Deforestation

Deforestation

Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....

in Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

is due to locals clearing forests for their personal needs, such as for fuel, hunting, agriculture, housing development, and at times for religious reasons. The main causes of deforestation in Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 are shifting agriculture, livestock production and fuel in drier areas. Deforestation is the process of removing the forest ecosystem by cutting the trees and changing the shape of the land to suit different uses.

Background

Among developing countries, especially in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 is exceptionally rich in history, as well as cultural and biological diversity. It is home to one of the earliest ancestors of the human species, around 80 languages are spoken by various ethnic groups, and it is home to two globally important biodiversity hotspots. However, this rich cultural and natural heritage is threatened, especially in the form of deforestation

Deforestation

Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....

.

Ethiopia has the second largest population in Africa and has been hit by famine many times due to rain shortages and a depletion of natural resources. Deforestation may have further lowered the already meagre rainfall. Bercele Bayisa, a 30 year old Ethiopian farmer said "his district was very forested and full of wildlife but, overpopulation cased people to come to this fertile land and clear it to plant crops, cutting all trees to sell as fire wood". Growing populations are increasing deforestation which is leading the country to famine

Famines in Ethiopia

Traditionally the Economy of Ethiopia was based on subsistence agriculture, with an aristocracy that consumed the surplus. Due to a number of causes, the peasants lacked incentives to either improve production or to store their excess harvest; as a result, they lived from harvest to harvest.Despite...

. As the population continues to grow, the needs of the people increase. The country has lost 98% of its forested regions in the last 50 years.

Forests in Ethiopia

Forests in Ethiopia play a big role in protecting erosion

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

, as tree roots protect against washouts. Trees also help to keep water in the soil and reduce global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

 by uptake of carbon dioxide. Because there are not enough trees, the Blue Nile

Blue Nile

The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. With the White Nile, the river is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile...

 is carrying all the soil and nutrients in the water to the neighboring countries of Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

 and Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

.

Historically, forests have been very important for the livelihoods of the people of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian people used trees for lumber for construction, and to fuel their cooking fires. They also made traditional medicines from trees and other forest plants. Forests were also important in Ethiopian religious beliefs; the people believed in holy spirits in the forest that they treat in the same way as human beings. Mitchell Page states that over 6603 plant species live in Ethiopia, of which approximately one fifth are not native to other countries.

At the beginning of the twentieth century around 420,000 square kilometres (35% of Ethiopia’s land) was covered by trees but recent research indicates that forest cover is now less than 14.2% due to population growth. Despite the growing need for forested lands, lack of education among locals has led to a continuing decline of forested areas.

Accelerated destruction

Earth trends estimated that in 2000 Ethiopia had 43,440,000 km² of natural forest area, which is 4% of its total land area. Compared to other East African countries Ethiopia’s deforestation rate is about average. However, the deforestation rates in East Africa are second highest of the continent. Moreover, it has the smallest fraction of its forest area designated primarily for conservation. Apart from Northern Africa, East African countries show the second highest decline rates of conservation forests in the continent.

In a forest resource assessment of Ethiopia, Reusing found that within 17 years (1973–1990) high-forest cover decreased from 54,410 to 45,055 km² or from 4.75 to 3.93% of the land area. He calculated a deforestation rate of 1,630 km² per year, which means that deforestation at the same rate would leave about 18,975 of the 45,055 km² in 2006. The FAO (2007) estimated a deforestation rate of 1,410 km² per year.

Dereje carried out a study in the coffee forest areas of southwest Ethiopia in order to estimate forest cover change between 1973 and 2005. The study area covered an area of 3,940 km² with 2,808 km² of high-forests (71% of the area) extended over five woredas (Bench

Bench (woreda)

Bench is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. It is named for the Bench people, whose homeland lies in the northern part of the woreda. Part of the Bench Maji Zone, Bench is bordered on the south and east by Meinit, on the west by Sheko, and...

