Soddo and Humbo – Community Reforestation Project
April 13, 2018
Dean Thomson – World Vision Australia
In October 2006, the Community Reforestation Project began as a joint initiative of Soddo and Humbo Communities and World Vision Ethiopia to restore, re-establish and protect 503 hectares of the montane high forest on the slopes of Mount Damota located in the highlands of Southern Ethiopia. This project began as a way of establishing biodiverse native forests with the help of residents who would continue to undertake current activity such as grazing and fuel wood collection with respect to the project site to prevent biodiversity loss. By utilising the farmer managed natural regeneration methods and traditional forest establishment’s techniques, the aim has always been to promote and harvest biodiversity.
By measuring a range of biophysical and socioeconomic parameters, the communities, World Vision Ethiopia and World Vision Australia have worked to completely change the landscape of the severely degraded landscape of Mt Damota. The staggering environmental and economic benefits from this project at Soddo are recorded as:
- Total CO2 sequestration – 94,819 tCO2
- tCO2 per Ha – 188.5
- Carbon revenue – $USD 520k
- 41 tree species recorded in project area
- 110 bird species recorded in project area. Notable species include the Abyssinian Longclaw and Bateluer which are listed as near-threatened. The African Paradise Flycatcher, Speckled Mouse bird and Rupells Robin Chat are commonly seen.