Ethiopia: Humbo Assisted Regeneration
(BioCarbon Fund)
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Unmanaged sprouting root material - project site in the background |
The project proposes to restore 2,428 ha of biodiverse natural forest in the vicinity of the town of Humbo, in Southwestern Ethiopia. The area is located at the edge of the Rift Valley, which is one of the most significant natural features in East Africa. The community owned land in the project area has been overgrazed and cleared for fuelwood collection. This land is now almost barren and subject to severe erosion and flooding. The effect of these processes is intensified by the high altitude and rainfall level. The restoration of the native forest proposed by the project requires a management agreement involving all local stakeholders and benefiting from a robust legal standing. The Humbo Forest Management Group (HFMG), made up of 7 Community Cooperative Societies, will be created to address these issues The HFMG will establish the legal ownership of the community land and manage it for carbon, biodiversity and income producing activities to the account of the local population. The HFMG will be composed of local people, including both men and women, and will represent the diversity of land users in the Humbo region. The Community Cooperative Societies will also include representation from the project proponent, World Vision, and the Ethiopian Forestry Department. The project will mainly use the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) technique, in which existing tree and shrub root material in the soil is identified, selected, pruned, and managed to enable re-growth. Only native species will be regenerated since the technique is based on genetic material already present on the sites. This technique has been developed in Niger over 20 years and is now implemented on over 2 million hectares in Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso. In areas devoid of tree cover, the existing vegetation will be enriched using endemic species, including Acacia spp., Aningeria adolfifericii, Podocarpus facutus, Olea africana, Cordia Africana, and other locally indigenous species.
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Re-growth after selection and pruning of the best five stems (Niger) |
The project is expected to sequester around 0.05 Mt CO2e by 2012 and around 0.16 Mt CO2e by 2017. The regeneration of the native forest will provide habitat for many local species and enrich local biodiversity. Major environmental benefits will stem from the reduction of soil erosion and local flooding. In particular, sediment runoff currently threatening the fragile ecosystem of Lake Abaya - located 30 km downstream from the project site - will be reduced. Many households will be self employed for pruning and harvesting, and the forest will increase the safety of local livelihoods, particularly through the provision of new sustainable income and food sources, and the protection of springs and streams originating in the project area. The additional income from carbon sequestration is planned to be partly invested in local infrastructure and food security activities. Finally, training will be provided to communities in the FMRN technique. This technique is also applicable on small private farms and it is expected that the knowledge will spread throughout neighboring regions.
Specific arrangements will be implemented to avoid any potential leakage that could occur due to reduced access to the area during the first years of tree growth. The strong involvement of the communities in the project and the numerous benefits created will likely increase the permanence of the regenerated forest.
World Vision Australia is financing the project. Project implementation will be jointly undertaken by World Vision Ethiopia and Australia, the Ethiopian Agriculture, Rural Development & Forestry Coordination Office, and the Humbo Forest Management Group. World Vision has a strong experience in community capacity building, and in restoring and protecting forest with full community participation in other areas of Ethiopia and other countries of sub-Saharan Africa. It will particularly facilitate and manage the establishment of the Humbo Forest Management Group.
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