It has been more than one and a half years since Center for Development Capacity Building (CDCB) has started implementing a UNDP Ethiopia Funded project entitled “Protecting Lake Dambel (Ziway) through Community Based Integrated   Watershed Management”. Since the commencement of the project, CDCB has undertaken various activities like stakeholder analysis, launching workshops, various training, community, private sector, and local structure inclusive dialogues on how to concert efforts to save the lake. Not only these but also it has selected areas for protection and buffers zone developments, organized youth for seedling preparations, seedling plantations, and organizing community’s cooperative.  

In the course of the project’s implementation, all stakeholders ranging from the community level to the federal government have taken part to contribute to its achievement. Now, CDCB is working on the ownership and sustainability issues for the project is about to be finalized. Among the strategies of ensuring the sustainability of the project’s objectives, community association formation is critical. To this end, CDCB has organized consecutive forums for the community in selected areas so as to aware them, organize, elect a committee, prepare a plan and form their association following the legal steps at Batu town administration. Therefore, on March 7, 2021, the community from two Kebeles around the lake came together and established their association ‘Walda Baraarsa Hara Dambal’- literally meaning lake Damabal Saving Association. In this workshop, the community members have endorsed the draft bylaws and plan, elected the committee and ratified the prospective name, and gave it to the committee to process the legal procedure within few days.