Revitalizing Ethiopia's Forests

Nesredin Abdurrahman is an 18-year-old Ethiopian student who works half days as a sentinel on a reforestation site in Bufata Tiyara, Gore woreda, Oromia. He and his friend take turns watching the site to ensure that no human interference or animal grazing endangers the plants that the community are growing on their land. Thanks to technical and logistical support from the Oromia Forested Landscape Program (OFLP), more than 17,000 tree seedlings have been planted to date in two sites divided by an old airport field on the outskirts of the Gore woreda. Gore is one of 49 “deforestation hotspot” woredas in Oromia Regional State, where the BioCF Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscape (ISFL) program is working to combat deforestation.

The program, which started in May 2017, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve sustainable forest management in the region. The program draws on an $18 million grant to finance on-the-ground investments and is allotting Emission Reductions Payments at a rate of $5 / ton for verified emissions reductions up to 10 million tons ($50 million) through 2029. OFLP aims to bring a total of 120,000 hectares of forest area under formal forest management and reforest 9,000 hectares by 2022. After two years of implementation, investments on the ground have yielded promising results in terms of reforestation area and Participatory Forest Management (PFM): about 9.8 million seedlings have been planted over nearly 3,400 hectares in the last two rainy seasons and about 22,770 hectares of forest area have been brought under the umbrella of forest management.

The afforestation/reforestation (A/R) activities carried out under OFLP in the Gore woreda are particularly critical because the area is situated in one of the last two relatively intact high montane forests remaining in the country— the impacts of deforestation here are likely to stretch far beyond the borders of the woreda. Absent strong action in this region, Ethiopia’s aspiration to build a green climate-resilient economy by 2030 and fulfill its Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement (as well as other global climate commitments) could be put at risk. The Gore woreda is located in Southwest Ethiopia, home to arabica coffee as well as headwaters for the second major tributary of the Nile. It influences rainfall distribution across many areas of the country and is of vital importance to the overall ecosystem.

The forests of Illu Abba Bora in particular trap considerable reserves of carbon and are a critical source of atmospheric moisture for climate stabilization in the drought-prone Northern Highlands. Furthermore, these forests are instrumental in supporting everyday livelihoods and allowing communities to achieve climate resilience. Marginalized groups and women in particular rely heavily on natural forests for their livelihoods. In the most densely forested regions, between one third and one half of annual household income stems from forest resources.

The Bufata Tiyara A/R sites are fenced to avoid animal and human interference, and the local community has established bylaws that clearly outline the fees to be paid by the owners of trespassing animals. In addition to the guards, members of the community regularly look after the seedlings until the plants are fully grown. At one of the sites, women community members have proven particularly precise in planting the seedlings and effective at taking care of them. According to Mr. Desalegn, chairperson of the community group of Bufata Tiyara-2, their commitment is exemplary: he has said they are as dedicated to nurturing the seedlings as they are to providing for their own children. For this reason, the seedlings in this site are developing fast and looking very healthy. Thanks to the A/R efforts in the region, the remains of the old trees are regenerating themselves, promising a revitalization of the natural forest and a return of all the various indigenous trees that once defined the landscape.

OFLP is supporting similar A/R activities in other hotspot woredas in Oromia, contributing to Ethiopia's ambitious national “green legacy” initiative. By the end of the rainy season this year, the government of Ethiopia had planted over 3.5 billion trees, an effort which required every citizen to sow 40 seedlings. As part of this initiative, officially launched by the Ethiopian Prime Minister on May 26, 2019, 350 million trees were successfully planted on July 29 alone. The initiative aims to increase substantially Ethiopia’s forest coverage, which according to the UN declined from 30 percent to 15.5 percent between the late 19th century and early 21st.

A leader on climate action, forests, and sustainable land management, Ethiopia set a precedent with this program. The benefits of OFLP go beyond emission reductions to include poverty reduction and resilient livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, promotion of household energy options (affecting mostly women) and water provisioning services important for the current and future energy profile of Ethiopia. This innovative approach has been already used as a model for similar programs in Colombia, Zambia, Mozambique and the DRC and has the potential to help build green legacies in countries around the world as we collectively move towards a sustainable future.

Photos by Binyam Teshome on behalf of the BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes.

Indigenous and Rural Women Are Agents for Change

Highlights:

Indigenous and rural women make up more than half of the up to 2.5 billion people who use and rely on the world's collectively held lands.
Indigenous and rural women are advocates, leaders, and experts on issues like food security and climate change. Recognizing their rights is not only a matter of justice but also critical to achieving global climate and development goals.
Yet for too long, global development agendas have overlooked their specific needs and contributions, or chose to view them only as victims.
In a new video, advocates from around the world speak out on why land rights hold particular significance for indigenous and rural women.

