Drought vulnerability drives land-use and land cover changes in the Rift Valley dry lands of Ethiopia

► In the Ethiopian Rift Valley dry lands, many pastoralist are shifting in to mixed-farming system. ► Pastoral way of life was more vulnerable to recurrent drought than mixed farming. ► Cultivated lands increased threefold while dense acacia cover decreased dramatically. ► Technological and policy interventions are needed to avert further woodland degradation.