of the farmers are pastoralists. Arero has 260 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 24 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 33.8% of the urban and 12.5% of the rural population has access to drinking water
Water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia
Access to water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is amongst the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa and the entire world. While access has increased substantially with funding from external aid, much still remains to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving the share of people...
.
In April 2005, ethnic conflict between the Guji Oromo
Guji Oromo
The Guji Oromo are an ethnic Oromo group living in southern Ethiopia. They are part nomadic and part agrarian. According to a population projection from 2007, the total population of the Guji Oromo is above 5 million....
and the Gabbra in southern Oromia led to massive displacement of people. An NGO working in the area reported as many as 50,000 people were forced to flee in Hagere Mariam, Yabelo and Arero woredas, and several thousand huts burnt.
Demographics
Based on figures published by the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 44,020, of whom 21,679 are men and 22,341 are women; 7,338 or 16.67% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 11.6%. With an estimated area of 10,841.88 square kilometers, Arero has an estimated population density of 4.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 21.1.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 30,800, of whom 15,644 were men and 15,156 women; 4,099 or 13.31% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of several rural kebele
Kebele
A kebele is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people...
s, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 9,228 inhabitants, of whom 4,714 were men and 4,514 women.) The largest ethnic group reported in Arero was the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(97.23%); Oromiffa
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
was spoken as a first language by 98.6% of the inhabitants. The plurality of the inhabitants practiced traditional beliefs, with 39.68% of the population reporting answers in that category, while 22.41% of the population said they were Muslim
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
, 4.04% professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 2.35% were Protestant
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
, and 2.3% were Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia
The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...
.