The Awash River Basin is essential in combating climate change by absorbing atmospheric carbon. The goal of this study was to determine carbon stocks using the linear correlation between field inventory and remote sensing data in the basin. The regression model was created using each plot studied from field inventory and the corresponding vegetation indices (VI) values obtained from ArcGIS software in the basin’s study area. The linear correlation values for estimated carbon stock with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) were R² = 0.36, R = 0.60, and R² = 0.52, R = 0.72, respectively. In contrast, the values for the Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) were R² = 0.36 and R = 0.60. The results show that the relationship between carbon stock and EVI is stronger for estimating carbon stock than other indices (NDVI and SAVI). The linear regression model or equation developed for NDVI, EVI, SAVI, and field-level carbon stock was Y = 16.25x–1.093, Y = 8.935x–1.1254, and Y = 12.988x–1.0895, respectively. The estimated carbon stock from the EVI linear regression model was 15,904,158.24 tons, with an average carbon stock value of 111.96 tons per hectare. The findings concluded that EVI has a stronger correlation with carbon stock stand estimation than NDVI and SAVI. This study could serve as a baseline for the estimation of carbon stock using vegetation indices in different and large-scale land use land cover types. High-resolution multispectral imagery and cloud-based geospatial analysis platforms could provide more accurate results.

Rapid urbanization in the Global South poses challenges to ecological integrity, cultural heritage, and equitable access to green infrastructure. This study evaluates the effectiveness of recent green infrastructure projects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, including flagship parks and upgraded road corridors, through the lens of the Urban Nature Futures Framework (UNFF). To operationalize the UNFF’s three perspectives—Nature for Nature (NN), Nature for Society (NS), and Nature as Culture (NC)—a context-specific set of indicators was developed through the existing literature, global assessment frameworks, and stakeholder consultations. A mixed-methods approach, combining structured surveys with both qualitative and quantitative thematic analysis, was applied across four stakeholder groups: residents, park visitors, corridor users, and experts. The results indicate that while social benefits (NS) are widely recognized, ecological (NN) and cultural (NC) dimensions receive comparatively less emphasis. Regression analysis shows that education, employment, and green space use frequency significantly shape perceptions of NS and NC, while NN are more consistently shared across groups. This study demonstrates the practical value of the UNFF as an assessment tool and offers a replicable methodology for evaluating multifunctional green infrastructure. The findings underscore the need for more inclusive, biodiversity-positive, and culturally grounded urban renewal strategies. These insights are relevant for planners and policymakers aiming to foster equitable and resilient urban environments in rapidly growing cities.

Morphological study of lakes defines the sensitivity of their watershed. Moreover, it plays important role in safeguarding the lake’s ecosystem services through proper planning and utilization of the lakes’ resources. In the last few decades, the morphology of lakes in Ethiopian and Kenyan Rift (EKR) valley are experiencing contradicting morphological changes. Being in the same system, some are shrinking and others are expanding beyond their natural boundaries. The objective of this review is to shed light on the trends in spatio-temporal water level fluctuation and their contributing factors for lakes to the academia and decision makers. Peer reviewed article journals, conference proceedings, thesis, and book chapters collected from online sources and supplied by authors on request formed a database of 346 documents where 226 are critically assessed. The review indicated that lakes in Ethiopian rift are shrinking and expanding, while Kenyan lakes are expanding. The en-dorheic lakes suffered the most fluctuations due to anthropogenic factors at the expense of loss of forest and woodlands in their watershed. While the lakes’ water quality related to the morphological changes are given less attention, the predicted 12 m drop of Lake Turkana due to projects in the Omo catchment did not materialize.

The idea of e-flows emerged as a result of the efforts to lessen the effects of river flow alterations. The role of e-flows in ecosystem protection and water resources management isn’t yet fully understood and practiced. This review summarizes the historical evolution of the concept and recaps the assessment methods; analyze impacts of river flow alterations, and identifying gaps in the focus of e-flows researches. A total of 303 articles published since 2010 were collected and assessed. Most of the publications are focused on describing the effects and management of river flow alterations. According to the findings of this meta-analysis, less attention is given for basin scale, social, policy aspects of e-flows. Moreover, the role, importance, and influence of groundwater in the e-flows is given minor attention.