Urban Expansion in the Fringe of Jimma City and Its Impact on Fringe Zone Land Management.

Abstract

The Management of the peri-urban fringe or rural urban fringe land in Africa and particularly in in Ethiopia has been a serious concern and special attentions for scholars and policy makers. In Jimma city, peri-urban fringe land is confronted and filled with a number of challenges. Due to rapid urban expansion at the outskirts of land, this study examinedthe system of peri-urban fringe land administration, planning and management in Jimma city study area of rural urban fringe.Peri-urban fringe zone land has been defined in this research as areas exiting proximate to urban centers, beyond administrative boundary but within geographical location of urban centers. Since this land has its own unique features such as multiple land use pattern, high land transaction and dominance of customary practice which differentiate from other lands, it needs methods to approach it with mechanisms cognizant of its feature. The study revealed that the area is neglected and devoid of not proper land administration which in turn has led to many problems such as tenure insecurity, un-sustainable land use and environmental problems. The basic causes are lack of effective land administration systems and good governance in land administration. The researcher recommends that the stakeholders especially the government need to pay close attention to this land administration through adopting suitable land administration mechanisms to peri urban fringe, so that land tenure, environmental and other land use problems in the area can be addressed.