ES_DFEA_22-6 8/7/10 13:03 Page i

Degraded Forests in Eastern Africa

Management and Restoration

Edited by
Frans Bongers and Timm Tennigkeit

London • New York

ES_DFEA_22-6 8/7/10 13:03 Page ii

First published in 2010 by Earthscan

Copyright © Frans Bongers and Timm Tennigkeit 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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Degraded forests in Eastern Africa : management and restoration / edited by Frans
Bongers and Timm Tennigkeit.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84407-767-0 (hardback)
1. Forest conservation—Africa, Eastern. 2. Forest degradation—Africa, Eastern. 3.
Sustainable forestry—Africa Eastern. I. Bongers, Frans. II. Tennigkeit, Timm.
SD414.A354D44 2010
634.9'209676—dc22
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Contents

Preface v
Contributors vii
Acknowledgements xi
List of abbreviations xiii

1 Degraded Forests in Eastern Africa: Introduction 1

Frans Bongers and Timm Tennigkeit

2 Forest Resources and Challenges of Sustainable Forest

Management and Conservation in Ethiopia 19
Demel Teketay, Mulugeta Lemenih, Tesfaye Bekele, Yonas Yemshaw,
Sisay Feleke, Wubalem Tadesse, Yitebetu Moges, Tesfaye Hunde
and Demeke Nigussie

3 Forests and Forestry in Uganda 65

Joseph Obua and Jacob Godfrey Agea

4 Forests and Forestry in Tanzania 89

Shabani A. O. Chamshama and Vincent G. Vyamana

5 Composition, Structure and Regeneration of Miombo Forest

at Kitulangalo, Tanzania 109
John A. F. Obiri, John B. Hall and John R. Healey

6 Church Forests – Relics of Dry Afromontane Forests of Northern

Ethiopia: Opportunities and Challenges for Conservation and
Restoration 123
Alemayehu Wassie, Frans Bongers, Frank J. Sterck and Demel Teketay

7 Incense Woodlands in Ethiopia and Eritrea: Regeneration

Problems and Restoration Possibilities 133
Abrham Abiyu, Frans Bongers, Abeje Eshete, Kindeya Gebrehiwot,
Mengistie Kindu, Mulugeta Lemenih, Yitebitu Moges,
Woldeselassie Ogbazghi and Frank J. Sterck
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D E G RA D E D F O R E S T S I N E A S T E R N A F R I C A

8 Vegetation Variation in Forest–Woodland–Savanna Mosaics

in Uganda and its Implications for Conservation 153
Grace Nangendo, Frans Bongers, Hans ter Steege and
Alfred De Gier

9 The Role of Plantation Forests in Fostering Ecological

Restoration: Experiences from East Africa 171
Mulugeta Lemenih and Frans Bongers

10 Future Options for Maesopsis: Agroforestry Asset or

Conservation Catastrophe? 221
John B. Hall

11 Single-Tree Management Models: Maesopsis eminii 247

Thomas Buchholz, Timm Tennigkeit and Axel Weinreich

12 Silvicultural Management of Community Forests towards

Multiple Uses in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia 267
Girma Amente, Jürgen Huss, Timm Tennigkeit and Yonas Yemshaw

13 Juniperus procera (Cupressaceae) in Afromontane Forests in

Ethiopia: From Tree Growth and Population Dynamics to
Sustainable Forest Use 291
Frank J. Sterck, Camille Couralet, Grace Nangendo,
Alemayehu Wassie, Yishak Sahle, Ute Sass-Klaassen,
Lars Markesteijn, Tesfaye Bekele and Frans Bongers

14 Degradation, Species Invasion and Management Responsibility

in Tanzanian Dry Forests: What Do Local People Say? 305
John A. F. Obiri, John B. Hall and John R. Healey

15 Forest Dynamics in Southwest Ethiopia: Interfaces between

Ecological Degradation and Resource Enrichment 323
K. Freerk Wiersum

16 Conditions for Sustainable Forest Management in

Community Forestry: A Case Study from the Bale Mountains,
Ethiopia 343
Julia Schmitt

Index 361

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Preface

Forested landscapes in Africa show great diversity. Of course the vast lowland
areas dominated by forests in the Congo basin in central Africa are well known.
And the savanna-dominated landscapes in eastern and southern Africa also tradi-
tionally receive much attention, mainly because of the attractiveness of the
large animal species inhabiting them. But although maybe less well known, east
African countries also show a large variety of forest types and forested
landscapes. These vary from coastal mangrove forests and dry woodlands in the
lowlands to rainforests at low and intermediate altitudes and Afroalpine forests
on the roof of Africa, for instance in the Ethiopian highlands.
Many of these forests are under strong pressure from people: nearly every-
where the forested landscapes show clear evidence of human impact and most,
if not all, forests are human-affected. Thus the structure and composition of
the remaining forest is the product of both environmental and human factors.
Human beings have interacted with the forests through collection of forest
products, shifting cultivation, permanent or semi-permanent agriculture, and all
kinds of agroforestry systems. This interaction has led to a mosaic of patches of
different vegetations in the landscape.
During the last half-century or so the pressure from people on forests has
intensified, not least as a result of a strongly increasing human population. Forest
loss and forest degradation have now reached near crisis proportions in some
areas and measures to counteract this development are being taken slowly and
in many cases unsatisfactorily. Although conservation is high on national and
international political agendas, at the local level, forest management, and
especially sustainable forest management, remains a challenge.
This challenge is the topic of this book. We address several key ecological
aspects underlying major forest ecosystems in the region and important social
factors driving their management, and thereby aim to provide a background for
the development of management tools for the rehabilitation and sustainable
management of these ecosystems. We focus on crucial examples embedded in a
general context, adopting a pragmatic and problem-solving approach. The focus
of much of the book is on various plant species. We hope that the information
we provide stimulates improved forest management and restoration approaches.
Frans Bongers and Timm Tennigkeit

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Contributors

EDITORS
Frans Bongers, Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen
University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Timm Tennigkeit, Institute of Silviculture, Albert-Ludwigs-University,
Tennenbacher Strasse 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany, and UNIQUE forestry
consultants, Schnewlinstrasse 10, D-79098 Freiburg, Germany

CHAPTER AUTHORS
Abrham Abiyu, Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI), PO
Box 527, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, and Institut für Waldökologie, University of
Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Peter Jordan strasse 82, A-1190,
Vienna, Austria
Jacob G. Agea, Department of Community Forestry and Extension, Faculty of
Forestry and Nature Conservation, Makerere University, PO Box 7062,
Kampala, Uganda
Girma Amente, Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise, PO Box 6182, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia
Tesfaye Bekele, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), PO Box
31709, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Thomas Buchholz, Institute of Silviculture, Albert-Ludwigs-University,
Tennenbacher Strasse 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany. Present address:
Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management, State University of
New York, College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), One
Forestry Drive, Illick 340 13210, Syracuse, New York, USA
Shabani A. O. Chamshama, Department of Forest Biology, Faculty of Forestry
and Nature Conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture, PO Box 3010,
Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania

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D E G RA D E D F O R E S T S I N E A S T E R N A F R I C A

Camille Couralet, Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen

University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. Present
address: Laboratory for Wood Biology and Xylarium, Royal Museum for Central
Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium, and Laboratory for
Wood Technology, Gent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
Abeje Eshete, Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research, Forestry Research
Centre, PO Box 30708, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Forest Ecology and Forest
Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen,
The Netherlands
Sisay Feleke, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Forestry Research
Center, Forest Products Utilization Research coordination office, PO Box 2322,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Kindeya Gebrehiwot, Mekelle University, PO Box 231, Mekelle, Tigray,
Ethiopia
Alfred de Gier, International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth
Observation, PO Box 6, 7500 AA, Enschede, The Netherlands
John B. Hall, School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography,
University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom
John R. Healey, School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography,
University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom
Tesfaye Hunde, International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, East-Africa
Regional Office, PO Box 1463, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Jürgen Huss, Albert-Ludwig-Universität Freiburg, Institut für Waldbau,
Tennenbacherstrasse 4, 79085 Freiburg, Germany
Mengistie Kindu, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Forestry
Research Center, PO Box 30708, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Mulugeta Lemenih, Debub University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry, PO
Box 128, Shashamane, Ethiopia, and Forest Ecology and Forest Management
Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The
Netherlands
Lars Markesteijn, Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen
University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Yitebitu Moges, Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research, Forestry
Research Centre, PO Box 30708, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Grace Nangendo, Wildlife Conservation Society, Plot 802 Kiwafu Road,
Kansanga, PO Box 28144, Kampala, Uganda
Demeke Nigussie, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, PO Box 2003,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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CONTRIBUTORS

