Dr. Tesfaye Tafesse obtained his BA (1980) and MA (1986) degrees from Addis Ababa University and his Ph. D. degree (1995) from the University of Osnabrück in Germany. He taught Geography at Addis Ababa University for fourteen years (1980 - 1990 and 1995 - 1998) and at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Spring Quarter of 1999. He has written books and articles on rural development and transportation problems, as well as on water issues.