Community forest management
Africa's forests are at risk due to increased population and demands on natural resources. In Ethiopia only about 2% of the original forest cover remains. Tanzanian forests are also fast depleting. Deforestation has a serious impact on wildlife and reduces water flow from the forests to downstream users. The situation is even more precarious as forests provide a major source of income for millions of poor people.
FARM-Africa's community forest management project is working with forest-dependent people in Ethiopia and Tanzania. FARM-Africa works with forest communities and local authorities to develop sustainable management plans for the forests which give communities around forests real responsibility for protecting their forests and in return they are allowed to use the forest in a sustainable way, making use of forest products such as wild coffee, spices, medicines and honey. FARM-Africa has helped to find new more valuable markets for these products.
How are communities benefiting?
Communities in Ethiopia and Tanzania are taking charge of managing their forests. They are conserving natural resources, both now and for the future.
- Forest communities are finding better ways to earn a living that do not rely on cutting down trees for timber or charcoal. They are turning traditional activities such as raffia weaving and honey production into profit-making enterprises.
- Communities are working with local government officials, helping them to develop forest management plans. These are legal frameworks that help them to manage and conserve forest resources and set out the roles and responsibilities of communities and the government.
- FARM-Africa is using communities' experiences to develop and document new models of community planning and forest management. We will then pass these models on to other communities throughout East Africa, so they can benefit from the learning.
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