John A. F. Obiri, School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography,

University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom, and
Centre for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, Masinde Muliro
University of Science and Technology, PO Box 190 Kakamega-Webuye Road,
Kakamega, Western Province, Kenya 50100
Joseph Obua, Makerere University, PO Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda, Currently
Regional Coordinator, Lake Victoria Research Initiative (VicRes), The Inter-
University Council for East Africa, PO Box 7110 Kampala, Uganda
Woldeselassie Ogbazghi, Agricultural College, University of Asmara, PO Box
1220, Asmara, Eritrea
Yishak Sahle, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Holeta Research
Centre, PO Box 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ute Sass-Klaassen, Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen
University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Julia Schmitt, University of Hohenheim, Department of Agricultural
Communication and Extension (430a), 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
Hans ter Steege, Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Environmental Biology,
Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
Frank J. Sterck, Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen
University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Wubalem Tadesse, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, PO Box 2003,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Demel Teketay, University of Botswana, Harry Oppenheimer Okavango
Research Centre (HOORC), Shorobe Road, Sexaxa, Private Bag 285, Maun,
Botswana
Vincent G. Vyamana, Department of Forest Biology, Faculty of Forestry and
Nature Conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture, PO Box 3010 Chuo
Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania
Alemayehu Wassie, Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in
Amhara (ORDA) PO Box 132, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Axel Weinreich, UNIQUE forestry consultants, Schnewlinstrasse 10, D-79098
Freiburg, Germany
K. Freerk Wiersum, Forest and Nature Policy Group, Wageningen University,
PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Yonas Yemshaw, The AFORNET secretariat, African Academy of Sciences, PO
Box 24916-00502, Nairobi, Kenya

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Acknowledgements

During the course of preparing this book we had interaction with many
colleagues and collaborators. We are very grateful to the large number of people
involved in writing chapters, reviewing chapters, and coordinating and organiz-
ing work related to them. Thank you all for contributing your knowledge and
your precious time and energy:
Abrham Abiyu, Jimmy Acidri, Girma Amente, A. Awio, Fred Babweteera,
Wilson Bahemuka, Hank Bartelink, Jürgen Bauhus, John Ayongyera Begumana,
Tesfaye Bekele, Tesgeye Bekele, Chris Bekker, Tom Blomley, Jean-Marc Boffa,
Thomas Buchholz, Neil Burgess, Sebastian Büttner, S. A. O. Chamshama, Ariani
Charles, Kizza Charles, Camille Couralet, Ronnie Cox, Arthur Mloka Dallu,
Peter Dirninger, Klaus-Dieter Düformantel, Samuel Ebert, Franz Eichinger,
Francis Osoto Esegu, Abeje Eshete, Bill Farmer, Clemens Fehr, Sisay Feleke,
Christoph Fink, Kunihira Florence, Roland Freyer, Kindeya Gebrehiwot, Alfred
de Gier, Nabanoga Nsubuga Gorettie, Sylvana Grabitzki, Markus Grulke,
Deribe Gurmu, Sam Gwali, Maarit A. Haavisto, John Hall, K. F. S. Hamza,
Tim Hardwick, John Healey, Oliver Heintz, Tesfaye Hunde, Jürgen Huss,
Corinne Ingels, Paul Jacovelli, Anna Jaschok, Walaita Sebastian Javan, Acobo
Jimton, John R. S. Kabogozza, Shizu Kaga, George C. Kajembe, Peter Karani,
Severin K. Karonga, Margaret Kasekende, Wilson Kasolo, Israel Kikangi,
Mengistie Kindu, Gaster Kawuubye Kiyingi, Robert Kundgjui, Edward Kyobe,
Fred Lali, Mulugeta Lemenih, Rolf Link, Lars Markesteijn, Ryno Martyn, Aza S.
C. Mbaga, Michael S. Mbogga, Alastair McNeilage, Bric Milligan, Yitebitu
Moges, Frits Mohren, Ruth Mubiru, Ancelm G. Mugasha, Xavier Mugumya,
Denis Mununuzi, Nelson Wajja Musukwe, Grace Nangendo, Peter Ndemera, P.
Ngobi, Demeke Nigussie, J. Nkosi, Steve Nsita, John Obiri, Joseph Obua,
Geoffrey G. O. Odokonyero, Woldeselassie Ogbazghi, G. Okethwengu, Gift
O. Okojia, John Okorio, Peter Ongima, Andy Plumptre, Diana Pretzell, Warren
Rance, Eckart von Reitzenstein, Nele Rogiers, Yishak Sahle, Ute Sass-Klaassen,
Andrea Schäfer, Julia Schmitt, Henning Schrader, Matthias Seebauer, Douglas
Sheil, Dieter Speidel, Heinrich Spiecker, William Gombya-Ssembajjwe, Hans
ter Steege, Frank J. Sterck, Tsegaye Tadesse, Wubalem Tadesse, Demel Teketay,
R. Tolith, Joy M. B. Tukahirwa, Levand Turyomurugyendo, Vincent G.
Vyamana, Charles Walaga, Alemayehu Wassie, Axel Weinreich, Gabriela Hafke-
Wessel, Freerk Wiersum, Ojuri Wilson, Kai Windhorst, Yonas Yemshaw and
Kumelachew Yeshitela.

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D E G RA D E D F O R E S T S I N E A S T E R N A F R I C A

We are most grateful to the European Commission for the financial support
provided towards the fieldwork underlying the preparation of a number of
chapters in this book. The International Scientific Cooperation Project on ‘Tools
for Restoration and Sustainable Management of Forests in East Africa’ was
funded by the European Commission within its Fifth Research Framework
Programme (project number ICA4-CT-2001-10097). We specifically thank
Nicole Riveill, Sergio Micheli and Roberto Santoriello from the European
Commission for their continuous support. This project was based at Freiburg
University and was a close collaboration between researchers from Uganda,
Ethiopia and Tanzania in eastern Africa and from Germany, the UK and The
Netherlands in Europe. A special thanks to Jürgen Huss from Freiburg
University, who was the project coordinator of this EU project.
Several other chapters were strongly supported by the Dutch–Ethiopian
research programme ‘FRAnkincense, Myrrh and Gum Arabic: Sustainable Use
of Dry Woodland Resources in Ethiopia (FRAME)’, largely funded by the Dutch
National Science Foundation (NWO-WOTRO Integrated Programme project
number W01.65.220.00), in collaboration with Dutch and Ethiopian
Universities and research institutes.
Publication of this book was financially supported by the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), specifically their Dutch branch
IUCN-NL (grant number 600216), and the Universities of Bangor, Freiburg
and Wageningen.
Ron Eijkman (de Vormgeverij) prepared a number of location maps in this
book.

We thank all contributors and hope that this book fulfils their expectations.

