Wild Coffee Conservation and PFM Project

The overall results of the project will include:

• Recognition of the value of a PFM approach for in-situ conservation of wild coffee;
• Strengthened capacity in communities and in government agencies for using a participatory approach to coffee biodiversity conservation;
• Community based organizations established for PFM activities and in-situ conservation of the coffee genetic resources;
• Participatory forest management (PFM) methods fine-tuned and applied for co-management of forest to ensure conservation of wild coffee biodiversity;
• Livelihoods strengthened through improved market linkages, payments for environmental services and ecotourism;
• Land management regimes for long-term sustainable use of forest and farm land;
• Support for policy development linking PFM to biodiversity conservation in the region, federally and more widely in African forest situations.
• This shows that the PFM approach is maintaining the forest and its wild coffee, but also helping reduce poverty in the forest fringe communities.

This approach, which empowers and trusts the local communities, is a new way of addressing the challenge of sustaining biodiversity conservation in the long term, without continuing projects or high levels of government funding for guards etc. By granting of clear forest rights and revenues to communities, PFM provides an economic motivation to match the responsibility of protecting the wild coffee.

Marketing Co-operatives established bc WCC-PFM

Name of co-operative	Total Members	Type of Product	Kg	Price/kg	Revenue (Ethiopean birr)
Forest Coffee Marketing Cooperative	78	Forrest Coffee	2135	114	243641
Amoragedel Wild Forest Product Marketing Cooperative	54	Wild Coffee/ Baboon Coffee	1788 (wild) 8 (baboon)	127 (wild) 200 (baboon)	229002 (wild) 1600 (baboon)
Mejenger Honey Producers Cooperative	45	Honey	760	45	34200

 

Number of forest management Groups and hectares secured by PFM agreements

Woredas (District)	Forest Management Groups	Total Members	Hectares Coffee Forest	Hectares Natural Forest
Sheko	35	3734	13456.6	15316.05
North Bench	8	435	0	784.2
Yeki	5	902	0	786.02
Guraferda	8	706	2827	43356.19
Grand Total	55	5777	16283.17	60242.46

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘If the forest disappears, no one can live here... the most important thing is to protect the forest’

Abebaw Hassen

So said Abebaw Hassen, farmer and member of his local Forest Management Group (FMG). But it was not always like this. When he came to the area in 1996 “the forest was suffering an invasion. Farmers were stealing it and clearing the land.” Since then, with the support of the WCC-PFM project, responsibility for managing and protecting the forest lies with the local FMG. Abebaw says “The forest [now] belongs to the community... It is after that happened, after the community took ownership that they gained the awareness.... After the handing over, the forest is in much better condition than before. It is being monitored. Villages organize security patrols every fortnight”.

The community is working hard to protect the wild coffee, ensuring wild coffee seedlings are left to sprout and canopy trees given space to grow and provide shade for the coffee. Abebaw puts this change down to raised awareness amongst farmers of the need to protect the forest and wild coffee: “inside the forest there are some locations that are open, exposed. In those places, because of the awareness that has been raised, you find that the farmers have planted different types of trees, and they are growing now, indigenous trees that will grow large... it is very good”.