Abstract
Long term human occupation of the highlands of Ethiopia, accompanied by sedentary agriculture and extensive cattle herding activities, in combination with population pressure have resulted in the heavy deforestation, and subsequent environmental degradation. According to historical estimates, nearly 90% of Ethiopian highland had forest cover. Presently only less than 6% have closed forest cover. If properly managed, plantations not only play a vital role in alleviating the wood shortages, but also assist in checking environmental degradation and in the rehabilitation of degraded sites. Presently, there are thousand of hectares of forest plantations with very simplified ecosystems containing only pure stands of eucalypts. Mixed forest plantations can also be found. Participation of the local people and the existence of clear and firm land tenure rights are crucial for the long-term sustainability and the expansion of forest plantations. In general, tree planting should be an integral part of the rural development programs and should provide the community with social, economic and environmental benefits. Mixed forest plantations and the inclusion of promising indigenous tree species in plantation forestry should be given serious consideration.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bekele, T. 1994. Vegetation ecology of remnant Afromontane forests on the Central plateau of Shewa, Ethiopia. Acta phytogeographica suecica 79. Uppsala. 64 p.
Egziabher, T.B.G. 1988. Vegetation and environment of the mountains of Ethiopia: implications for utilization and conservation. Mountain research and development, 8 (2/3): 211–216.
Egziabher, T.B.G. 1989. The environmental variables which led to the ecological crisis in Ethiopia. Coenoses 4(2): 61–67.
Evans, J. 1992. Plantation forestry in the tropics. Clarendon press, Oxford. 403 p.
FAO 1981 Tropical forest resources assessment project. Forest resources of tropical Africa. Part 2: Country briefs. FAO, Rome. 586 p.
FAO 1992. Mixed and pure forest plantations in the tropics and subtropics. FAO forestry paper 103. FAO, Rome. 152 p.
FAO 1993a. Forest resources assessment 1990. Tropical countries. FAO Forestry paper series 112. FAO, Rome 59 p.
FAO 1993b. A diskette containing the data of the Forest Resources Assessment 1990 project. The data on the diskette is copied from Forest Resources Information System (FORIS) database. FAO, Rome.
FAO 1994. Forest products yearbook 1992. FAO Forestry Series No 27: FAO, Rome 336 p.
FAO 1995. Forest resources assessment 1990. Global synthesis. FAO Forestry paper series 124. FAO, Rome 44 p.
Friis, I. 1992. Forests and forest trees of northeast tropical Africa. London. 396 p.
Gamachu, D. 1977. Aspects of climate and water budget in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa University Press, Addis Abeba. 71 p.
Grepperud, S. 1992. Population-environmental linkages, the case of Ethiopia. University of Oslo, Department of economics. 90 p. Unpublished draft paper.
Holmgren, P., Masakha, E.J. & Sjöholm, H. 1994. Not all African land is being degraded: a recent survey of tree on farms in Kenya reveals rapidly increasing forest resources. Ambio 23(7).
Horvath, R.J. 1968. Addis Abeba’s eucalyptus forest. Journal of Ethiopian studies 6(1): 13–19
Hurni, H. 1988. Degradation and conservation of soil resources in the Ethiopian highlands. Mountain research and development, 8(2/3): 101–109.
Hyde, W.F. & Seve, J. 1993. The economic role of wood products in tropical deforestation: the severe example of Malawi. Forest ecology and management 57(2): 283–300.
Hyde, W.F., Amacher, G.S. & Magrath, W. 1995. Deforestation, scarce forest resources, and forest land use: theory, empirical evidence, and policy implications. Unpublished draft paper.
Lugo, A.E., Parotta, A.J. & Brown, S. 1993. Loss in species caused by tropical deforestation and their recovery through management. Ambio 22(2–3).
Luukkanen, O. 1996. Kenya Forestry Master Plan reveals a new forest resource trend. In: Palo, M. & Mery, G. (eds.). Sustainable forestry challenges for developing countries. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Mustanoja, K.J. & Beyene, T. 1990. Ethiopia wood fuel production development. Ministry of Agriculture. Fuelwood plantation expansion division. 22 p. Draft paper.
Niskanen, A., Luukkanen, O., Saastamoinen, O., & Bhumibhamon, S. 1993. Evaluation of the profitability of fast growing tropical trees. Acta Forestalia Fennica 241. Helsinki. 38 p.
Palo, M. 1994. Population and deforestation. In: Brown, K. & Pearce, D. (eds.). The causes of tropical deforestation. University College London. London. p. 42–56.
Pohjonen, V. 1989. Establishment of fuelwood plantations in Ethiopia. Silva Carelica 14: University of Joensuu. 388 p.
Pukkala, T. & Pohjonen, V. 1989. Forest inventory and management planning in the fuelwood plantations of Ethiopia. Silva Carelica 13. University of Joensuu. 110 p.
Sayer, A.J., Harcourt, S.C. & Collins, M.N., (eds.) 1992. The conservation Atlas of tropical forests Africa. IUCN. Cambridge, UK. 282 p.
Siiriäinen, A. 1996. Man and forest in African history. In: Palo, M. & Mery, G. (eds.). Sustainable forestry challenges for developing countries. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Ståhl, M. 1993. Land degradation in east Africa. Ambio 22(8).
Teketay, D. & Tegeneh, A. 1991. Shade trees of coffee in Hararge, eastern Ethiopia. The international tree crops journal 7. Academic publishers, UK. p. 17–27.
United Nations 1993. World population prospects, the 1992 revision. New York 677 p.
Woldemariam, M. 1988. An assessment of stress and strain on the Ethiopian highlands. Mountain research and development, 8(4): 259–264.
Yirdaw, E. 1990. Initial survival and establishment of one year old Eucalyptus globulus seedlings in Ethiopia. Helsinki University. 43 p.
Yirdaw, E. 1996. Deforestation in tropical Africa. In: Palo, M. & Mery, G. (eds.). Sustainable forestry challenges for developing countries. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Zewde, B. 1991. A history of modern Ethiopia 1855–1974. Addis Abeba University printing press, Addis Ababa. 244 p.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yirdaw, E. (1996). Deforestation and Forest Plantations in Ethiopia. In: Palo, M., Mery, G. (eds) Sustainable Forestry Challenges for Developing Countries. Environmental Science and Technology Library, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1588-6_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1588-6_18
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7211-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1588-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive