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Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot
Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot
Wof Washa Forest,
Ethiopia
Community-led restoration of a biodiversity hotspot
0 ha

planted, conserved and restored

0

trees conserved and restored

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households engaged in alternative livelihoods activities

The natural resources of the 7000 hectare Wof Washa Forest (known as “Cave of Birds”) in Amhara support the lives of over 60 000 people.

With weak policy enforcement, lack of resources and an absence of land management, nearly 2000 hectares of the natural forest has been lost over the last 20 years.

The project’s goal is to conserve and restore the natural forest through community-led forest and landscape restoration, creating new income and resilience strategies.

Why and how we’re working here

The districts surrounding Wof Washa forest are some of the most intensively cultivated areas, with a long history of high population settlement coupled with deforestation and cattle grazing that have led to intense land use change and biodiversity loss.
The project will engage communities in the 15 villages of the forest to create a grassroots-level engagement programme and governance approach to protect and restore the forest and create new income and resilience strategies.

Location

Wof Washa forest, Amhara, Ethiopia

Restoration approaches

Enrichment planting, direct seeding, agroforestry

restoration partners

WeForest Ethiopia SUNARMA, an Ethiopian-led NGO

Notable species

Prunus africana, Thymus schimperi online casino

Participants

Communities in 15 villages

The project’s impact on people and nature

Around 69 280 people – 17 000 families – in 15 villages are dependent on the Wof Washa forest and its resources for their livelihoods. It is the source of fuel wood, construction material, farm implements, edible fruits, medicine, water, and game for hunting. Another source of income is smuggling of lumber for illegal sale, and farmers also collect honey from the forest.
The forest is home to species which are unique and endemic to Ethiopia and east Africa, including the gelada baboon (Theropithecus gelada).
Subsistence agriculture and livestock production are the major livelihoods in the three districts.
The average income in Wof Washa forest area is just $56.35 per capita p.a., substantially below the international definition of extreme poverty. Many of the villages rely on food aid.
More than 90% of the community is dependent on biomass energy; unsustainable harvesting from the forest and surrounding woodlands is causing degradation.
Wof Washa is home to several commercialized timber species. Selective logging of these rare tree species is leading to species loss and ecosystem balance disturbance.
Native trees being replaced with faster-growing exotic trees – such as eucalyptus – is one of the challenges in the area.

Explore the interactive map

Who’s funding the Wof Washa Forest project?
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Updates from the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot program

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