Transcript Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation

Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
and Proposed Measures in Ethiopia
7/17/2015
Yitebitu Moges, PhD
Forestry Research Center
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Yitebitu M, MRV Road Map Workshop
Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
International requirements
• Addressing drivers of deforestation and forest
degradation has been part of REDD+ discussions
and UNFCCC negotiations.
– Decision 2 of COP 13 in Bali
– Decision 1 of COP 16
• Support REDD+ participating countries
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
International requirements
• Addressing all direct and underlying drivers is key
prerequisite to effectively reducing emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation and thus
enhancing forest carbon stocks in every REDD+
country.
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Ethiopia REDD+ Status
• Forests account for one-third of total emissions today (55 Mt CO2e
annually)
• But forest sector offer huge abatement potential through less
deforestation and less forest degradation (130 Mt CO2e in 2030)
• Government has shown commitment for protecting forests and
woodlands (REDD+ as an important and immediate initiative)
• Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP) that lays out the plan to
prepare for REDD+ implementation prepared and accepted.
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Ethiopia REDD+ Status
• Now ready for its REDD+ preparation phase:
– The setup of an organizational structure and capacity
building,
– The definition of a REDD+ strategy, and
– The preparation for implementation of concrete
mitigation actions within REDD+.
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Process for identification of drivers
• Participatory:
– R-PIN (2008), various means for the R-PP
development (workshops, questionnaire,
literature, interviews, e.g., WBISPP project, EDRI
(2010) to provide a preliminary input to the CRGE
initiative.
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Proximate and underlying drivers
• Proximate/direct causes are human activities or
immediate actions that directly impact forest cover
and loss of carbon.
• Underlying/indirect causes are complex
interactions of social, economic, political, cultural
and technological processes-strengthen direct
causes
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Proximate/direct drivers
• Largest driver of deforestation in Ethiopia is conversion of forests
and woodland into agricultural land
– 80% of new agricultural land b/n 2000 and 2008 was converted
from forests, woodlands or shrub lands (EDRI, 2010).
– Caused emission of an estimated 40 Mt of CO2 from deforestation
in 2010.
– Its impact will increase up to 65 Mt of CO2 per year in 2030.
– As development of agriculture continues to accelerate: strong
governmental support and demographic growth.
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Proximate/ direct drivers
Dominant driver of deforestation
Commercial Agriculture
Subsistence agriculture
Commercial actors play a larger and increasing
role in the expansion of agriculture into forests
in Ethiopia
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Source: G. Kissinger,
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M. Herold and V. De Sy
Forecasted evolution of land requirements for agriculture and impact
on forestry in a traditional growth path
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Proximate/direct drivers
• The main driver of forest degradation is
unsustainable fuel wood consumption
– Caused emission of an estimated 25 Mt of CO2 in 2010.
– Its impact will increase up to 40 Mt of CO2 in 2030.
– Driven by sustained demographic growth, while fuel
wood remains the main source of energy for the
population.
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Forecasted evolution of woody biomass degradation from
fuel wood consumption, in a traditional growth path
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Proximate/ direct drivers
• Other direct drivers of deforestation and degradation
play a limited role:
– Forest fires (during droughty years),
– Grazing,
– Logging,
– Infrastructure (roads, power lines, dams)
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Underlying/indirect causes
The indirect drivers of D and FD include:
(1) Weak forest sector governance and institutions
– Unstable institution with often limited financial and human
capacity
– Unworkable regulatory approach to forestry (lack of
resources or inherent deficiency of the forest regulatory
instrument).
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Underlying causes
(2) Conflicting policies beyond the forest sector (agribusiness, foreign direct investment)
– Strong government support to agriculture (incl. foreign
direct investment)
– Disincentive to natural forest management (focus on
conservation, not sustainable forest management).
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Underlying/indirect causes
(3) Insufficient/unclear user rights for forests (tenure
security)
– Forest-dependent people are uncertain about their use
rights over the forests  open access mentality.
(4) Lack of benefit-sharing mechanism despite legal
provisions (e.g., Environmental Policy of Ethiopia).
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Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Underlying/indirect causes
(5) Lack of empowerment of local communities
(6) Demographic pressure and poverty
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Proposed measures to reduce D and FD (plus)
• CRGE aims to embark on a low carbon economy.
– Includes REDD+: protecting and maintenance of forests
in an effort to reduce global carbon emissions.
– Based on the main two D&FD drivers, candidate REDD+
strategic options (emission reduction levers) have been
identified with abatement potential of 145 Mt CO2e.
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Proposed measures to reduce D and FD (plus)
• Elaboration on the main measures:
– Reducing forest land conversion to agriculture (land requirement
from 19 Mha b.a.u. to 7 Mha green economy in 2030)
– Limiting the impact of fuel wood consumption (by adopting
energy efficient cooking technologies and alternative energy
sources)
– Developing sustainable forest management practices (2 Mha
forest and 2 Mha woodland), and
– Afforest ion (2 MHa), Reforestation (1 Mha) and agroforestry
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Proposed measures to reduce D and FD (plus)
• Main changes in the regulatory environment to
enable the proposed mitigation:
– Focus on local people’s rights,
– Develop a dedicated forestry institution, and
– Better coordinate land-use planning.
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Final remarks
• Ethiopia as shown commitment to follow green
economic growth path.
• Capacity building and financial support critical for
the implementation of this initiative.
– This workshop is very relevant and timely.
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Thank you for listening!
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