15,000 trees to combat desertification in Ethiopia

In the highlands of Tigray in northern Ethiopia, land degradation exacerbates the negative impacts of frequent droughts and forces people to migrate to neighbouring cities and overseas in order to support their families. Two major causes of land degradation are deforestation and overgrazing. The Tigray government, local communities and WeForest joined forces in an effort to restore the infertile land through soil, water and forest conservation and planting new trees.

A crucial element in the restoration strategy is creation of exclosure zones, or "no go" zones. Degraded land is closed off from animal grazing and human interference to allow plant cover to naturally regenerate. Exclosures have been introduced to land management in Tigray in the 1990s and research shows that they provide a viable method for improving soil quality. After the communities show commitment to close off an area for a minimum of 5 years, and some vegetation and trees start growing again, WeForest uses a technique called Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) to speed up the process of restoration. The area is further enriched by planting native trees in the exclosure zones. During the 2017 planting season, we planted over 35 600 trees that will grow into 45 hectares of dry Afromontane forest.

WeForest collaborates with local government district officers and community leaders. In addition to planting trees that are native to the ecosystem, further preference was given to species that the community identified as most beneficial to their life. For example, Acacia abyssinica has leaves that may be used for feeding livestock. After planting, WeForest continues to support land management and follows up of the planted seedlings with the help of local community members trained in sustainable forestry.

Working with local communities and engaging them in decision making increases the success rate of our projects. Thanks to your support, we can combine traditional knowledge and science for the benefit of people, planet and climate!

In Central Tigray in Ethiopia, WeForest collaborates with partners Mekelle University and Tigray Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development to support local community in training and creating jobs.

One of the workers from the community is Gebreyesus G. who manages the plantation site in the Seret-Guragursa watershed. He is a war veteran and has lost his hand during the conflict. Enthusiastic to contribute to landscape restoration in his village, he is a key person in community mobilization and monitoring of the plantation sites. Gebreyesus boldly expresses his commitment to transform the degraded environment: “Rehabilitation and restoration of degraded hillsides is the base for our existence. Long time ago, this site was a forest area composed of big trees like Olive and Croton but, due to mismanagement, free grazing and uncontrolled utilization the area gradually became a degraded hillside. We now see scattered Acacia trees, shrubs and aloe. This is why the rainfall became erratic and sometimes causes floods, which is very threatening for the farmers living at the bottom of the hillside as farming is becoming less productive. It also causes landslides and rolling of big stones to streams, settlement areas and farmlands.”

Before joining the project, Gebreyesus was for seven years administrator of kebele (Ethiopian administrative municipality). “Previously, my colleagues and I have achieved a number of remarkable outcomes in soil and water conservation. Our village was named first in our sub-region for seven consecutive years. A major factor in our success is the commitment of the community to work at what they believe in and their interest in creating a good environment for everyone’s lives. The community understands tree planting and soil and water conservation are the basis for restoring the degraded lands,” says Gebreyesus. Looking down hopefully from the peak of the mountain on farmlands below, he goes on to say: “I am confident that we will achieve our objectives and make the site a show-case for other districts.”

Since the start of 2017, a total of 34,300 trees were planted in the Seret Kebele, enriching 45 ha of degraded forest land. Thanks to your donations, WeForest will continue to support the management and monitoring of planted seedlings and create livelihood opportunities for the community residing around these areas.