Our
tree planting program in Ethiopia is focused on implementing
multipurpose systems that yield edible fruits, cattle forage, medicinal
plants and wood for fuel and construction purposes. Our community based
agro-forestry model to restore degraded by planting fast growing and
multi-purpose trees while providing with income generation
opportunities to participating communities has produce remarkable
results over the past 5 years.
Our Project:
The
program started as apartnership with Greener Ethiopia, focused on the
Guraghe Zone. In 2008, TREES and GE raised over 4 million seedlings
that were distributed to local farmers through community institutions,
which were planted on nearly 1500 hectares of degraded lands. The tree
species raised in 2008 included Juniperus procera, Podocarpus
graciliour, Cordia africa, Grevillea robusta, Acacia spp. Coffee
arabica, Calliandra spp, Leucaena spp, Cassia fistula, Spatodia
linotica, Tephrosia, Sesbanea sesban, Pigeon pea, Apple, Mango, and
Jatropha
Current Status
The
success of our work in Ethiopia has received widespread support from
the community, businesses and most importantly from the President of
Ethiopia. Ethiopian Airlines, a major African Airline, has supported
the planting of 2 million trees in 2008 and has pledged continued
support. Highly inspired and encouraged by the support, together with
Greener Ethiopia, we have now launched plan to plant 100 million trees
in five years.
Environmental Issues
Ethiopia loses 2 billion tons of topsoil every year because widespread
deforestation is leading to massive soil erosion. Land degradation is a
serious problem throughout the Ethiopia, due to extensive population
pressure, compounded by the large livestock population. The increased
demand for cultivable land, deforestation, and tillage of steep slopes
and mountains has enhanced soil erosion and decrease productivity. In
addition, grazing land scarcity and scarcity of clean drinking water
are problems that persist in Southern Regional states.
Social Issues
With more than 80% of the population dependent on wood for their basic
energy needs, there is a real crisis in their fuel supply - women and
children must walk miles every day to gather a few twigs to cook with,
and fuelwood is very expensive!
The
main underlying causes of land degradation are socio economic (e.g.
population growth and associated activities including deforestation,
overgrazing, agricultural expansion, fuel wood scavenging, etc.)
natural (e.g. topography, soil type, drought/rainfall intensity, etc),
institutional (e.g. coordination and capacity) and policy factors.
These situations have a synergistic effect and highly enhance soil
degradation which in turn greatly reduces agricultural and other forms
of biological production, exacerbates poverty, and leads to the removal
of biological resources beyond the replacement capacity of the natural
resources. This keeps accelerating further the rate of land
degradation, thus creating a vicious circle linking human and
environmental degradation.
Overgrazing by cattle, goats, and sheep is prohibiting the natural regeneration of tree
TREES’
Director, Deppner, examines young Calliandra trees, a fast growing
species that is performing well in this program, especially at high
altitudes.
Honey
production using new polyurethane beehives is becoming a great income
generating project for local communities, and has built more desire to
raise tree species that serve as high-quality bee fodder.
Our Response Our
goal is to rehabilitate and improve productive potential of degraded
and marginal lands, thereby improving the socio economic conditions of
the participating communities. Our philosophy is community driven, and
the community participation and ownership of the projects is crucial to
the sustainability and success of our approach.
Community members, mostly small and disadvantaged
farmers, are considered to be at the forefront of project
implementation. Their participation from the inception up to the
termination of this project will highly be considered and maintained.
TREES' technicians have made several trips to Ethiopia
over the past few years, combining to provide 160 days of on-site
technical assistance. Everywhere we have gone, local groups are asking
the same thing:“How fast can you get this program started?” People are
very interested in sustainable harvesting of fuelwood, fuel-efficient
stoves, and confinement rearing of animals – after having seen how
livestock have stripped their terrain.
Program Update
The news about the success of our programs in the Guraghe Zone has
spread to other communities in Ethiopia. In 2009 we plan to work with
the Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, which has approximately 102,950
coffee growers, processors, and exporters in the southern and western
part of Ethiopia. Three communities in the northern part of Ethiopia
surrounding Lake Tana, the source of the Nile River, are also joining
the program. We will also be working in the Konso region in the south
eastern part of Ethiopia, where we will be working wiht 250,000
community members
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