“The earth is what gives life. It is that which gives food; It is the dispensation of traditional medicines. And for people who depend on forests in their territory, it is very important because without it there is no health, there is no education, there is no collective life for Indigenous Peoples, and above all for women.”

— Fany Kuiru, indigenous Uitoto leader (pictured above)

As the global development community calls for greater collaboration to address shared goals, it is becoming increasingly well known that land rights matter for sustainable development. Secure tenure rights fight extreme poverty and hunger, combat climate change, and promote gender equality. For women in particular, the recognition of their land and resource rights often underpins personal agency and empowerment. These rights to productive assets increase women’s economic security and decision-making power—and help them shield themselves and their families from injustices such as poverty and domestic violence.

Less well recognized are the specific needs and contributions of the world’s indigenous and rural women, who make up more than half of the up to 2.5 billion people who use and rely on collectively held lands.

In this context—where lands are held and managed by communities rather than by individuals—indigenous and rural women are largely responsible for food production and developing sustainable rural economies. They have unique knowledge of natural resources and are on the front lines of preventing deforestation, revitalizing food systems, and stewarding the ecosystems that they and the rest of the planet rely on. And their leadership is only growing as a result of demographic shifts.

Despite these important contributions as household and forest managers, women are too often left out of decision-making processes that affect them, and remain constrained by unjust laws and practices. According to a 2017 study of over 400 laws from countries across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, none of the 30 countries analyzed adequately respect indigenous and rural women’s rights to community forests. The analysis also demonstrates a particularly pressing need for legal reforms regarding women’s inheritance and governance rights.

But this is changing. As women speak up to share their experiences and knowledge, they are calling for a new narrative—one that views them not as victims, but as leaders and agents of change. And as more women share their stories, they are provoking crucial conversations about power and effecting concrete change on the ground.

“ I can really state, openly and loudly, that where women have security to land, there is positive impact. They have more access to decision-making mechanisms within the community because of the economic power they have gained through ownership of the land.”

— Cécile Ndjebet, President of REFACOF (pictured above)

Together, they are developing a new strategy for collaborative action across five key areas identified at the convening:

“Normally your parents should care for you and give you your own piece of inheritance, but because you are a girl, they don't consider that you will be developing the family,” explains Cécile Ndjebet, President of the African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF).

“These are the practices we need to work on, and try to work on with the traditional chiefs. Because today you cannot say that it is only the girl or the boy who has economic importance in the family—and I can really state, openly and loudly, that where women have security to land, there is positive impact. They have more access to decision-making mechanisms within the community because of the economic power they have gained through ownership of the land.”

Ndjebet is one of 21 women and men from 14 countries who came together in May in Washington, DC to discuss this critical issue, share lessons learned, and chart a path forward for increased collaboration to scale up recognition of women’s land and resource rights.

Women’s leadership and participation in decision-making and forest governance
Prevention of criminalization of land defenders
Indigenous and rural women’s economic empowerment in the context of community-held lands and forests
The creation of a global narrative on the importance of women’s community land rights and leadership
(Continue) supporting indigenous and rural women's participation in national reform processes and policy formulations

Aminatu Gambo, a young leader from the International Indigenous Women’s Forum, noted that, “It is very important for women to take part in decision-making processes, not people taking decision on their behalf.”

Learn more about why land matters from participants in this emerging partnership to deliver for indigenous and rural women and girls—in their own words:

[video:https://vimeo.com/299267523]

Nature in the Urban Century: Cities Can Offer Solutions for Biodiversity Loss – If We Act Now

This century will be remembered as the urban century. Our generation will witness the most significant urban growth in human history. By 2050, there will be 2.4 billion more people in cities, the result of a rate of urban growth equivalent to building a city the population of New York City every six weeks. Humanity will have urbanized an area of 1.2 million square kilometers, larger than the nation of Colombia.

Cities have been called humanity’s greatest invention, and urban living can bring many benefits. Relative to more rural areas, cities boast increased economic productivity and innovation, greater opportunities for education and individual enhancement, and more efficient use of resources. But the rapid growth of cities presents a challenge to the global environment, both directly, through the expansion of their footprint, and indirectly, through urban energy and resource use. How can we make space for the natural world in an urban world?

