Estimates suggest that Ethiopia loses 92 000 ha of forest annually, while just 20 000 ha are being replaced. However, this is set to change thanks to the government’s new Climate Resilient Green Economy strategy, which aims to meet half of its target reduction in carbon emissions by adding 5 million ha of forest by 2020, and restoring 22 million ha of degraded landscapes by 2030.

According to a CNBC Africa report, the biggest forest conservation programmes are taking place in Oromia – the 10-year Oromia Forested Landscape Programme, a community-centred programme for sustainable forest management. With an initial US$18 million in funding from the World Bank, the first pilot project was launched in May in the Chilimo Forest Reserve.

The programme encourages local community co-operatives to harvest stalks and other crop residue from fields (to replace wood as fuel), and to cultivate wild honey and crops such as green pepper, onion and potatoes. Communities are also urged to plant fast-growing, non-native trees such as eucalyptus to harvest for timber or medicinal purposes as a way of generating income.

18 July 2017
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