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List of Abbreviations

AAC annual allowable cut

ANOVA analysis of variance
asl above sea level
CBD United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
CBFM community-based forest management
CCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
CFR central forest reserve
CIFOR Center for International Forestry Research
DBH diameter at breast height
DCA detrended correspondence analysis
EFAP Ethiopian Forestry Action Plan
EOTC Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church
ETB Ethiopian Birr (the national currency of Ethiopia)
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FBD Forestry and Beekeeping Division (Tanzania)
FES Forest Escarpment Company
FNCMP Forest Nature Conservation Master Plan (Uganda)
FWS forest, woodland and savannah
GDP gross domestic product
GTZ German Technical Cooperation
HASHI Hifadhi Ardhi Shinyanga (Kiswahili) (Soil Conservation
Project in Shinyanga, Tanzania)
IFMP Integrated Forest Management Project
ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization
IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature
JFM joint forest management
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
KVTC Kilombero Valley Teak Company
MAI mean annual increment
MFP minor forest produce
MNRT Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism
MSAVI modified soil adjusted vegetation index
NEMA National Environment Management Authority (Uganda)
NFA National Forest Authority (Uganda)

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D E G RA D E D F O R E S T S I N E A S T E R N A F R I C A

NFPA National Forest Priority Area

NGO non-governmental organization
NTFP non-timber forest product
NWFP non-wood forest product
OFWE Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise (Ethiopia)
PAR photosynthetically active radiation
PCT potential crop trees
PFM participatory forest management
PRA participatory rural appraisal
SNNPRS Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State
(Ethiopia)
SOM soil organic matter
TANWATT Tanganyika Wattle Company
TAS traditional agroforestry system
TCBFM traditional community-based forest management
TLU tropical livestock unit
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
USh Uganda shilling
UWA Uganda Wildlife Authority
VLFR village land forest reserve (Tanzania)
WAJIB forest-dwellers’ association (Ethiopia)
WBISPP Woody Biomass Inventory and Strategic Planning Project

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Degraded Forests in Eastern

Africa: Introduction

Frans Bongers and Timm Tennigkeit

FORESTS IN THE REGION

Forests in eastern Africa show an amazing variety of structure and composition.
This is to be expected, of course, as it is the result of the interplay between a
large variety in environmental conditions and all kinds of human interactions.
The altitudinal variation in the area is large, ranging from over one hundred
metres below sea level to five thousand above. The area hosts the major
mountainous area of the African continent and has a large number of peaks
above 4000 metres above sea level. This gives rise to a large gradient in temper-
ature. Rainfall conditions also vary tremendously, from very dry deserts to
extremely wet rainforest and cloud forest systems in most countries. And soils
vary from highly weathered old and poor soils to nutrient-rich volcanic soils
that may support lush vegetation and are well suited for agriculture.
East Africa is perceived as the cradle of humanity and for millennia people
have been living in the area, continuously changing and affecting the natural
environment. In fact, currently most, if not all, lands have been seriously
affected by mankind. This interaction, be it through permanent or semi-perma-
nent agriculture, shifting cultivation, all kinds of agroforestry systems, or just
collecting products from forests and other natural vegetation, has led to a
mosaic of patches of different vegetations in the landscape. At most locations
the present landscape is thus definitely the product of the natural variation in
vegetation combined with human-induced variation. Consciously and uncon-

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D E G RA D E D F O R E S T S I N E A S T E R N A F R I C A

sciously human beings have changed the forests in their neighbourhoods. A good
example of this is the human-modified natural coffee-containing forests in
southwest Ethiopia (see Wiersum, Chapter 15) that are heavily modified to
increase coffee production while maintaining forest structure as much as possi-
ble. An example of reasonably well-preserved forests is the eastern Arc forests
in Tanzania, and in some areas the well-known miombo woodlands (see Obiri et
al, Chapter 5).
The pressure of people on forests has intensified during the last century,
not least as a result of a strongly increasing human population. In several areas
in the region the loss and degradation of forests have now reached near crisis
proportions. Measures to counteract this development are being taken slowly
and in many cases unsatisfactorily. Conservation is high on the national and
international political agendas, but at the local level forest management, and
especially sustainable forest management, remains a challenge. In recent
decades institutional reforms have been developed in many countries, partly as
a result of large national and international pressure. Reforms may include devel-
opment of new laws for forest and natural resource management,
decentralization of forest and natural resources management responsibilities,
increased integration or separation of forest and agriculture, combination or
separation of production and conservation, and large changes in ideas about
environmental protection. International organizations like the United Nations
play a key role and actively stimulate international agreements (like the
Convention on Biological Diversity, CBD).

FOREST PRODUCTS
Forests harbour many plant products of direct use to people and harvesting and
consumption of such plant products from natural forests is known to account
for a large proportion of the livelihood of people living close. Worldwide, wood
is arguably the most important forest product, and large areas of forests have
been cut, and are being cut, for their wood. In the world an average of around
one-third of forest area is primarily designated for production purposes. In
Africa the figure is 30 per cent and has been declining since 1990 (FAO, 2007).
In eastern Africa, the focal area of this book, the forest area designated for
production declined at a constant rate of about 300,000 hectares per year
during 1990–2005 (FAO, 2007). But the total wood removed from forests
increased from ca. 185 to ca. 320 million m3 per year between 1990 and 2005,
despite a limited supply from forest plantations. 90 per cent of this wood is
used for fuel (Figure 1.1).
The majority of plant products that are used from and collected in forests
are non-timber forest products (NTFPs), meaning all biological materials used
for purposes other than commercial timber. Wild plants are an important source
of edible fruits, leafy vegetables and herbs, and are particularly important in
ensuring food security and maintaining the nutritional balance in people’s diets.
During famine, wild plants become essential to human survival, and at other

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INTRODUCTION

Figure 1.1 Forests provide large amounts of fuelwood for local people
Source: Photographs by R. Bäcker

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D E G RA D E D F O R E S T S I N E A S T E R N A F R I C A

times they both prevent the need for cash expenditure and provide a source of
income to cash-poor households. It is estimated that between 4000 and 6000
non-timber plant species are of commercial importance worldwide (Iqbal, 1993;
SCBD, 2001). However, inadequate information on the ecological productivity,
growth forms, life history and conservation of the various species involved
complicates management scenarios, the setting of conservation priorities and
defining sustainable harvest levels (Ticktin, 2004; SCBD, 2001).
Although it has been suggested that intense harvesting of NTFPs is feasible
because of the supposedly low associated ecological impacts, excessive extrac-
tion of forest products is likely to have a negative impact on population
dynamics of the plants being exploited. Such impacts may lead to changes in
community structure. Exploitation impact depends on the parts of plants that
are harvested for NTFPs. Harvesting of some NTFPs, for instance leaves and
fruits, may have a negligible effect on the plant population being exploited,
depending on the intensity of the harvest. Harvesting of bark (Guedje et al,
2003; Botha et al, 2004), roots or bulbs, on the other hand, usually kills or
fatally weakens the exploited plant species. For other products, such as palm
heart, trees have to be cut to be able to harvest the product.
An important group of NTFP is east Africa is formed by the gums and resins
of Acacia, Boswellia and Commiphora species (ABC species) that produce gum
arabic, frankincense and myrrh, respectively. Sustainable production of these
products depends on maintenance of healthy populations of the species
involved. In Chapter 7 Abiyu and colleagues focus on frankincense as an
example of such a species and address population status and factors that
threaten these populations.

THREATS
Many forests, wet and dry, lowland and montane, are severely under threat.
Conversion of forest into agricultural land leads to fragmentation and isolation;
legal and illegal logging for timber and extensive collection of wood for firewood
and NTFPs lead to forest degradation and product exhaustion.
In general terms threats can be divided into threats for habitats and threats
for species. Threats to habitats include habitat loss, habitat fragmentation,
habitat disturbance, uncontrolled logging, increasing rates of fire, overharvest-
ing of fuelwood, overgrazing of sensitive habitats, increasing populations,
continuing poverty and debilitating diseases. Additionally climate change is
having an effect on habitats (MEA, 2005).
Habitat loss is high all over Africa. The Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO, 2007) estimated annual forest decrease rates for
east Africa of 0.94 and 0.97 per cent for the periods 1990–2000 and 2000–2005
respectively. This is higher than the average for Africa (0.64 and 0.62 per cent)
and far higher than the world average (0.22 and 0.18 per cent). East Africa has
lost between 770 and 800 thousand hectares of forest per year since 1990. This
habitat loss is despite the fact that quite a lot of forest area is protected,

