The project concerns a major development corridor of Ethiopia, the closed basins at the interface between the Highlands and the Rift Valley; it involves the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies (DGeES) of Mekelle University and the Universities of Gent, Leuven and Turku (Finland). Such closed basins are sensitive to environmental changes on the surrounding escarpments as well as to climate variability. The landscapes are subject to rapid changes, from (agro-)pastoralism through cereal-based cropping systems to semi-intensive irrigated agriculture. Cooperation but also conflicts exist between pastoralist Afar lowlanders and Tigray and Amhara crop farmers. The Spec. Acad. Obj. of this project is to increase the capacity of DGeES and partner organisations (2 PhD and 6 MSc); the Spec. Dev. Obj. is to carry out an integrated geographical study on land use, settlement and agricultural systems, in order to develop tools and strategies that contribute to proper planning and management of land and water.