Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Restoration Using the Clean Development Mechanism: A Case Study from Humbo,Ethiopia |
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Authors: | Douglas R Brown Paul Dettmann Tony Rinaudo Hailu Tefera Assefa Tofu |
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Institution: | (1) Department of International Studies, Glendon College, York University, 2275 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M6, Canada;(2) World Vision Australia, 1 Vision Drive, East Burwood, VIC, 3151, Australia;(3) World Vision Ethiopia, Amce Bole Road, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia |
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Abstract: | Poverty, hunger and demand for agricultural land have driven local communities to overexploit forest resources throughout
Ethiopia. Forests surrounding the township of Humbo were largely destroyed by the late 1960s. In 2004, World Vision Australia
and World Vision Ethiopia identified forestry-based carbon sequestration as a potential means to stimulate community development
while engaging in environmental restoration. After two years of consultation, planning and negotiations, the Humbo Community-based
Natural Regeneration Project began implementation—the Ethiopian organization’s first carbon sequestration initiative. The
Humbo Project assists communities affected by environmental degradation including loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and flooding
with an opportunity to benefit from carbon markets while reducing poverty and restoring the local agroecosystem. Involving
the regeneration of 2,728 ha of degraded native forests, it brings social, economic and ecological benefits—facilitating adaptation
to a changing climate and generating temporary certified emissions reductions (tCERs) under the Clean Development Mechanism.
A key feature of the project has been facilitating communities to embrace new techniques and take responsibility for large-scale
environmental change, most importantly involving Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). This technique is low-cost, replicable,
and provides direct benefits within a short time. Communities were able to harvest fodder and firewood within a year of project
initiation and wild fruits and other non-timber forest products within three years. Farmers are using agroforestry for both
environmental restoration and income generation. Establishment of user rights and local cooperatives has generated community
ownership and enthusiasm for this project—empowering the community to more sustainably manage their communal lands. |
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