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INTRODUCTION

although this is decreasing: in 2005 in east Africa 3,500,000 ha of forest were

designated for protection, down from 3,750,000 in 1990 (FAO, 2007). Tropical
rainforest loss levels in west Africa were among the highest in the world (Achard
et al, 2002), and also in east Africa loss of forest area is high (see Chapters 2, 3
and 4 for data on the three focal countries of this book).
The alarming levels of forest loss in African countries has been doubted by
some researchers (Fairhead and Leach, 1998; Nyssen et al, 2009), who focus on
the bad quality of forest extension data before the era of remote sensing
(roughly more than half a century ago). Notwithstanding these shortcomings,
which indeed may overestimate the forest loss, it remains clear that over the
last 50 years or so the area of forests has been reduced drastically in most
countries, including east African ones.
Threats to species include increasing extinction risks (Thuiller et al, 2006),
loss of species range (McClean et al, 2005), bushmeat hunting (Milner-Gulland
et al, 2003) and competition by invasive species (Gurevitch and Padilla, 2004).
Additionally climate change is having an effect on species (Thomas et al, 2004).
Many African plant species have been shown to be reduced in range already and
climate change predictions account for many more (Brooks et al, 2001;
McClean et al, 2005), but this is not particular to Africa (Rodrigues et al, 2004).
Bushmeat hunting is severe in many African countries and is also associated
with the logging industry, which provides facilities for hunters and a transport
system to the towns (Fa et al, 2003; Milner-Gulland et al, 2003), possibly also
with long-term effects on plant species composition and diversity of tropical
forests (Muller-Landau, 2007). Invasive species get increased attention as they
become more and more dominant. The mean percentage of alien plants in a
given flora is 12 per cent and on islands even close to 28 per cent (Vitousek et
al, 1997). Examples for east Africa include forestry trees (Pinus, Acacia and
Casuarina species) and of a database of 2000 species used in agroforestry, some
135 were reported to be invasive (for example Acacia, Prosopis and Sesbania
spp.) (Richardson, 1998).

FOREST MANAGEMENT, RESTORATION

AND CONSERVATION

Forest management is concerned with the technical aspects of forests (silvicul-

ture, forest protection, forest conservation and forest regulation) and with all
administrative, economic, legal and social aspects of forests. Management thus
should include a wide array of aspects such as wood and non-wood products,
wildlife, recreation, forest genetic resources, forest resource values, and water
provision and protection. In general, forest management can be based on
economics or on conservation of resources, or a mixture of the two.
Internationally, concerns regarding forest management have shifted from a focus
on extraction of timber to a focus on other forest resources, including biodiver-
sity conservation, climate change, watershed management, wildlife management

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and recreation. This shift, however, is not uniform across and within countries.
At the local level in many countries, including in east Africa, economic and
livelihood aspects are still the dominant forces determining actual use and
management of forests. That this local management is not always in line with
national and international rules and priorities is evident.
Sustainable forest management (SFM) is a special type of forest manage-
ment and is based on principles of sustainable development (‘meeting the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs’ – Brundtland Report, UN, 1987). It takes broad social,
economic and environmental goals into account, in a continuous evaluation and
adaptation to the changing social, economic and natural environments.
Ecological restoration may be defined as the intentional activity that initi-
ates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health,
integrity and sustainability (SER, 2004; Andel and Aronson, 2006). Forest
restoration may include reforestation, erosion control, revegetation of disturbed
areas, enrichment planting of degraded areas with valuable species, habitat
improvement for targeted species, removal of weeds and exotic (non-native)
species, and reintroduction of native species.
In this book various aspects of forest management and forest restoration are
addressed, but overall the focus is on applied forest ecology, rather than on
issues such as forest policy, forest laws, land tenure and forest economics. In
many chapters, however, some of these aspects are touched upon, as far as
needed for understanding the specific issues being addressed.
Forest management directed at conservation is a challenge for countries in
east Africa (and elsewhere). Although management of forests is as old as people
trying to control their environment, institutionalized forest management has
developed largely during the last century, in most countries established by
colonial powers. Most colonial governments established their own system for
management of natural resources, in most cases organized in four branches:
wildlife, forestry, fisheries and agriculture. While wildlife conservation was
strongly focused on large animals (mostly savanna animals), forestry depart-
ments aimed at supply of forest products. In this period the first forest reserves
were established, mainly focused on resource exploitation and water catchment
conservation. Biological diversity was not an issue. Much forest and savanna
area was also transformed into agricultural land.
After the colonial period (roughly since the 1960s), the new powers contin-
ued this tradition and have developed their departments for better management
of their countries’ resources. Only in the last 25 or so years have international
organizations, in collaboration with country governments, set up agreements for
management of natural resources across countries according to international
rules and agreed-upon conventions like the United Nations Conventions on
Biological Diversity (CBD), to Combat Desertification (CCD) and on Climate
Change (UNFCCC). These have led to strategy development and action plans,
for instance the Tropical Forest Action Plan. These conventions and action plans
have been adopted by most African countries as well, and currently in most of
these countries a wide array of conservation strategies, action plans and imple-

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INTRODUCTION

mentation ideas are active. The reality on the ground, however, is far from ideal,
and most countries struggle with effective implementation. This indeed looks
likely to remain a challenge for decades to come.
To avoid every country developing its own ideas and strategies, and country
borders inhibiting effective conservation of resources that in many cases extend
beyond them, at the international level the focus has shifted towards integra-
tive management ideas regarding ecoregions. Ecoregions are large units of land
and water that contain a distinct assemblage of species, habitats and processes,
and whose boundaries attempt to depict the original extent of natural commu-
nities before major land-use change (Olsen et al, 2001; Burgess et al, 2004).
Conservation strategies increasingly consider that biogeographic units at the
scale of ecoregions are ideal for protecting a full range of representative areas,
conserving special elements, and ensuring the persistence of populations and
ecological processes, particularly those that require the largest areas or are most
sensitive to anthropogenic alterations (Olson et al, 2001).
A good example of this is the vast Serengeti ecosystem, crossing the border
between Kenya and Tanzania, where each year 1.3 million wildebeest, 200,000
plains zebras and 400,000 Thomson’s gazelle seasonally migrate. The Serengeti
is in fact an example of a transboundary protected area (TBPA), which over the
last few years have been established in several places. Other examples are the
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (linking South Africa, Zimbabwe and
Mozambique), the Transfrontier Protected Area Network of the central
Albertine Rift (DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda; signed October 2005), the
Gola Forest Transboundary Peace Park (Liberia and Sierra Leone; signed 2009)
and the Selous Niassa Wildlife Corridor (Kenya and Tanzania). Currently plans
are being developed across the borders between Ethiopia and Kenya and
Ethiopia and Sudan, among others. Recent studies estimate that worldwide
there are now 188 transboundary conservation areas in 112 countries, making
up about 17 per cent of the designated protected areas around the world
(Mittermeier et al, 2005).
The basis for the ecoregions of the African tropics is formed by White’s
(1983) phytogeographic regions. Of the 867 ecoregions of the world (Olson et
al, 2001), 119 are found in Africa and its islands (Burgess et al, 2004), many of
which are forest, woodland or woody thickets. Many groups of ecoregions cover
forest types: tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (30 types), tropi-
cal and subtropical dry broadleaf forests (3), temperate coniferous (1) and
mangroves (5). Several other groups include woodlands and woodland–savanna
mosaics.
East Africa harbours a large number of these, ranging from high mountain
afroalpine coniferous forests (Figure 1.2) in, for instance, Ethiopia, Kenya and
Tanzania, through wet and dry lowland forests, to mangrove forests along a large
part of the east African coast. World famous are the wet montane forests of the
Eastern Arc forests in southern Kenya and Tanzania (Lovett and Wasser, 1993).
These forests harbour large numbers of endemic species and are currently under
severe threat. Many of these forests are islands in a sea of arid and agricultural
lands.

