Danot (woreda)

Danot is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its major town, Danot. Part of the Werder Zone, Danot is bordered on the south by Werder, on the west by the Korahe Zone, on the northwest by the Degehabur Zone, on the north by Somalia, on the east by Boh, and on the southeast by Galadi.

Danot was important locally for its wells, which were used by the nomadic pastoralists with the advent of the dry season. However, the construction of private birkas (underground concrete water tanks) in adjacent woredas, a development which started in the 1950s and later on dramatically increased after the 1970s, offered a solution to the absence of permanent water, and reduced somewhat the importance of these wells. While this encouraged birka owners to further diversify traditional animal husbandry beyond camels and small ruminants into water-dependent cattle, this also increased livestock population in an overpopulated region, putting additional pressure on shrinking resource base.

In the case of Danot, an agreement was made between three Somali clans, the Habar Yoonis, Reer Sheikh Hassan, subclan of Reer Sheekh Abbayonis and their southern neighbors, the Abraahin (clan) of Ogaden, which limited the construction of birkas in the bushy grazing area, where there had been numerous conflicts over control of territory. This agreement between the 3 clans made Danot the border between them and that each could construct 16 birkas there; however in the Haud north of Danot to Ali Jama, controlled by the Habar Yoonis, and south of Danot, controlled by the Ogaden, no birkas would be constructed. This was in part to create a buffer zone between them, but also to maintain the area as a prime grazing area for camels.

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 47,236, of whom 26,749 are men and 20,487 women. While 1,153 or 2.44% are urban inhabitants, a further 24,913 or 52.74% are pastoralists. 99.5% of the population said they were Muslim.

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