Forest and community analysis

The foundation for other activities

The project component “Forest and Community Analysis” was conducted as one of the first activities of the overall project. During a timeframe of six months, the task was aimed at selecting appropriate sites for the different project components namely:

• Reforestation of 500 hectares of degraded or fragmented forests
• Establishment of 1,500 hectares community plantations to create alternative wood supply for rural communities
• Introduction of Agroforestry systems on 200 hectares of pilot sites.

Due to the different intentions of these project components a set of criteria was developed. While the selection of 500 hectares for reforestation depends on forest fragmentation and the zoning of Kafa Biosphere Reserve; the establishment of 1,500 hectare community plantations was a participatory process to bridge the gap between wood demand and supply. The introduction of agroforestry systems to Kafa BR is meant to serve as a ‘model of good practice’ to evoke imitation by local people as a way to combat farm land degradation.

Calibrated GIS models helped to perform a rapid assessment of the study area to select potential sites for the implementation of the above mentioned other project components (reforestation, community plantation and agroforestry). Different strategies combining satellite image interpretation, geoprosessing and discussions with forest stakeholders were developed to understand the situation on the ground. The participation of rural communities is considered to be crucial for a sustainable project implementation. Therefore Participatory Rural Appraisal was implemented to integrate the know-how and motivation of the people whose future is strongly related to the forest.

Community analysis map

Project Overview

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