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Figure 1.2 Afromontane forests in Simien national park, Ethiopia

Source: F. Bongers

Despite large-scale national and international efforts to protect and

conserve forests in east Africa, the reality on the ground is challenging. Almost
everywhere there is a continuous tradeoff between long-term conservation goals
and short- and long-term livelihoods of people. The ‘tragedy of the commons’
continues, as the number of people inhabiting most countries continues to
increase. Less and less area is available for more and more mouths to feed. The
fact that food is largely cooked on wood in east African countries aggravates the
consequences for forests and the people that depend on them.
Forest landscapes in east Africa and many other parts of the tropics are
under large pressures, and mismanagement, overexploitation and degradation is
not uncommon. Since forests are traditionally an important element of the
livelihood strategies of rural dwellers and the source of income to many, degra-
dation today seriously affects rural economies and national income from forest
revenue collection. This forest degradation is accompanied by loss of biodiver-
sity, loss of carbon storage, watershed degradation, soil loss, fertility decline and
climatic change well beyond the boundaries of the forested areas.
A promising forest development in eastern Africa is the increased attention
on tree planting. After decades of forest decline, community and commercial
tree planting has increased substantially over the last five years in the target
countries of this book. In Uganda, for instance, where only 2000 hectares of

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INTRODUCTION

planted timber forests remained a few years ago, but the equivalent of 45,000
to 50,000 hectares is required to meet the domestic demand for timber
(UNIQUE forestry consultants, 2005), about 20,000 hectares of new forests
have been established within the last eight years. Additionally, the carbon
finance providing incentives for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation (REDD) may release some pressure from precious natural
forests, may enable forest restoration, and may provide new rural income gener-
ation and livelihood opportunities. National park development, and maybe
especially the transboundary parks, with their large international attention and
support, may be instrumental as well for stimulating positive and future
directed forest landscape management.
Historically, forestry research in east Africa was focused on commercial
utilization of natural forests, mostly high forests under state control and to a
lesser degree the widely prevailing miombo woodlands (Campbell, 1996;
Chidumayo, 1997). Later this was followed by research in plantation forestry,
mostly with exotic species and by a wave of research on social issues surround-
ing forestry, particularly communal involvement in forest management. In
recent years the focus has shifted to issues of biodiversity and climate change.
Very little research is geared towards management of marginal forests and
restoration of degraded forests, despite the fact that they now constitute the
majority of remaining forests in east Africa.

THIS BOOK
This book emphasizes several key ecological aspects underlying major forest
ecosystems in the region and important social factors driving their management.
It provides a background for the development of management tools for the
rehabilitation and sustainable management of these ecosystems. Of course it
would be over-ambitious to assume that one book could comprehensively deal
with all forest degradation-related issues in the whole region. We have there-
fore opted for a strategy of focusing on crucial examples embedded in a general
context. Apart from general country overviews for the three focal countries –
Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania – we highlight particular forest ecosystems with
their related ecology, management and restoration possibilities. Our focus is a
pragmatic and problem-solving approach, based on the examples from the
featured case studies. This is intended to have direct leverage effects with
regards to the adoption of improved forest management and restoration
approaches, and the book aims to direct new research initiatives to improve the
scientific basis and education required.
In this book we focus on three countries in east Africa: Ethiopia, Tanzania
and Uganda (Figure 1.3; Table 1.1), mainly because the basis of this book was a
large international cooperation research project that focused on these countries.
Of course other countries in the region, and their forests, are of equally high
importance. As many forests and forest types are shared between countries,
and as many of the topics and problems addressed in this book are common, we

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D E G RA D E D F O R E S T S I N E A S T E R N A F R I C A

C H A D ERITREA

S U D A N
DJIBOUTI

ETHIOPIA
CENTRAL AFRICAN
REPUBLIC
SOMALIA
UGANDA
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF
CONGO KENYA

RWANDA Indian
BURUNDI Ocean

TANZANIA

ANGOLA
ZAMBIA

MOZAMBIQUE

Figure 1.3 Map of eastern Africa with the focal countries of this book:
Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania

believe that the analyses and messages in this book will be of high importance
to these other countries as well. Several chapters also cover studies from other
areas.
As not much general information is available in the international literature
on forest and forestry issues in these countries, we here provide a comprehen-
sive overview of these aspects in the three countries (Chapters 2–4). These
overviews detail the current situation of the forests and the major challenges
for forest resource management in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania respectively.
All three chapters give an overview of the most dominant forest types in the
country.
Table 1.1 Forests in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania
Parameter Ethiopia Uganda Tanzania
Land area in 1000 ha 100,000 19,710 88,350
Population in millions (2009) 79.2 32.4 43.7
Forest area in 1000 ha 13,000 3,600 35,000
Annual change in extent of forest,
2000–2005 (%) ⫺1.1 ⫺2.2 ⫺1.1

Source: FAO (2007)

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INTRODUCTION

Chapter 2 (Teketay et al) additionally widely reviews available information

on forest cover losses, forest products and production, industries and enter-
prise, management and conservation efforts, socio-economic roles, and policy
and legislation related to forest resources in Ethiopia. The chapter also
highlights the challenges facing its forestry sector and provides various recom-
mendations that can help to address these challenges. The authors highlight the
fact that for sustainable management and conservation of forest resources in
Ethiopia, a stable institutional set-up is required and that political recognition
of its socio-economic and ecological significances is warranted. They find that
in the absence thereof, small-scale farm household-based tree-planting practices
will continue to play a dominant role in the forest development direction of
Ethiopia.
Chapter 3 (Obua and Agea) presents the status, structure and distribution
of forests in Uganda, outlines the historical profile of forest resource manage-
ment and the institutional set-up for forest management, and highlights the
evolution and landmarks of forest policy in Uganda. The chapter further analy-
ses the contribution of forests to socio-economic development, the forest
revenue systems, the main causes of forest degradation, the importance of
invasive species and their impact on forest management, and finally the
attempts for restoration of degraded forests in Uganda. The chapter stresses
that the Ugandan government needs to link forest landscape restoration to
economic activities and has to involve the corporate bodies that cause a large
part of the current forest degradation and loss of tree cover in Uganda. Finally,
the authors solicit more research in forestry and related fields, notably on the
impacts of sectoral and macroeconomic policies and legislations on forest degra-
dation in Uganda, on socio-economic evaluation of successfully
rehabilitated/restored forest areas, on nursery and field trials of single and
mixed tree/shrub species for degraded land planting, on harmonization of
demands on land resources, notably agriculture, on forest production, especially
in conflict-prone areas, and on integrated and holistic approaches, including
industrial and other off-farm livelihood opportunities to reduce pressure on
forest resources. Sustainable agroforestry production systems urgently need to
be designed that are affordable to the resource-poor.
In Chapter 4 Chamshama and Vyamana give an account of Tanzania’s forest
resources and their importance, and then outline the legal status of forest in the
country, highlighting current provisions for forest management as relevant
context. They conclude with brief reports on two encouraging initiatives taken
to restore the forest resource role of degraded dryland, the biome where the
need for restoration has become most urgent. They stress that sustainable forest
management can only be realized if the forestry sector aims to optimize the
dual objective of improving forest condition and conserving the environment,
while at the same time improving livelihoods of the people. This is particularly
important for the poor, who largely depend on forest resources for their liveli-
hoods. Success stories of forest landscape restoration in Tanzania are strongly
associated with situations where communities were actively involved, and
where their interests, local knowledge and practices were taken into account.