Bukhansan National Park and Seoul, South Korea

Bukhansan National Park rises up behind the cityscape of Seoul, South Korea. Photo Credits: iStock

Dozens of the world’s scientists have united to answer that question in a new effort we call the Nature in the Urban Century Assessment, which finds that urbanization trends could result in significant biodiversity loss if global leaders fail to take timely action to invest in more sustainable cities.

The goal of the Nature in the Urban Century Assessment is to present winning strategies for conserving nature in the face of urban growth around the world, for the benefit of both biodiversity and human well-being. Our report projects that urban growth could threaten 290,000 square kilometers of natural habitat between 2000 and 2030. Habitat loss will be most extensive in temperate and tropical forests, including areas famous for their rich biodiversity. Targeted action in these places facing outsized impact—which include parts of the United States, Brazil, Nigeria and China—could make a real difference in preventing biodiversity loss.

A large proportion of some other biomes, including Mediterranean-type habitats and mangroves, will also be affected. We show that biodiversity loss will be spatially concentrated, with urban growth in a few specific places having an outsized impact on biodiversity globally. Conservation action on just 49,000 square kilometers could help protect Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) at risk from urban growth.

Urban growth could also affect parks and other protected natural areas. By 2030, we project that 40 percent of strictly protected areas (where resource harvesting is forbidden) and one in two loosely protected areas will be within 50 km of an urban area. This increased proximity will raise the likelihood of adverse impacts and will augment management costs to boot.

Furthermore, accelerating urban growth—if poorly managed—could undermine the effectiveness of the world’s response to climate change. How cities grow will affect the amount of energy they expend on transportation and heating—statistics with big implications for greenhouse gas emissions. And habitat loss to urban growth could result in the large-scale release of latent carbon currently stored in biomass. Urban growth, if allowed to proceed unchecked, would destroy natural habitat containing 4.35 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of the cumulative CO2 emissions from 931 million cars on the road in a given year.

Maasai Giraffes in Nairobi National Park, on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. Photo Credits:Boniface Muthoni/TNC Photo Contest 2017

Cities will also be impacted by climate change, from hotter summer temperatures to more extreme rain events to sea level rise. In this report, we indicate where coastal natural habitats play a significant role in reducing coastal hazards during storms. In critical coastal zones, we find that, by 2030, urban areas could more than double in size.

Many of the dire scenarios forecast under our business-as-usual model need not come to pass. At the city level, the solution comes down to better planning and management of urban growth. We advocate in the report for the incorporation of information on biodiversity and the benefits of nature into urban planning decisions, to create a comprehensive vision of how nature can co-exist with and support cities—a greenprint for urban growth. Planning can protect biodiversity in natural habitats and maintain the health of our protected areas. Moreover, incorporating natural features, such as urban parks and street trees, into our cities will maximize the benefits that nature provides to people, from increased shade on a hot day to places to recreate and better our physical and mental health.

Our report specifically focused on actions that national and international decision-makers should take to protect nature. Local governments need to be better integrated in national decision-making to ensure that the benefits of regionally unique natural environments are adequately represented in the urban planning process. International institutions have a role to play as well: they are critical in helping to create the policies and provide the financial resources needed to implement urban greenprints. Finally, the countries of the world need to begin discussing, within the Convention on Biological Diversity, how we can collectively work to make the urban century a positive one for the natural world.

The Nature in the Urban Century report was produced though the partnership of The Nature Conservancy, FutureEarth, The Stockholm Resilience Centre of Stockholm University, the Natural Capital Project, iDiv, The Nature of Cities, Urban Biodiversity Hub and ICLEI, including its Cities Biodiversity Center and the CitiesWithNature initiative.

Banner photo: A suburb of Melbourne at sunrise. Credits to iStock

Edna Kaptoyo about Indigenous People #GEFLive

[video:https://vimeo.com/278935145]

Jillian Blackbeard on the importance of wildlife #GEFLive

[video:https://vimeo.com/278935161]

Cham Island Land Crab Conservation #GEFAssembly

[video:https://vimeo.com/278605558]

Green Hope makes an impact in Suriname - the world’s greenest country

The Republic of Suriname is situated on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America and has the unique distinction of being designated by the World Bank as the most forested country in the world, with almost 93% of its land area being covered by the lush Amazon forests. A Green Hope team, comprising of members from Dubai, Oman and Canada, were invited by the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Suriname to support the involvement of Surinamese youth in building a roadmap for the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The team was also asked to draw international attention to support the position of Suriname as the most forested country in the world.

Hope’s mission was to support Suriname by creating awareness amongst the local youth by using Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a transformative tool to educate and empower them so that they could take local actions in mitigating the impacts of climate change and protect their rich natural heritage for future generations.

