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Ethiopia Forestry
In the late nineteenth century, about 30 percent of the
country was covered with forest. The clearing of land for
agricultural use and the cutting of trees for fuel gradually
changed the scene, and today forest areas have dwindled to
less than 4 percent of Ethiopia's total land. The northern
parts of the highlands are almost devoid of trees. However,
about 4.5 million hectares of dense forest exist in the
southern and southwestern sections of the highlands. Some of
these include coniferous forests, found at elevations above
l,600 meters, but a majority of the forestland consists
primarily of woodlands found in drier areas of the highlands
and in the drier areas bordering the highlands.
Lumber from the coniferous forests is important to the
construction industry. The broadleaf evergreen forests
furnish timber that is used in construction and in the
production of plywood. The woodlands are a major source of
firewood and charcoal. Certain trees--boswellia and species
of commiphora--are of special economic significance. Both
grow in the arid lowlands and produce gums that are the
bases for frankincense and myrrh. A species of acacia found
in several parts of the country is a source of gum arabic
used in the manufacture of adhesives, pharmaceutical
products, and confectionery. The eucalyptus, an exotic tree
introduced in the late nineteenth century and grown mainly
near urban areas, is a valuable source of telephone and
telegraph poles, tool handles, furniture, and firewood. It
is also a major source of the material from which fiberboard
and particleboard are made.
Data on forestry's contribution to the economy are not
readily available, largely because most GDP tables aggregate
data on forestry, fishing, and hunting. In l980/81 forestry
accounted for 2.5 percent of GDP at constant l960/61 factor
cost and 5.4 percent of the share attributable to the
agricultural sector.
Before 1974 about half of the forestland was privately
owned or claimed, and roughly half was held by the
government. There was little government control of forestry
operations prior to the revolution. The l975 land reform
nationalized forestland and sawmills, which existed mostly
in the south. The government controlled harvesting of
forestland, and in some cases individuals had to secure
permits from local peasant associations to cut trees. But
this measure encouraged illegal logging and accelerated the
destruction of Ethiopia's remaining forests. To ensure that
conservation activity conformed with government policy and
directives on land use, reforestation programs were
organized through the Ministry of Agriculture or district
offices that planed, coordinated, and monitored all work.
The local peasant associations lacked decision-making
authority.
Reforestation programs resulted in the planting of millions
of seedlings in community forests throughout Ethiopia. A
variety of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), which had
to organize their activities through the local peasant
association, supplemented government efforts to rehabilitate
Ethiopia's forests. However, critics maintain that both
systems caused communal resources to be developed at the
expense of private needs. As a result, reforestation
programs did not perform well. Seedling survival rates
varied from as low as 5 to 20 percent in some areas to 40
percent in others, largely because of inadequate care and
premature cutting by peasants. In late 1990, Addis Ababa was
in the process of launching the Ethiopian Forestry Action
Plan (EFAP) to improve forestry conservation, increase
public participation in reforestation projects, and prevent
further depletion of existing forest resources. It remained
to be seen whether this plan would improve the state of
Ethiopia's forests.
Data as of 1991
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