, Sheko

Sheko (woreda)

Sheko is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. It is named for the Sheko people, whose homeland lies in the eastern part of the woreda; a different ethnic group, the Me'en, dominate the southeastern part...

, Yeki

Yeki

Yeki is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Keficho Shekicho Zone, Yeki is bordered on the south by the Bench Maji Zone, on the west by the Gambela Region, on the north by Masha Anderacha, on the northeast by Gesha, and on the...

, Guraferda, and Godere) in the two regional states of the Gambela

Gambela Region

Gambela is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. Previously known as "Region 12", its capital is Gambela. Lying between the Baro and Akobo Rivers, the western part of Gambela includes the Baro salient....

 and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Regions. His analysis shows that the forested land declined to 1,907 km², which equals 67% of the forest cover in 1973. Between 2001 and 2005 another 55.4 km² of forest land were allocated for private coffee production and 20 km² for rubber plantations.

Gessesse studied an upland rain forest area of 3,060 km² in the Awasa watershed

Lake Awasa

Lake Awasa is an endorheic basin in Ethiopia, located in the Rift Valley south of Addis Ababa. According to the Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68, the lake is 16 km long and 9 km wide, with a surface area of 129 square kilometers...

 of the south-central Great Rift Valley

Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...

, 280 km south of Addis Ababa. He estimated the rate of deforestation between 1972 and 2000 using remote sensing techniques. Furthermore, he could show that within the 28 year period 80% (400 km²) of the 1972 forest cover (489.24 km²) was lost. He describes that within the formerly closed forest, clearings created a speckled pattern of non-connected small forest patches.

Despite the slightly different estimates for deforestation in different regions of Ethiopia, given deforestation rates remain the same, the country will have lost its last tree of high forests within about 27 years. And with it will go the world’s only original wild populations of Coffea arabica

Coffea arabica

Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee"...

. The economic loss of that genetic resource ranges between 0.4 and 1.5 billion USD/year.

Causes of deforestation

Dereje explains deforestation in the coffee forest area he studied by linking it to historical events in certain time periods. From 1973 – 87 forest cover reduced by 11%. That period was characterized by resettlement and villagization programs and the expansion of state farm programs. Twenty-four percent of forest loss was a result of converting 101.28 square kilometers of high forests into coffee plantations. In later periods forests continued to be converted to agro-forestry systems, agricultural land and settlement areas. The speed and pattern varies depending on the distance to state monitoring and coincides with changes in government.

From the 1950s to 1974 private land ownership was promoted through land grants to civil servants and war veterans. During this period mechanized farming became increasingly attractive. As a result large numbers of rural people were dislocated – also to forest areas. Recently pressure comes from intensive management of forest coffee and semi-forest coffee which drastically changes the structure and functions of the original forests. Improved transport and communication infrastructure and thereby better access to markets is facilitating deforestation. More forest cover change was detected close to areas with good road networks and around settlements.

Gessesse Dessie and Carl Christiansson identify an entire combination of biophysical and socio-political conditions for forest decline in the Awassa watershed area. Geographic properties, socio-political change, population growth, insecurity of land tenure, agricultural development and the improvement of transport capacities are among the most important. As a result of a political power vacuum during periods of political transition, large forest areas were cut down.

Those proximate reasons are accompanied by underlying causes for deforestation. Faced by food insecurity agricultural land is just more valuable to farmers. Individual farmers do not have many other options than converting forests into agricultural land if they are exposed to severe food insecurity. Their time preference

Time preference

In economics, time preference pertains to how large a premium a consumer places on enjoyment nearer in time over more remote enjoyment....

 rates are low which means they prefer food today over tomorrow and they definitely can not carry the costs of forest conservation for the larger national or global society.