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This notion nowadays is part of most current policies and legislation, providing
a good formal basis for restoration of degraded lands.
John Obiri and co-workers (Chapter 5) address the situation of miombo
woodland in Tanzania, focusing on regeneration problems (but see also Chapter
12 for other aspects). The miombo forests in Tanzania are suffering heavy
exploitation and degradation reflected in negative effects on species composi-
tion and ecosystem services. In much of the miombo of the Morogoro Region,
pioneer tree and shrub species are increasing in abundance at the expense of
the large canopy trees typical of the undisturbed community. The authors
compare areas under three different forest management responsibilities, and
associated levels of disturbance, and show that their species composition differs,
and that tree regeneration varies along a disturbance gradient from the forest
edge towards the forest core, with invasive species dominating the more
disturbed areas.
To reduce the current rate of disturbance, active interventions are required.
The authors argue that these are only likely to be successful if local stakehold-
ers are empowered with more secure tenure over forest resources as a
component of more sustainable livelihoods. Awareness needs to be improved,
and needs to be based on enhanced monitoring of forests. Highlighting which
components of their biodiversity have been declining as a result of current
exploitation and disturbance is of crucial importance. The authors suggest that
more forest needs to be under participatory forest management.
Church forests are the last remaining forests in many areas in northern
Ethiopia and are under threat of fragmentation and degradation. These forests
need more care and an improved management. Wassie and co-workers (Chapter
6) suggest that legal protection of church forest is badly needed, and that church
forest areas have to be gazetted after being clearly demarcated and marked in
the field. They promote training on silvicultural and forest management
techniques and species-based tree propagation, and argue that interventions on
church forests should be designed and applied in line with community tradi-
tions. Species-specific silvicultural interventions are needed to facilitate species
regeneration, for instance opening of trampled soil, opening of dense thickets of
shrubs and lianas, addition of seeds and seedlings from outside, liberation of
specific tree seedlings and saplings in dense shrub or liana vegetation, and
protection against grazing. The authors strongly believe that church forests
should be expanded in area, because their current small patch size might intro-
duce extinctions of tree species in the longer run. They conclude that the
ecological and social status of church forests provides a strong opportunity to
conserve natural forests and to restore degraded areas into more productive and
diverse natural forests.
Also dryland forests in the region are under pressure, and an important
example is the incense tree-dominated forest found in northern Ethiopia and
neighbouring Eritrea and Sudan, and also in southern and southeastern Ethiopia
and adjoining areas in Somalia and Kenya. In Chapter 7 Abiyu and collaborators
analyse the regeneration problems and restoration possibilities of such forests,
using Boswellia papyrifera-dominated forests as an example. They show regen-

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INTRODUCTION

eration levels in these forests are very low, and that this is the case almost all
over the growing niche of B. papyrifera. The low regeneration rate is particu-
larly worrying because of the failure to successfully grow and raise seedlings in
the nursery and get them established in the field. Long-term monitoring studies
and experiments are needed to pinpoint the effects of possible underlying
factors. The lack of regeneration can have several reasons. Regeneration under
natural conditions may be episodic, dependent, for example, on the availability
of good climatic conditions. Climatic variability may play a role in this respect.
However, human-controlled factors (for example grazing and fire) may also be
inhibiting Boswellia regeneration. Together these factors may jeopardize the
long-term provision of its important non-timber product, frankincense. The
international concerns for the future of the frankincense tree put forward by
different parties (for example TRAFFIC) are justified.
In large parts of eastern Africa the landscape is dominated by a mosaic of
forest, woodland and savanna (FWS) and such mosaics need special, landscape-
level management. As an example of such systems Nangendo and collaborators
(Chapter 8) analyse a forest–woodland–savanna mosaic in Uganda, with a focus
on vegetation cover and woody plant composition and changes therein over
time. Fire had a strong driving role in these changes, as their 46-year long-term
effect study (Nangendo et al, 2005) has shown. The chapter provides impor-
tant strategies that could guide the management of such FWS landscapes. For
biodiversity conservation, for instance, a part of each vegetation cover type
needs to be conserved, as these types complement each other in terms of
species composition. The chapter clearly indicates that fire is essential for
conserving FWS mosaics and that a well-balanced fire management system is
needed to control forest expansion while allowing the existence of varying fire
disturbance regimes. Long-term fire regimes, however, cause species composi-
tion to converge towards a dominance of species better adapted to the existing
fire regime.
Fragmentation and degradation of the forested landscape always lead to
reduced forest services, among which the provision of wood is a well-known
example. Enrichment planting and its extreme case, planting of complete
forests, be they mono-dominant or mixed species forests, is able to alleviate
part of this reduction. In east Africa still very few trees and hardly any indige-
nous trees are being raised (more are planted but do not survive), although the
possibilities and the advantages of such planting may be large. Lemenih and
Bongers (Chapter 9) synthesize the available information on plantation forestry
in, particularly, eastern Africa, with the aim of providing evidence for the poten-
tial of plantation forests in re-establishing a sufficiently rich diversity of flora
and fauna and in improving soil conditions. Additionally they show that planta-
tion establishment and management techniques and networks that promote
sufficient diversity need to be communicated to promote successes in practical
applications. Although the chapter focuses on experiences from east Africa, it
also covers a broad range of studies from elsewhere to capture the major
findings of recent biodiversity and soil property studies in plantation forests,
and thus provides a more comprehensive review. The chapter ends with a box

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of guidelines indicating how plantation forests may be employed in biodiversity

restoration. Among other aspects, they advocate that a simple start, with one to
three species only, may be the most rewarding and most easily socially accepted
system, whereafter complexity is introduced over time to achieve the desired
ecosystem. Such a desired ecosystem should systematically be discussed and
negotiated with stakeholders, especially people living in the area.
Agroforestry is a very important mixture of agriculture and forestry: in fact
it is the combined use of both agricultural crops and trees on the same area of
land. It involves a lot of tradeoffs, both ecological and social. Well-designed
agroforestry practices are seen as important contributors to long-term sustain-
ability of land use. Correct species selection is critical for successful
agroforestry, but may be hampered by lack of information and by changing
societal importance. Hall (Chapter 10) documents these aspects for Maesopsis
eminii, a major agroforestry species, and shows that conflicts in interest may be
guiding the discussion. He details the increase in research and importance of
this species in east Africa, and at the same time documents the increase of
critique, especially with respect to the invasiveness of the species. His account
is an example of the kind of information that we need on a large number of
potentially important agroforestry species, and he pleas for decisions to be made
based on hard scientific data. He finds the conservation impact of Maesopsis as
an aggressive invasive not becoming catastrophic. He concludes that Maesopsis
is not a great agroforestry asset from a biodiversity perspective, but that the
species definitely has potential, especially for timber production in agroforestry
systems.
This timber aspect is further developed in Chapter 11, where Buchholz and
co-workers focus on the importance of single-tree management models and use
Maesopsis as an example as well. In their chapter the timber aspects of this
species are highlighted and they show that single-tree management concepts,
compared to stand- or basal area-focused systems, are better suited considering
different production targets and local site conditions. Single-tree models can be
used to predict timber production and standing crop under a large variety of
conditions. Maesopsis indeed is one of the few indigenous tree species in eastern
Africa that has substantial potential to produce high-quality timber in short
rotation periods.
Silvicultural management is also the topic of Amente and collaborators
(Chapter 12), but they address much broader issues and want management to
be directed towards multiple uses, instead of focusing on timber only. They
report on an integrative project in the Bale Mountains in southern Ethiopia,
where they promote multiple-use forestry in close collaboration with local
communities. This community-based approach has had a major impact on forest
policy over the last years in that part of Ethiopia and is currently seen as one of
the major developments in the country. Of course, participatory forest manage-
ment needs much time, and dedication, especially in a country with a short
history in this field. The authors suggest that forestry should be more focused
on future productivity in terms of products and services. Silvicultural interven-
tions are crucial for that future and should continuously be monitored to be

