By Pius Sawa

OROMIA REGION, Ethiopia (AlertNet) - Ethiopian farmers given ownership of formerly government-controlled land are reforesting a degraded mountain region, in one indication of the kind of policy changes that might help combat climate change.

The vast Oromia region, in the south of Ethiopia, was massively deforested beginning in 1987, after the fall of the Derg, the communist military junta that ruled the nation for more than a decade.

During the Derg years, "the government forced people to plant trees, because the land belonged to the government, and people saw this as a punishment," said Morgues Worku, executive director of the Environment Development Society of Ethiopia, a local environmental agency.

The "food for work" tree planting policy kept Oromia's hills forested. But when the Derg regime ended, trees were cut without replacement, he said, leaving the land bare. Local communities, who did not understand the value of trees in protecting soils and rain cycles, saw the whole region's food production fall and its weather change.

DEFORESTATION HITS RAINFALL

Soon streams dried up in the densely populated region, the amount of rainfall fell and strong winds regularly destroyed crops, leading to growing levels of malnutrition and poverty.

Now, however, a share of deforested land in the region is being successfully rehabilitated after the Environment Development Society managed to convince the government to give it to locals. They now own it, in addition to their own tiny private plots, and are planting trees on it.

"It took us a very long time, but we managed to convince the government," Worku said.

The project, which has spurred similar small-scale reforestation efforts by other farmers in the area, began with Worku's organization launching an environmental awareness program in local schools, and then choosing a group of farmers who wanted to put some of the ideas into practice.

"We started by identifying five elite farmers who expressed interest in conserving the environment after seeing how the program was doing well in schools. We made them understand how their health was directly linked to the environment," he said.

When the government was persuaded to turn over control of land to private hands, a total of 34 farmers were recruited as members of a Farmers Forestry Development Corporation, and each was given an additional hectare (2.5 acres) of land for tree planting. Most already held small plots.

The 30 men and four women each represent a community with up to 2,000 residents, and are involved in livestock keeping and growing fruit and vegetables.

APPLES AND EUCALYPTUS

Using apple seeds imported from Spain, where soil types and ecological conditions are similar, corporation members have now planted orchards, as well as set up nurseries of both indigenous and imported tree seedlings.

Eucalyptus, a fast-growing Australian native, for example, is now being planted for fuel wood and for construction material, while other native tree varieties are being planted in an effort to replace destroyed native forest.

Ade Zaude, a farmer who heads the corporation, said members have seen their incomes rise and now feel much more secure in the face of climate change pressures.

"We now have a lot of resources. We have the knowledge and we have succeeded in rehabilitating the deforested land. We have trees in our compounds, a lot of money in our savings account and other farmers are coming to us to seek the knowledge," he said.

Lynne Gaffikin, a public health expert who has worked widely in Africa on efforts to link population, health and environmental issues, said the project had wisely focused as much on improving incomes as on improving the environment.

"Helping communities come up with alternative sources of income is a good motivation for conserving the environment," she said.
The success of the program has attracted funding and related projects by other organizations in the area. Group members now run 200 beehives, for instance, and have set up pig and poultry raising projects.

Each of the 34 members also has been trained in basic health skills and family planning, a key issue in a nation with one of the highest birth rates in the world. A grass-thatched house that serves as the corporation's office is equipped with birth control pills, condoms and educational materials on health issues.

Worku says Ethiopia's fast-increasing population has a direct negative impact on the environment and people's health, and needs to be addressed in efforts to improve life locally and deal with the impacts of climate change.

Source: alertnet.org