More people, more trees: A reversal of deforestation trends in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Despite global commitments to forest restoration, evidence of the pathways through which restoration creates social and ecological benefits remains limited. The objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidence to generate insights on the relationship between forest cover change and key provisioning ecosystem services and reforestation pathways. In Southern Ethiopia, three zones along a gradient of decreasing land cover complexity and tree cover were examined. The land cover change was assessed using satellite remote sensing and complemented ground‐based tree inventory. Perceptions of land cover and ecosystem services change and farmer responses were evaluated through three Participatory Rural Appraisals and eight Focus Group Discussions. Since the 1970s, a landscape shift from a forest‐grassland to a cropland mosaic was associated with increased food production, improved food security, and higher incomes. However, this shift also coincided with reductions in livestock, construction materials, fuelwood and water availability, prompting reforestation efforts designed to recover some of these lost ecosystem services. In particular, some households established Eucalyptus woodlots and encouraged natural regeneration. Natural trees, Eucalyptus woodlots, Ensete plantations (a type of plantain), and grasslands were positively associated with homestead proximity; thus, homestead establishment resulting from population increase in this predominately agricultural landscape appeared to foster a viable forest restoration pathway—that is, 'more people, more trees'. This is a reforestation pathway not previously described in the literature. A return to a more diverse agricultural landscape mosaic provided more secure and diversified income sources along with better provisioning of construction materials, fuelwood, and higher livestock numbers.

Challenges of Smallholder Farming in Ethiopia and Opportunities by Adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture

“…On-farm trees and a return to a more diverse agricultural landscape mosaic may provide provisioning and other ecosystem services [52,153,192]. Especially in landscapes dominated by cropland, the benefit of such tree-planting is very high and linked to greater livestock numbers, improved resilience and diversification of income sources, and increased biodiversity [155].…”

“…Especially in landscapes dominated by cropland, the benefit of such tree-planting is very high and linked to greater livestock numbers, improved resilience and diversification of income sources, and increased biodiversity [155]. Thus, trees can be seen as a sustainable intensification of agriculture [153]. Eucalyptus is often chosen for tree-planting, as it is a lucrative form of income [32].…”

“…Carbon sequestration Resilience to climate change [152] Restoration of degraded land in various regions of Ethiopia Resilience to climate change Improved livelihood [153][154][155] Promotion of ecosystem services in Southern Ethiopia Resilience to climate change Improved livelihood [156] Despite these advantages, the practice of agroforestry is still limited in many parts of Ethiopia due to increases in fuelwood demand, agricultural intensification, and lack of knowledge about the conservation of trees [31,157]. Unsecured or ambiguous land tenure and shortage of labor were identified as further limiting factors [27,158].…”

“…Interdisciplinary landscape approaches that promote agricultural productivity as well as ecological functions should be applied in order to regenerate agricultural land, contribute to rural livelihood, and conserve biodiversity in landscapes where farmers co-exist with nature [32,148,153,154]. This is also addressed in the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) program.…”

Farm forests, biomass poverty and chronic seasonal hunger.

“…Futhermore, recent research from Southern Ethiopia confirms that "more people, more trees" (Duriaux-Chavarría et al, 2020). This transformed perspective to seeing opportunities in improving both environmental and human health through sustainable intensification requires researchers and policy makers to fundamentally rethink their assumptions and stop what called "misreading of the African landscape" (Fairhead & Leach, 1996).…”