Part of the Liben Zone , Dolo Ado is located in the angle formed by the confluence of the Ganale Dorya with the Dawa River , and bordered to the northwest by Filtu , on the northeast by Afder Zone , on the southeast by Somalia , and on the south by Kenya. The altitude of this woreda ranges from to meters above sea level. Other rivers in this woreda include the Mena. As of [update] , Dolo Ado has kilometers of all-weather gravel road and kilometers of community roads; about Irrigation agriculture was introduced to the riverine inhabitants of this woreda by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission RRC in the late s.
While the RRC encouraged this trend with the introduction of three irrigation pumps at selected points, a major impetus were local people who had fled to refugee camps in Somalia during the Ethiopian-Somali war , where they had the opportunity to acquire the basic skills and know-how of irrigation agriculture while participating in irrigation schemes in the Lower Juba River , and returning to Dolo Ado where they put their knowledge to use. These new skills have led to the arable lands on the dry riverbed and the flood plains, which used to be dry season grazing and farming areas for the Degodia and Garimarro , also becoming attractive to groups of newcomers, which has led to strife between the groups.
Ahmed Ali Gedi has identified nine conflicts between Degodia sub-clans, who have traditionally had peaceful relations, which resulted in one or more casualties between Furthermore, as the land between the flood plains and riverbanks, which was primarily basin woodlands and dry season pasturage, has been converted to commercial farming, this has caused deforestation and displacement of the original inhabitants.
According to reports, six people died, irrigation pumps were swept away, and hundreds of livestock were drowned. Dolo Ado was one of the woredas heavily affected by the Ganale Dorya flooding in November At least 10, people reportedly were displaced, and roads from Dolo to Filtu and Negele Boran were blocked.
Population experts and local leaders attribute this population boom to a number of factors of which the primary one is the large returnee population from neighboring Somalia. The largest ethnic group reported in Dolo Ado was the Somali , While 37, or There are five refugee camps in the Dollo Ado region housing , refugees from Somalia: [9] [10].