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INTRODUCTION

able to adjust management interventions when needed. Active and long-term

participation and collaboration between forest organizations and local people is
a must.
Such a future-directed attitude is also clear in Chapter 13, where Sterck
and colleagues focus on the future development of Juniperus, African pencil-
wood, a major Afromontane multipurpose tree species. This species is of very
high importance as, among other uses, construction timber. Regeneration is
scarce, however, and the lack of systematic establishment of plantations of this
species, for various reasons, results in continued cutting of the species from the
last remaining natural forests, from secondary forests and from church forests.
These forests, however, remain important resources where restoration
programmes can be started. Harvesting of Juniperus, especially illegal cutting,
needs to be controlled. Silvicultural interventions are badly needed (for
example thinning) and, particularly, grazing in the last Juniperus forests urgently
needs to be reduced.
The last three chapters focus on social aspects of forest management, proba-
bly the most critical of all. Examples from three different systems are
developed. In Chapter 14 Obiri and co-workers analyse the attitudes of local
forest stakeholders towards degradation, plant species invasion, regulation of
tree harvesting and alternative structures for management responsibility in the
dry forests of east-central Tanzania. Maybe against expectations, invasive weedy
plant species, whose increase in abundance is associated with forest degrada-
tion, are of major concern to local communities. Invasive species therefore merit
greater attention in ecologically informed forest management plans. Of course
such plants can be weeded out of the system, but that is expensive. It is better
to adjust management in such a way that forests are less degraded and thus are
less easy to invade for such weedy species. Intriguing is the fact that women see
forest management different than men do, most probably as a result of their
greater dependency on forest products for their livelihoods. Together with
Vyamana (2009), the results of this chapter criticize the widely held idea that
participatory forest management reduces poverty and social exclusion, and the
authors plea for better and more systematic research integrated into participa-
tory forest management project activities.
In Chapter 15 Wiersum describes the multifaceted nature of the biocul-
tural process of domestication of coffee forests in southwest Ethiopia and
assesses the tradeoffs between ecological degradation and resource enrichment
by analysing the major dimensions of the domestication process. He stresses
that the process of forest domestication in most cases results in a forested
landscape mosaic including a combination of both natural, modified and trans-
formed forests as well as cultivated fields. Such diversified forest landscape
offers good options for the incorporation of forests in local livelihoods. He uses
the forest coffee systems to show that different interpretations of forest domes-
tication have their consequences for forest restoration. For effective forest
restoration not only ecological practices for ecosystem rehabilitation should be
considered, but also innovative practices for acculturalization of the new forest
systems. Both provisioning, supporting, regulatory and cultural services that the

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restored forests should have for local livelihoods and the question of how local
people can actually benefit from those services as a result of locally adjusted
regulatory and marketing conditions need to be addressed. Rather than focusing
on the restoration of forests in the form of specific ecosystems, restoration
efforts should focus on creating forested landscape mosaics, as these offer good
options for combining ecological conservation with human development.
Finally, in Chapter 16 Schmitt describes a recent development of commu-
nal management of degraded Afromontane forests. Groups of families are
responsible for a given area of forest, where each family is endowed with suffi-
cient fuel and construction wood and may use cash income from forest
products, similarly to what an average farmer can achieve through agriculture.
In reality, however, the forest-dwellers combine forest production with subsis-
tence agriculture and livestock production and have to prevent over-utilization
by outsiders to maintain their exclusive forest user rights. In principle, a small
amount of stand increment is available for utilization and timber production is
profitable. Yet limited silvicultural knowledge and management capacity
prevent forest-dwellers from using the full production potential. Especially in
times of resource shortages, ‘scientific’ forest management knowledge is needed
to produce sustainable outcomes, in other words balancing increment and
utilization. Schmitt is positive about conditions for sustainable forest manage-
ment by the community members but stresses that technical advice on
silvicultural management issues and access to credits to implement improved
timber-processing techniques are crucial. She further recommends improving
the productivity of the forest and the utilization techniques to increase the
timber recovery rates and supporting vertically integrated local timber manufac-
turing to increase profitability of forest production for forest-dwellers. Finally,
she challenges the reader in asking whether the unequal distribution of forest
resources between ‘forest owners’ and ‘outsiders’ and within user groups
reflecting age, gender and ability can be accepted as a reasonable tradeoff
between social and ecological needs. Can we indeed maintain the forest at
limited cost?
This book presents examples of forest management and restoration possi-
bilities in a few countries in east Africa, and definitely does not pretend to be
comprehensive. Of course, many initiatives have been started and many more
results wait to be described and analysed. We hope that the information
provided in this book helps the reader to understand the challenges that are
faced when the degraded forests in east Africa are managed. We also hope that
it is clear that restoration of these degraded forests is badly needed, both for
the sake of the forest and the forest landscapes and for the sake of the people
living in these landscapes.

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INTRODUCTION

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Forest Resources and Challenges

of Sustainable Forest
Management and Conservation
in Ethiopia

Demel Teketay, Mulugeta Lemenih, Tesfaye Bekele,

Yonas Yemshaw, Sisay Feleke, Wubalem Tadesse,
Yitebetu Moges, Tesfaye Hunde and Demeke Nigussie

INTRODUCTION
Ethiopia occupies the interior of the Horn of Africa, stretching between 3° and
15°N and 33° and 48°E (Figure 2.1). It covers a total area of 1.13 million km2
(CSA, 2000) that spans over a wide range of altitude, from 110m below sea
level to over 4600m above sea level (asl). The wide altitudinal coverage enhances
the diversity of climate, topography, soil, and thus vegetation resources. Ethiopia
is the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, with 74 million
people, and 84 per cent of these live in rural areas (CSA, 2008), depending
mainly on mixed crop/animal and forest/tree production for livelihoods.
The Ethiopian landscape contains a range of vegetation resources, from
tropical rain and cloud forests in the southwest to the desert scrubs in the east
and northeast and parkland agroforestry on the central plateau. The large terres-
trial land surface with biologically productive climate and soil offers the country
a huge potential for developing forest resources. Most of the existing vegetation
resources in the country are natural, while limited plantation forests also exist.

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In recent decades, private tree planting by smallholder farmers, a practice called

farm forestry or forest farming, is increasingly covering the rural highlands.
The structure and composition of the natural vegetation are diverse, reflect-
ing their distribution over wide physiognomic and climatic landscapes. Ethiopia
is one of the top 25 biodiversity-rich countries in the world (WCMC, 1994),
and hosts at least two of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, namely the Eastern
Afromontane and the Horn of Africa hotspots. The vegetation comprises over
7000 species, of which 1150 are recognized as endemic to the country.
Endemism is particularly high in the high mountains (Afroalpine region) and
the southeastern lowlands. The vegetation resources also harbour diverse fauna.
There are 240 species of mammals and 845 species of birds, of which 22 species
of mammals and 24 species of birds are endemic (Anonymous, 1997a).
The vegetation resources contribute to the production, protection and
conservation functions in the country. They supply most of the wood products
(industrial and non-industrial) consumed within the country and provide diverse
non-timber forest products (NTFPs), important among these being wild coffee,
gum resins, honey and beeswax, herbal medicines and bamboo. They also
provide varied ecosystem services, some of which are global environmental
goods. These services include watershed protection, biodiversity conservation
and carbon sequestration. The vegetation ecosystems in the Ethiopian plateau
and mountains are the sources of a number of great rivers, including the Nile,
Omo and Wabi Shebelle. Some of these rivers are the only sources of perma-
nent water for the surrounding arid and semi-arid environments in and outside
Ethiopia. The high floristic endowment and ecological diversity of Ethiopia’s
vegetation provides a vital genetic reservoir for at least 197 species of crops,
including grains, pulses, oil seeds, vegetables, tubers, fruits, spices, stimulants,
fibres, dyes and medicinal plants. For instance, Ethiopia (and some neighbour-
ing districts in Sudan) is the world’s only reservoir of the wild gene pools of
coffee (Coffea arabica),1 ‘teff ’, ‘enset’, sesame and ‘noug’ (Guizotia
abyssinica). This is the reason for the recognition of Ethiopia as a centre of
agro-biodiversity, designated as one of eight Vavilov Centers in the world.
The role of the forestry sector in the national and local economies in
Ethiopia is significant. However, aggregate data on economic values and produc-
tions of forest products and services are fragmentary and inadequate. A recent
assessment put the contribution of the forestry sector to gross domestic product
(GDP) at 9.0 per cent, which is quite high compared to the 5.7 per cent
estimate provided in the national accounting system (Nune et al, 2009).
Perhaps the most important service that vegetation ecosystems in Ethiopia
have been offering is the provision of fertile croplands upon conversion. The
Ethiopian economy still largely depends on subsistence agriculture. The tradi-
tional agricultural system is based on extensification (horizontal expansion)
rather than intensification, and vegetated areas have been providing productive
croplands for millennia (Lemenih et al, 2008; Lemenih and Bongers, in press).
When unconverted to croplands, forest and vegetated lands serve as natural
rangelands for one of the largest livestock population in sub-Saharan Africa
(FAO, 2004). The middle elevation ranges (1500–2500m) of the vegetation

