Atotalof382,222treeshavebeenfinancedthankstothesupportofBrabantia

Ethiopia: Amhara A Holistic Community Based Approach to Restore Degraded Lands May 2016

The Project Ethiopia'sAmhararegionisbearingthebruntofwidespreaddeforestation.Here,villagersareattheheartofaprojectthataimstotackledeforestationandsoilerosion.Theprojecttakesaholisticapproachtotackletheseenvironmentalthreats andpromote the resilienceof local people.Working alongside TheHunger Project,WeForest aims to plantindigenoustreesoncommunityland,gullies(picturedabove)andriverbanks,andplantsfruitandtimbertreesonfarmstoempower locals insustainabledevelopment. Initiativessuchashoneyproductionandfuel-efficientcookingstovesarealsoestablished.Theprojectencompassesa strong trainingcomponent so that local communitieswillhave thecapacity to take the future of their forests into their own hands. Through different development activities andrestorationprocesses,peopleandenvironmentcanthrive.

Planting Update October2015–March2016

Astheinitialstagesoftheprojectgetunderway,WeForestandTheHungerProject,have

plantedits10millionthtreeinTheHungerproject“Epicenter”,acommunitycenterto

engage and train local leaders. The teamhas completed an important assessment to

collectdataonthesocio-economicmakeupofMachakelandenvironmentaldatalikethe

climate,soilandlandusetostrengthenfutureplanning.Preparationsareunderwayto

establishtheproject’snurseriestowardstheendofthisyear.

Facts & Figures• Location:Machakel,East-Gojjamzone,Amhararegion• Restorationapproach:Frameworkplanting1• Numberoftreesfinanced:382,222• Interventionarea:8,580ha• Peopleinvolved:3communities,totalling13,432people

1Approachtoplantingthattakesintoaccountthetypicalchangesweobserveinforestcommunitiesovertime

Working Together for People and Nature

Engagingimportantstakeholdersthroughouttheprojectcreatesamorefavorableclimateforrestorationandrecognizestherightsandneedsoflocalpeople.Individualsfromtheadministrationoffice,agriculturaloffice,communicationoffice,healthoffice, andmanymore fromthe local government, joined theprojectteamtodiscuss the threats facing the area and the role of the project in combatting these threats. Participantsappreciatedtheinitiativeoftheprojectinlightofthearea’shighvulnerabilitytosoilerosion,deforestationandbiodiversityloss.Someofthecausesofsoilerosionanddeforestationmentionedbytheparticipantswereerraticrainfall,treecutting,over-grazingandunplannedandinappropriatelanduse.Theworedaalreadyundertakestree planting and other afforestation activities in collaboration with a regional forest enterprise but theintervention is limited due to a scarcityof resources (financial and technical). Itwas decided that providingappropriate resources and supporting local efforts to restore will enhance the woreda’s natural resourcemanagementactivitiesandcreateabrighterfutureforthearea’sforests.

Getting to Know the Woreda

Plantingtreescanhelpempowerlocalfamiliesintheworeda(province)throughincomegeneration,newskills,decision-making,

improvedfoodsecurityandsoon.Therecentassessmentcarriedoutsoughttoexplorethesocio-economiccontexttobetter

decideontherestorationandlivelihooddevelopmentapproach,andfindaholisticsolutiontotacklethedriversofdeforestation.

Theteamcarriedoutaforestinventoryandcollectedsoildata.Thestudyshowedthatmanylocalsareconcernedaboutsoil

erosionandbelievetreestobeimportantforsustainabledevelopment.Abottom-upapproach,wherecommunitiesareatthe

heartof the restoration activities,will benefit from indigenous knowledgeof natural resourcemanagement andhelp local

peopleimprovetheirlifestyles.Thiswillservetocreateanenvironmentinwhichnatureandpeoplecanflourishtogether.

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