ETHIOPIA RIFT VALLEY REFORESTATION
November 2014 Update
Illustration LTD
Your contribution
Since November 2012, Illustration LTD has financed the planting of 398,453 trees on the Udo Escarpment in the
Ethiopian Rift Valley near Lake Hawassa (N7 04.798, E38 20.72). This equates to the reforestation of approximately
79.7 hectares of degraded land.
Planting update
Between February 2010 and November 2014, WeForest, in collaboration with its local partner ERP, has planted
1,431,945 trees in two regions of the Udo Escarpment: Udo Wetate and Mekibassa. The seedlings were all grown
at Gallo Argesi nursery near the shores of Lake Hawassa.
Every season, 10% of the funded seedlings are distributed to the surrounding community to enable farmers to
improve their livelihood. So far, WeForest has funded over 143,000 agroforestry trees, benefitting circa 715
families. This year, approximately 150 families came to the nursery to collect the seedlings of 16 species of trees:
Acacia saligna, Casuarina equisetifolia, Cordia africana, Croton macrostachyus, Grevillea robusta, Jacaranda
mimosifolia, Lucenea leucocephala, Mangifera indica, Millettia ferruginea, Moringa oleifera, Olea europea, Carica
papaya, Parkinsonia aculeata, Schinus molle, Sesbania sesban, and Spatodea campanulata.
In late August and at the beginning of September, WeForest’s Director of Reforestation Projects visited the planting
sites to meet with the local team and participating farmers. Central to this visit was the evaluation of the project’s
progress and impact.
Project location on map with the Udo Escarpment reforestation site located near Lake Hawassa marked in
red (top far right) ; Bottom left to right: reforested site; farmer showing trees planted through the
agroforestry scheme; local family benefitting from the reforestation project (©WeForest/ERP).
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Findings from the visit
During the visit, the planting sites were
monitored by selecting a random sample of
90 points. For each spot, the four nearest
trees were examined for health, height and
growth1. A total of 360 trees were inspected.
The image (right) plots the location of the
sampled areas in the western vicinity of Lake
Hawassa.
A total of 36 species were observed during
the tree monitoring exercise, with two
species - Acacia saligna and Maytenus
senegalensis - dominating in some of the
sites. The density of trees decreased with
planting time as expected, and was found to
be below the 3,000 mark. Although the older
sites had fewer trees, the canopy of the trees
planted in 2010 was generally healthy (80%
of the trees inspected were healthy or slightly
unhealthy). For the seedlings planted in 2014,
the density was 2,451 trees/ha. The local
team is reviewing likely causes of this year’s
higher mortality rate. Interestingly, 29% of
the trees counted had naturally grown at the
site, with Acacia seyal and Acacia abyssinica
being the most frequently observed. Natural
Most frequent
species species will help
regeneration
of native
regenerating
improve
the forestnaturally
structure.
(Photo©ERP).
1Point-centered
quarter method.
Udo Wetate site planted in 2010 (©WeForest).
Monitoring forest performance involves examining the number of trees per hectare and recording tree information such as species, height,
girth, health and whether it was planted or regenerated naturally. (Left) Measuring the distance of the 4 trees nearest to a randomly
positioned pole; (Centre) measuring tree height; (Right) Team joined by local farmers after a long day of field work (©WeForest).
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Farmers’ Co-operatives
This year has seen the full establishment of communitybased co-operatives at each planting site. These are
committed to the sustainable use of the emergent forests
and will serve to protect their long-term survival. The
network of co-op members will facilitate the delivery of
training, and provide a structure for the ownership and
management of newly planted trees. They will also ensure
that any monetary gains that the forest provides will be
used according to a pre-approved plan, and that the
benefits will be shared among all members.
Starting this year, co-operatives will be responsible for
cutting grasses to reduce fire hazard as well as to sell for
profit. Additionally, they will install modern bee hives. The
income generated will be reinvested in other relevant
initiatives. There are currently 801 members (3:1 male to
female ratio) associated with 4 distinct co-operatives. For
every member, there is a 20 birr registration fee, followed
by a 10 birr monthly fee.
For locals, the reforestation of the escarpment has
contributed to new possibilities since they no longer need
to move because of severe flooding. Locals such as
Johannes Tumicha tell us that they have observed fewer
landslides and that the important thing for them is to be
able to continue to live in
the area.
«The important thing
for us is to be able to
live in the area».
Johannes Tumicha, leads a
community based
cooperative.
The WeForest team would like to thank ILLUSTRATION LTD
for supporting this project and for the confidence that you
have placed in us. We hope you realise the many positive
impacts the project is bringing to the region, and welcome
your continued support in Ethiopia in 2015.
Respectfully,
Victoria Gutierrez
Director of Reforestation Projects
Johannes Tumicha (pictured left) leads one of the 2
cooperatives in Mekibassa. Members deposit savings every 6
months to invest in the purchase of high quality maize seeds
which they will grow for commercial purposes (©WeForest).
WeForest
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