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Tropical Forest Research Network |
THE NEED
FOR MARKET-DRIVEN SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN FOREST DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES:
FOCUS ON ETHIOPIA
By Kassahun Embaye
Mountain forests are inherently fragile and sensitive to disturbances and land use changes due to the generally moderate to steep slopes, relatively shallow soil, exposure to wind and higher rainfall than in the plains. The increasing population in most developing countries is largely dependent on subsistence farming and extraction of timber and fuel from forests, and has been compensating for declining land productivity by expansion into forest land.
Thus, mountain forests need to be protected and used in a sustainable way. This requires conservation-oriented management, which may depend on economic incentives (subsidies, taxes, grants, markets, etc.) Countries in Europe and America (e.g., France, Switzerland) and some developing countries in Asia, such as China, have protected and developed their mountain forests through various economic incentives - unlike the situation in many developing countries, such as Ethiopia, that do not have the financial resources and economic structures to support them. For example, about one million ha of bamboo forest is being destroyed in Ethiopia because there is no incentive to protect it in the absence of a nearby market to sell the products (Embaye, 2000).
Conventional, top-down measures have been generally unsuccessful in countering deforestation. A strategy to gradually commercialise subsistence farming and enable the people to make a living from processing and marketing of forest and agricultural products is more likely to be successful. This requires the creation of mutually supporting and self-sustaining production-processing-marketing systems in forestry and agriculture.
Ethiopia: new approaches
needed for sustainable development of mountain forests
Mountains, most of
them at elevations higher than 1500 m and some over 4600 m, cover about half
of Ethiopia. Most mountain areas have lost their forest cover and the remaining
are endangered, as deforestation has been accelerating. This has resulted in
severe environmental deterioration and decline in land productivity, and recurrent
drought and famine. Many developed countries and international aid organisations
have provided assistance to Ethiopia to solve its deforestation-related problems.
However, deforestation and land degradation are still continuing, reinforcing
each other in a vicious circle.
Past attempts of Ethiopia and its supporting partners to solve the deforestation problems were based on the assumption that forests were cut down by the ever-increasing population to satisfy its demands for wood and food. It was believed that deforestation could be slowed down if individual rural households would be planting trees on their own land and for their own use, and if the government would reforest the denuded landscapes. Various projects were initiated to raise awareness among the rural population on the usefulness of forests and the adverse consequences of deforestation, and programmes were started to promote tree planting by the rural population such as woodlots, community forestry, social forestry, farm forestry. The government also established fuelwood plantations near some big cities using a World Bank loan. However, the results were unsatisfactory. The seedlings died soon after planting for lack of protection and maintenance and the fuelwood plantations were severely damaged by frequent illicit cutting and overgrazing.
About 85 percent of Ethiopian families are dependent on subsistence farming, in uncertain land tenure conditions and with poor access to markets. A land tenure system that assures use rights now exists in Ethiopia, but will need some improvements. The denuded public land should be distributed to families for tree planting, forest protection and sustainable use. The farmers will also need assurance that their forest products can be sold at a reasonable price. This could be guaranteed by establishing forest-based industries (e.g., wood industries) and services such as biomass-based electricity generation in the different parts of the country. These in turn require exploration and creation of markets for the products and services. Farmers could be motivated to respond positively and quickly through financial incentives at least in the early phase of forest establishment, as is the case for example in some European countries. The sustainability of the forests after establishment could be ensured through harvest regulations and clear, agreed management responsibilities. Thus, support for sustainable forest development in Ethiopia should be directed towards a strong forestry sector through establishment of mutually supporting and sustaining forest production, processing and marketing systems. Planting trees outside the forestry sector should be encouraged as a supplementary activity.
Reference
Embaye, K. 2000. The indigenous bamboo forests of Ethiopia: an overview. Ambio
29: 518 - 521.
Contact:
Wondo Genet College
of Forestry
P. O. Box 128, Shashemene, Ethiopia.
E-mail: wgcf@telecom.net.et