ETHIOPIA
>> UNDP Equator Initiative Finalists and Winners
Selected GEF biodiversity projects:
>> A Dynamic farmer-based approach to the conservation of African plant genetic resources:
This biodiversity conservation project addresses a neglected aspect of plant diversity, that of indigenous crop varieties maintained by farmers in dynamic agro-ecosystems such as those found in Ethiopia. Efforts to conserve crop diversity to date have focused on maintaining genetic diversity in static ex situ gene banks. This has arrested the complex interaction of genetically diverse traditional varieties (landraces) with their associated pests, predators and pathogens. Ex situ conservation also fails to retain traditional knowledge associated with landraces, knowledge which can be instrumental in the utilization and development of new crop varieties from original landraces.>> Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants:
The project aims to facilitate development of safe and efficacious healthcare relying on traditional medicine and medicinal plants while protecting the resource base and implementing measures to reduce pressure on wild populations of rare and endemic species. Specifically it is aimed at resolving problems of habitat destruction, erosion of biodiversity, loss of traditional knowledge and practices, rural poverty and primary healthcare in the regional setting. The GEF component is focused on establishing an inventory of medicinal plants found in the Bale Mountains National Park. Studies of harvest, production, and degree of endangerment are to be undertaken. The project also aims at developing community-oriented management guidelines for sustainable harvesting in appropriate zones of the Park.>> National Biodiversity Strategy, Action Plan and Country Report to the CBD:
This project will assist the national government to meet its obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity.>> Back to top
UNDP Equator Prize Finalists and Winners:
>> Guassa-Menz Natural Resource Management Initiative (Equator Prize 2004 Finalist)
The Guassa-Menz region of the Ethiopian highlands is home to an Afroalpine ecosystem harboring a rich variety of endemic species and a centuries-old land tenure system known as Qero. By reintroducing the Qero system, the Guassa-Menz Natural Resource Management Initiative has established the framework for equitable use and distribution of natural resources among eight farmers’ associations with user rights to the Guassa-Menz region. These rights have been entrenched through a set of by-laws adopted locally. Each of the farmer’s associations now harvests grasses and fuelwood and grazes animals according to the rotational precepts of the Qero system to ensure that the human and environmental risks associated with drought are minimized.
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