Deforestation and coffee production

The afromontane

Afromontane

Afromontane is a term used to describe the Afrotropic subregion and its plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula...

 rainforests of Southwestern Ethiopia are the world’s birthplace of Coffea arabica

Coffea arabica

Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee"...

and harbor their last wild populations. The variability in their tolerance towards diseases and drought reflects the high genetic diversity of the wild coffee populations. Their value has been estimated between 0.42 and 1.458 billion US$ a year. Worldwide about 5 billion kg of coffee per year are consumed in the importing countries. Coffee houses have become popular and the specialty coffee market is booming.

Economically valuable forests in Ethiopia, which contain the world’s only wild Coffea arabica populations are diminishing and, at current deforestation rates, will be completely lost in 27 years. Deforestation in Ethiopia is caused by past governmental and institutional changes, insecurity of land tenure, resettlement programs

Resettlement and villagization in Ethiopia

Resettlement and villagization in Ethiopia has been an issue since the late nineteenth century, due to the overcrowded population of the Ethiopian highlands...

, population pressure, agricultural

Agriculture in Ethiopia

Agriculture in Ethiopia is the foundation of the country's economy, accounting for half of gross domestic product , 83.9% of exports, and 80% of total employment....

 and infrastructure developments

Transport in Ethiopia

Transportation infrastructure in Ethiopia has been neglected for decades, but is now a priority of the government of Ethiopia. Most of the roads and railways are now under construction, and will be completed between 2011 and 2014...

. Farmers suffer from poverty as well as food insecurity and cannot bear the costs of forest conservation. Ethiopian and international stakeholders are involved in a competitive game for resources, rights and mandates. That hinders collective action and cooperation to prevent deforestation. Apart from appropriate economic incentives, environmental education, public awareness and civil society engagement need to be strengthened and trust needs to be rebuilt between stakeholders. Capacities for conservation must be build by devolving authority. Despite being the birthplace of Coffea arabica and the source for one of the world’s finest coffees, current commitment of the worldwide coffee industry to conserve the forests is negligible.

Locales of special concern

When the Derg

Derg

The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...

 military regime seized power in 1975, socialism was declared the guiding ideology for Ethiopia and all rural and forest land was nationalized. Central and Eastern European experience has taught us that state ownership of land is a disincentive to manage it productively and sustainably. However, also the current government adopted a constitution in 1995 in which forests (land and other natural resources) are declared exclusively state property. It also says that anybody who is willing to work the land has a right to obtain land without payment. Although this goal can be enforced through land allocation, it almost certainly will conflict with land users’ tenure security. This is because the administrative redistribution of land and use rights (in all Regions except Amhara

Amhara Region

Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....

) is contingent on physical residence, the amount of land to be rented out and the prohibition of mortgaging and sale of land. "This leads to confusion and provides scope for bureaucratic discretion."

In 1994 a proclamation made the distinction between public and private ownership of forests, declaring natural forests as state owned and allowing planted forests to be owned privately. The proclamation No. 94/1994 prohibits any person to use or harvest trees, settle, graze, hunt or keep bee hives in the state forest.

With the intention to improve tenure security, the first land certification scheme was initiated 1998 in Tigray

Tigray Region

Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...

 and only 80% completed (because of the war with Eritrea

Eritrean-Ethiopian War

The Eritrean–Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, forming one of the conflicts in the Horn of Africa...

). Shortly before the 2005 elections land certification continued also in other regions of Ethiopia. The results showed that certification has indeed improved tenure security and investments into land. However, certification of land rights cannot eliminate systemic uncertainty of the type of problem mentioned earlier in the context of administrative retribution of land. Also, the head of the Ethiopian Forum for Social Studies expressed doubt that "…a piece of paper will bring about (tenure) security because it leaves all other aspects of the (current) land tenure system intact, like interference by the authorities."

In 2000 a new approach to forest ownership and management was initiated with the help of international donor agencies. The so-called co-management approach builds on a contract between the government and communities which rely on forest management for their livelihood. Forest user groups are established and exclusive rights for forest use are granted to the members of the group. The contract confirms the boundaries of the forest, defines ownership and use and other specific conditions. The principal idea behind the co-management approach is that secured rights are a crucial incentive for sustainable management. After initial promising results, the sustainability of that approach still needs to be evaluated.

