Forest Conservation – Ethiopia

The Forest Conservation Project seeks to reverse the degradation of the Wof Washa Forest by working with local communities, linking their interests with the protection of natural resources, so that they will become custodians of the forest. The programme is managed by SUNARMA.

Wof-Washa is Ethiopia’s oldest state forest. It is in North Shoa Zone of Amhara Regional State, and is currently at 8,200 ha, having shrunk from 9,200 ha since 1994. The forest is under pressure from locals expanding their agricultural area and felling old trees for local and even commercial use. The communities have established forest user groups/institutions in 12 kebeles (wards), and members have entered into dialogue with the project, development agents and one another. They have established draft by-laws and are debating the rights and obligations of user groups. Tree nurseries, both individual and group-managed, are thriving throughout the project area. These measures are necessary precursors to building the understanding and capacity of the communities to plan and manage the forest resource effectively.

Three environmental youth clubs have been established in the project area and are managing tree and vegetable nurseries. A further 18 central nursery sites and 45 individually-managed nurseries have been established involving some 202 farmers, and more than 155,000 seedlings of different tree species have been raised.

This is an on-going project with the long-term objective of helping farming families move from subsistence farming, to a market economy where income can be earned outside the forest area.