After months of preparation and coordination, the Green Hope team flew in from Dubai, Oman, and Canada converging on Paramaribo, Suriname’s picturesque capital city on 3rd July. The delegation had the privilege of accompanying His Excellency Mr. Winston G. Lackin, Presidential Advisor - Republic of Suriname and its Ambassador in charge of Environment on the flight from Amsterdam to Suriname and was given a grand reception at Paramaribo airport on arrival.

The Suriname cabinet ministers with Green Hope

The Suriname cabinet ministers with Green Hope. Photo Credits: Green Hope

Over the next 12 days, the Green Hope team undertook one of their most impactful journeys of ESD till date through which they reached out to thousands of civil society stakeholders in Suriname. This journey of change began with a high-level breakfast meeting with the ministers of the Suriname cabinet which included H.E. Winston Lackin, Ambassador in Charge of the Environment/Presidential Advisor, the Hon. Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, Speaker of the House, Melvin Bouva, Vice Speaker of the House, H.E. Lillian Ferrier, Minister of Education, Science and Culture & H.E. Lalinie Gopal, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs to discuss and roll out the engagement activities for the Green Hope delegation.

Thereafter, the Green Hope team in partnership with the Youth Parliament of Suriname conducted an impactful event titled “Youth Awareness Conference for a Sustainable Suriname” which was attended by over 350 youth, 15 to 18 years old, from across schools in the country. The objective was to spread awareness about Suriname’s unique position as the only country in the world with 93% forest cover and the important role of the country’s children and youth in taking care of their environment for future generations.

"Maroon" children planted trees in one of Hope's actions in Suriname. Photo Credits: Green Hope

"Maroon" children planted trees in one of Hope's actions in Suriname. Photo Credits: Green Hope

Over the next two days, Green Hope conducted two more “Environment Academies” each of which was attended by over 300 children in the age group of 8 to 15 years. Green Hope believes in using creative modes of communication to convey the themes of sustainable development and these workshops were titled “Creative Art & Music Workshop for a Sustainable Suriname.” Sustainability is a difficult concept for children to understand and therefore Green Hope uses art, music, dance, drama, and sport to engage and educate young children creatively. The main vehicles of communication at these workshops were art and music through which the participants expressed their solutions and ideas for implementing the 17 sustainable development goals for their country. The outputs were truly amazing and showed the importance of harnessing the passion and creativity of young people in driving change.

Green Hope believes that engaging neglected and marginalized sections of civil society holds the key to the realization of the United Nations mandate of “leave no one behind” and focusses its efforts to reaching out and empowering them. The team visited an orphanage, home to mainly girls some as young as five years. The team conducted an environmental workshop for them, spreading awareness about the impacts of climate change and adopting sustainable lifestyles. The enthusiasm of the children was truly heartening, and they pledged to stop using plastic and keep their surroundings clean and recycle waste thereby vindicating Green Hope’s belief that sustainable development is a “bottom-up” process and the goals can be achieved only if every member of civil society, especially those who are marginalized are engaged.

A workshop with "Maroon" tribe school. Photo Credits: Green Hope

A workshop with "Maroon" tribe school. Photo Credits: Green Hope

Thereafter, the Green Hope team conducted a similar workshop for marginalized children belonging to the indigenous “Maroon” tribes of the Amazon. The Green Hope team also traveled into the Amazon rainforest and engaged with children of the local tribes, educating them about the importance of not taking their forests for granted and to adopt simple, sustainable concepts of recycling, waste reduction, tree planting and avoid plastic usage. Green Hope members also planted Moringa and Neem trees with Mr. Winston G. Lackin, Presidential Advisor - Republic of Suriname and its Ambassador in charge of Environment and the students of the children.

Climate change has an extraordinary impact on Suriname's vast mangrove ecosystem. Photo Credits: Green Hope

Climate change has an extraordinary impact on Suriname's vast mangrove ecosystem. Photo Credits: Green Hope

Mangrove conservation and saving endangered sea turtles have been Green Hope’s focus areas for several years and was one of their areas during this trip as well. Suriname has a vast mangrove ecosystem which too is affected by the impacts of climate change and urban pollution, and then Green Hope spent a day at the mangrove rehabilitation project team at Weg Near Zee, led by eminent mangrove conservation expert Professor Sieuwnath Naipal. Green Hope members planted scores of mangroves as a part of the conservation process. In coordination with the “Green Heritage Fund Suriname,” they conducted a beach cleanup in Braamspunt and thereafter engaged with local conservation experts working on sea turtle conservation.

The team also planted a Greenheart tree with the H.E. Lalinie Gopal, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs and sealed the partnership with Suriname to mitigate climate change.

