Tefera Belay

Boswellia papyrifera (True frankincense tree) is a dry land tree which has economical and ecological importance in the drylands. Although documenting and transmitting information about important dryland trees is crucial, such documents are lacking. Thus, this paper presents: (1) the botanical description, distribution and use of the species; (2) the causes, consequences and extent of degradation and (3) the restoration efforts that have been carried out in the Central Tigray - Northern Ethiopia. Boswellia papyrifera is a deciduous tree; it may grow up to 12m high or more with a rounded crown and yellow papery bark. Its product is frankincense; the white oleo-gum-resin exudate has a long history in human civilization. The natural oil contents and pleasant smell of frankincense caused it to be burned as incense in temple rituals and to be used as a base for perfumes and for medicinal purpose. However, its stock is shrinking and being fragmented rapidly due to human and non-human induc...

Agro forestry is an intensive land management system that seeks to optimize the benefits from the biological interactions created when trees and/or shrubs are deliberately combined with crops and/or livestock.1 Agro forestry involves the cultivation and use of trees in farming systems and is a practical and low-cost means of implementing many forms of integrated land management, especially for small-scale producers.2 Agroforestry can reduce the risks associated with agriculture, small scale or large, and may also increase the sustainability of agriculture.3 Such systems can, therefore, make a significant contribution towards reducing poverty and resource degradation in Africa. For instance, agro forestry technologies such as fruit trees can provide a more diverse farm income and reduce food insecurity.4 Fruit tree based agro forestry system is one of agro forestry system which comprises combinations of plants to maximize the natural resource use efficiency and enhance total factor p...

Provisioning services are major environmental services provided by forests. Especially in tropical countries, the livelihoods of local people often partly depend on a range of timber and non-timber forest products. The governance arrangements concerning such locally valued environmental services are complex and include multilevel centres of authority. They do not only concern policies and regulations formulated by national and international organisations but also local norms and rules for formulating and implementing a set of management practices to organise and control the access to resources and their markets. This chapter presents a case study of the role of forest provisioning services for local communities and how this is reflected in a dynamic and multilevel system of forest resource governance. The case study concerns the production of honey in the mountain forests of Southwest Ethiopia. Based on experiences of an NTFP development programme and related field studies and literature, this chapter first describes the forests and livelihood conditions in this region, emphasising the multiple environmental services provided by forests to local people. Next, it specifies the role of forests for honey production and the different governance arrangements for its production and marketing. Local people actively manage both bees and tree vegetation; these practices have gradually been intensified. Beekeeping has not only contributed to forest conservation but also to the development of a forested landscape consisting of a mosaic of natural and adapted forest types. The governance complex is increasingly impacted by external systems of environmental governance. Such new arrangements should complement and build up on local governance arrangements rather than compete with them.

Bamboo is among the most significant nontimber forest products that can potentially support Ethiopia’s economic development and environmental protection. However, its potential is constrained by limited understanding of its importance and market development. Thus, this study was conducted to fill the knowledge gap by identifying factors affecting highland bamboo culm market supply in Semen Ari district of the South Omo zone. Multistage sampling technique was employed to draw 183 bamboo producer households from three randomly selected highland bamboo producing sites. Household surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews were used to collect data. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression model. The result indicated that market information, extension service, land allocated for bamboo production, the experience of households in selling bamboo products, market distance, family size, sex of the respondent, and age of househo...