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S U S TA I N A B L E F O R E S T M A N A G E M E N T A N D C O N S E R VAT I O N I N E T H I O P I A

Figure 2.1 Map of Ethiopia showing major forest areas

Source: Adapted from Reusing (1998)

ecosystems in Ethiopia are densely inhabited by sedentary subsistent agrarian

populations, and the vegetation ecosystems here have been predominantly
serving the provision of agricultural lands. The lowlands (<1500m asl) vegeta-
tion ecosystems are occupied by nomadic and agro-pastoralists that make up
15–20 per cent of the Ethiopian population. Here the vegetation ecosystems
are extensively utilized as natural rangelands.
Second to agricultural services, the main use of the forests of Ethiopia is as
a source of fuelwood (firewood and charcoal). Biomass is the major source of
energy, accounting for 97 per cent of the total domestic energy consumption,
out of which woody biomass covers 78 per cent (WBISPP, 2004). The volume
of fuelwood demand at national level is nearly 20 times greater than the demand
for other forest products combined. In the 1990s, the demand was 80 million
m3/yr and a recent estimate puts the demand at 109 million m3/yr (FAO,
2005).

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Ethiopia’s forests have been subject to intense human use for millennia, and
this pressure has intensified since the last century. The loss and degradation of
forests has now reached near crisis proportions. A number of measures, though
unsatisfactory, have been taken to conserve, manage and develop the vegetation
resources of the country. In recent decades, more institutional reforms have
also taken place that directly or indirectly affect the forestry sector. These
reforms include decentralization of political administration and the devolution
of forest and natural resources management responsibilities, the enacting of a
new forestry policy, and a number of other policy documents related to rural
lands, investment and environmental protection.
This chapter reviews available information on the types, cover losses, products
and production, industries and enterprise, management and conservation efforts,
socio-economic roles, policy, and legislation related to forest resources in Ethiopia
as well as the challenges facing its forestry sector. We conclude with various
recommendations that can help to address these challenges.

FORESTS AND OTHER VEGETATION RESOURCES

Types of vegetation resources
Ethiopia’s vegetation resources comprise both natural and man-made compo-
nents distributed in the highlands and lowlands. The natural vegetations are of
different types, ranging from desert scrubs to tropical rainforests and cloud
forests. Several attempts have been made to classify the vegetations of Ethiopia
in general and that of its forest vegetations in particular. The classifications by
different authors have followed different systems, with some employing climate
and physiognomy as their basis, while others combined climate, physiognomy
and species composition (Senbeta, 2006). The vegetation classification by
Demissew (1996), for instance, grouped the vegetation resources of the country
into nine broad categories, namely:

1 Afroalpine and Sub-Afroalpine vegetation;

2 Dry evergreen montane forest;
3 Moist evergreen montane forest;
4 Wetlands;
5 Evergreen scrub;
6 Combretum-Terminalia woodland;
7 Acacia-Commiphora woodland;
8 Lowland dry forest; and
9 Lowland semi-desert and desert scrubs.

Forests have been classified by a number of authors. Prominent among these

are Logan (1946), Chaffey (1979), Friis (1986 and 1992), Friis and Tadesse
(1990) and Tadesse (1993). Here we present the forest vegetation classification
provided by Friis and Tadesse (1990) and Tadesse (1993) (Table 2.1).

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Table 2.1 Forest types in Ethiopia with their altitudinal ranges, annual rainfall, rainfall periods,
average temperatures and major species
8/7/10

Forest type Category Altitudinal Annual rainfall Rainfall period Average temp- Major species
range (m) (mm) erature (°C)
Upland dry evergreen 1600–2400; 400–700 October–March; 15–20 Barbeya oleoides, Cadia purpurea,
13:03

forest of Eastern 1500–2000 April–May and Croton macrostachyus, Ilex mitis,

Escarpment (in Sidamo) September–October Mimusops lauriolia, Olea europaea subsp.
(in Sidamo) cuspidata, Pistacia aethiopica, Rhus
retinorrhoea, Tarchonanhus camphoratus,
Page 23

Pittosporum viridiflorum and Schrebera alata

Upland dry evergreen 1600–3300 500–1500 March–April; 12–18
forest of the Ethiopian July–September
Plateau
Plateau in Tigray Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, Juniperus
procera, Albizia schimperiana, Ficus vasta,
F. sycomorus, Cordia, africana,
Dombeya torrida, Mimusops kummel and
Syzygium guineense
Plateau in Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata and
Gonder Juniperus procera
Plateau in Welo Ekebergia capensis, Myrica salicifolia, Prunus
africana, Podocarpus falcatus, Juniperus
procera, Olea europaea subsp.
cuspidata, Discopodium penninervum,
Maesa lanceolata, Myrica salicifolia,
Rhus glutinosa, Croton macrostachyus,
Ficus sur, Trema orientalis and
Acacia abyssinica
Plateau in Juniperus procera, Podocarpus falcatus,
Shewa Hagenia abyssinica, Prunus africana,
Erica arborea, Arundinaria alpine and
Euclea racemosa subsp. Schimperi
 Table 2.1 continued
ES_DFEA_22-6

Forest type Category Altitudinal Annual rainfall Rainfall period Average temp- Major species
range (m) (mm) erature (°C)
Plateau in Juniperus procera, Podocarpus falcatus,
8/7/10

Gojjam Albizia schimperiana, Celtis africana,

Cordia africana, Ficus vasta, Juniperus
procera, Millettia ferruginea and
13:03

Mimusops kummel
Mixed upland 1500–2700 700–1100 July–September 14–20 Juniperus procera, Olea europaea subsp.
evergreen forests of cuspidata and Podocarpus falcatus
Sidamo, Bale and
Harerge
Page 24

Humid upland forest 1500–2600 700–2000 April–May; 15–20 Podocarpus falcatus (replaced in Kefa and
of Southwest Ethiopia July–September Ilubabor by Pouteria adolfi-friederici),
Hagenia abyssinica, Schefflera volkensii,
Hypericum revolutum, Croton
macrostachyus, Ilex mitis, Olea europaea
subsp. cuspidata, Schefflera abyssinica,
Albizia gummifera, A. schimperiana,
A. grandibracteata, Blighia unijugata,
Cassipourea malosana, Ekebergia capensis,
Euphorbia ampliphylla, Ficus sur, F. vasta,
F. thonningii, Hallea rubrostipulata, Ilex mitis,
Macaranga capensis, Ocotea kenyensis,
Olea welwitschii, Polyscias fulva,
Prunus africana, Sapium ellipticum and
Syzygium guineense subsp. Afromonatanum
as well as Filicium dicipiens and Alangium
chinense (known only in Harenna forest in
Ethiopia)
 ES_DFEA_22-6

Transitional and 450–1500 NA

lowland (semi)-
evergreen forest of
8/7/10

Southwest Ethiopia
Transitional 2000 (at Yeki) NA 20–25 Pouteria altissima, Anthocleista
forests schweinfurthii, Campylospermum
bukobense, Celtis philippensis, C. zenkeri,
13:03

Croton macrostachyus, Elaeodendron

buchananii, Eugenia bukobensis, Ficus
exasperata, Garcinia huillensis, Manlikara
butugi, Morus mesozygia, Strychnos mitis,
Page 25

Trichilia dregeana and Trilepisium madagas

carensis
Lowland forests 1300–1800 NA 18–20 Alstonia boonei, Antiaris toxicaria, Celtis
gomphophylla, and Melicia excelsa
(emergents); Baphia abyssinica, Celtis toka,
Diospyros abyssinica, Lecaniodiscus fraxini
folius, Malacantha annifolia, Trichilia
prieuriana, and Zahna golugensis
Riverine forest NA NA NA NA Ficus sycomorus, Lepisanthes senegalensis,
Mimusops kummel, Phoenix reclinata,
Tamarindus indica and Trichilia emetic
(Awash River in Shewa)

Source: Modified from Friis and Tadesse (1990)