Deforestation and drought

Horrific famines occurred in Ethiopia during the 1970s and 1980s, especially in the northern part of the country where there was a bad drought. Thousands of people died. Deforestation can exacerbate the problems caused by drought because rain is less likely to soak into the soil and replenish ground water.

Attitudes to deforestation in Ethiopia

It is costly to halt deforestation. Coffee companies have discovered the niche market for forest coffee from Ethiopia and are willing to pay higher prices to the farmer cooperatives in coffee forest areas. Consumers are promised that buying the coffee will improve incomes of farmers and therefore farmers are motivated to manage their coffee forests sustainably. Will farmers act that way? Traditionally farmers have abandoned wild coffee collection when coffee prices were too low. Whether or not higher prices for forest coffee are an incentive either to over-harvest or harvest more sustainably, remains an open question. Currently there is no scientific evidence that higher prices for forest coffee are an incentive for sustainable harvest practices. In fact, even the knowledge about the amount of wild coffee that can be collected in a sustainable way is scarce.

Because of the complex nature of the problem of deforestation, the Ethiopian government alone is not able to prevent deforestation. By now we also know that markets alone are unable to prevent this either. Eventually local stakeholder participation will be required. Much of Ethiopia’s national budget is covered by international development aid. Not surprisingly international aid agencies should also play a prominent role in sustainable forest management. The government of Ethiopia has asked several international agencies, like the Japanese ICA, the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and FARM-Africa

FARM-Africa

FARM-Africa is a UK-based charitable organization set up in 1985 that works with farmers, pastoralists and forest communities in eastern Africa. The charity provides training to help these groups to grow more food, look after their livestock and make a living using their natural resources...

to get involved in Participatory Forest Management. Such projects aim at developing forest management plans and signing contracts between local communities and the government. Different areas of the remaining forests are divided among the foreign aid agencies, where they carry out “their” projects on behalf of the government. What is needed, however, are direct, competent, trustworthy relations between local resource users and the federal authorities: a functioning and effective forestry extension service.

Another problem is that the environmental issues in Ethiopia have no (or a very weak) lobby and the current restrictive socio-political context for public engagement has detrimental effects on environmental education, awareness, advocacy and the building of an engaged and empowered civil society – assets which are necessary to conserve and use Ethiopia’s forests in a sustainable way. The recent "School Children Talent Competition Award on Biodiversity Conservation", organized by the Ethiopian Coffee Forest Forum is an excellent example of what is needed.

Government and deforestation

In rural areas, the government realized that if the deforestation continues the overall condition of the country will worsen. Because of that, the government has begun teaching the people about the benefits of forests and encouraging the people to plant more trees and to protect what they have by providing them alternative home and agricultural materials. If any person cuts a tree, he or she needs to plant one to replace it. Basically, the current government and people are working hard together to make their country a better place.

Prohibiting the people to cut trees, especially those who live in rural parts of the country will actually hurt their daily life since it makes meeting their daily needs more difficult. The government is trying to provide them with things such as fuel and electrical machinery so that the demand for forest resources is not as high. The government is also providing land which is flat and has no pre-existing forests to promote agriculture so that deforestation is not necessary for modern agriculture.

There are governmental and nonprofit groups working with the government to protect the land. Organizations such as SOS and Farm Africa are working with the federal government and local governments to create a good system of forest management. The government is also working to relocate people who live in dry regions to places where they can find fertile land for farming, so that they would be able to support themselves without any assistance from the government. With the fund provided by E.C grant (around 2.3 million Euros) people were trained to protect the land from erosion and taught to use water for irrigation, which improved quality of life and the environment. Locals have now come to the realization that trees need legal recognition, and must be protected for future generations. One of the methods used to protect trees is to designate certain areas where trees may be chopped down and used, and other areas where trees are protected by law.