The Green Hope team also undertook a field trip to a sanctuary managed by Green Heritage Fund in the Amazon rainforest and learned about the inspiration conservation efforts to save endangered species such as sloths and river dolphins.

The Green Hope team concluded its visit by presenting an outcome document to the H.E. Winston Lackin, Ambassador in Charge of the Environment/Presidential Advisor. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Youth Parliament to establish a Green Hope chapter in Suriname to implement the outcome document and create an international partnership which would work to conserve Suriname’s rich natural biodiversity.

Climate change is the harshest reality of our times, and it is regrettable that some people still shrug it off as a myth. On the other hand, this visit to Suriname was an eye-opener on how a small nation was combining economic progress with natural conservation efforts to protect its forest cover. Green Hope was indeed privileged that they were chosen as ambassadors to engage the local youth in conveying the importance of protecting their rich biodiversity for generations to come. Green Hope will now work to share Suriname’s conservation efforts globally and urge other nations to pledge to increase their forest cover.

Small grants, big impacts: a community-led initiative is saving Viet Nam’s land crabs

Conserving the global commons can mean grappling with complex issues, studying the science underlying them, and making far-reaching commitments. But it can also involve measuring crabs in a hot village square.

At the end of June, delegates to the Sixth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in Da Nang, Viet Nam, did both. After two days of intensive meetings, involving heads of government, ministers, and top scientists and businessmen, a group of them headed off to the nearby Cham Islands to witness conservation, literally, at ground level.

[video:https://vimeo.com/278605558]

The islands are home to a community-led initiative which has succeeded in saving their remarkable land crabs (Gecarcoidea Ialandii), a species that lives in caves in the islands' damp forests and only goes to the coast to lay its eggs in hollows in the rocks filled with seawater.

The initiative was made possible by the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. So far it has provided over $580 million to more than 21,500 projects around the world in grants of just $50,000 or less.

Taken together, the grants - which are given directly to community-based organizations and civil society organizations - have so far supported 8.41 million hectares of protected areas, conserved 1,803 significant species, brought 900,000 hectares of land under practices that counter its degradation, and placed 32,000 hectares of marine and coastal areas under sustainable management.

Yoko Watanabe, Global Manager of the programme, says “it provides finance as well as technical expertise and really empowers local communities to be agents of change in addressing environment and livelihood issues. Small grants, but big impacts – that's what we are!”

She calls the land crab project – on the eight small Cham Islands, totaling just 15 sq km – “a very innovative initiative by the local community.”

The islands are set in a rich marine reserve – host to 277 species of coral, 270 of fish, and 97 of mollusk – but less than a decade ago the large black-backed crabs were in sharp decline, overharvested as delicacies for visiting tourists.

Back in 2009, the authorities suspended catching and selling the crabs, but without success. They continued to be caught and sold illegally. So then - in cooperation with the help of the GEF SGP and the nearby mainland city of Hoi An - the local Tan Hiep Communal Association of Farmers devised a way of managing the crabs sustainably. This set up a community group, now with 43 members, to harvest the crabs. The group meets at the end of each month to monitor and review how things are going and decide how many can be caught in the following month. There is an annual maximum catch of 10,000 crabs.

Only mature crabs can be sold – the rest must be returned to the forest – which is how the delegates came to be helping to measure them. Any measuring less than 7cm across their shells have to be released back into the forest. The bigger ones are labeled with a highly adhesive sticker and go to the nearby market.

Studies at Vietnamese universities have shown that these community-imposed restrictions are conserving three-quarters of the islands' crabs each year, with the result that their population is now growing. Prices have more than quadrupled since the scheme was introduced, greatly increasing the harvester's incomes, and they, in turn, pay a fee of some US$1.75 per kilogram of crab to fund it.

The land crab is seen as a “bridge” species that connects the islands' forests with the ocean. It is a biological indicator of the health of both habitats, and its recovery has improved them. This, in turn, has increased ecotourism - and thus incomes and the islands' economy, since almost a third of the islands' households are directly involved in it

“On the one hand the land crabs are protected, on the other hand, local people still have livelihoods,” says Chu Manh Trinh, the representative of the marine reserve who guided the delegates round the project.

The GEF SGP project ended three years ago, but the sustainable management scheme has continued to flourish and has gained a national and international reputation, as the delegates' visit testified.

Stefan Schwager, who represents the Swiss government on the GEF Council said it was “refreshing” for Council members “to go to places where you see what's happening on the ground, meet and hear the people, and see it is beneficial for the environment and also at the same time for the local population”.