TY - JOUR
T1 - More people, more trees
T2 - A reversal of deforestation trends in Southern Ethiopia
AU - Duriaux-Chavarría, Jean Yves
AU - Baudron, Frédéric
AU - Gergel, Sarah E.
AU - Yang, Kevin F.
AU - Eddy, Ian M.S.
AU - Sunderland, Terry
N1 - Funding Information:
We appreciate the help of researchers, field assistants, community members and friends during the different stages of the research process. First, we are extremely grateful to all the families of Sida Malkatuka, Dikitu Shirke, Gogorri, Kararu, Shodna and Belamu that provided their time and welcomed the research team. We thank Kedir Gemedo, Hamid Tura, and Genemo Teshite for their extremely important role in assisting with the field work. Our gratitude also goes to Dr Habtemariam Kassa for his suggestions on the selection of the study area at the beginning of the project, and to Dr Liz Deakin and Dr Mrigesh Kshatriya for their contributions to the development of research methods. We appreciate the exchanges and scholarly discussions with our colleagues from our different departments, and especially Yodit Kebede, Tesfaye Sida and Dereje Tirfessa that enriched the discussion. We thank the reviewers and editors for their valuable remarks and comments. This work was implemented by CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), CIFOR (the Centre for International Forestry Research) and the University of British Columbia as part of the ?The Agrarian Change Project,? made possible by the generous support of the Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), CRP MAIZE (www.maize.org), and CRP WHEAT (www.wheat.org). The time of SEG was also covered by an NSERC-DG. Any opinions, findings, conclusion, or recommendations expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of DFID, USAID, CRP MAIZE and CRP WHEAT.
Funding Information:
This work was implemented by CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), CIFOR (the Centre for International Forestry Research) and the University of British Columbia as part of the “The Agrarian Change Project,” made possible by the generous support of the Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), CRP MAIZE ( www.maize.org ), and CRP WHEAT ( www.wheat.org ). The time of SEG was also covered by an NSERC‐DG. Any opinions, findings, conclusion, or recommendations expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of DFID, USAID, CRP MAIZE and CRP WHEAT.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Land Degradation & Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2021/2/15
Y1 - 2021/2/15
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - agrarian change
KW - forest transition pathways
KW - landscape restoration
KW - reforestation
KW - rural livelihoods
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096761670&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ldr.3806
DO - 10.1002/ldr.3806
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85096761670
SN - 1085-3278
VL - 32
SP - 1440
EP - 1451
JO - Land Degradation and Development
JF - Land Degradation and Development
IS - 3
ER -