The Leakey Foundation Research Grant Application
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The Leakey Foundation research grant application Eucalyptus Tree Farming: Causes of Expansion and its Impact on Ecology, Land use and Livelihood in Gurage Zone, Ethiopia PhD Thesis Proposal By: Belay Zerga Seware Advisors: 1. Demel Teketay (Prof.) - Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources 2. Muluneh Woldetsadik (PhD) - Addis Ababa University 3. Bikila Workineh (PhD) - Addis Ababa University June, 2017 i Acknowledgments Many people have contributed in various ways from the conception to the finalization of the proposal. However, I would like to express my indebtedness to those whose lasting advices and encouragement had always with me. My special thanks go to my Principal Advisor, Muluneh Weldetsadik (PhD), for his constructive and brotherly advice, comments and encouragements. These are not forgotable in my mind. Thank you Doctor for all. Thanks go to Demel Teketay (Prof.) and Bikila Workineh (PhD), my co-advisors, for their closer communication and friendly encouragement in this proposal preparation. I would like to thank various administrative officials of Gurage Zone for their moral support and providing me valuable and necessary documents. I owe special gratitude to Eza, Cheha, Enemorna Ener and Sodo weredas (districts) Agriculture and Rural Development Department officials for providing me important data and the long hours I spent with them discussing in valuable issues for the development of my proposal. Finally yet importantly, I would like to express my gratitude to Wolkite University for providing me car service and Perdiem during firsthand information gathering from sample weredas of the zone. i Table of contents Page Table of contents ............................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii 1. Background of the Study ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Objective of the Study ........................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Rationale of the Study ........................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 6 1.7 Scope of the Study................................................................................................................. 6 2. Theoretical Framework and Review of Related Literature ..................................................... 6 2.1 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Review of Related Literature ................................................................................................ 7 2.2.1 Tree Farming practices ................................................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Forest Plantations in Ethiopia ......................................................................................... 9 2.2.3 Success of Eucalyptus as an Exotic: A Brief Global Perspective ................................ 11 2.2.4 Introduction of Eucalyptus to Ethiopia ......................................................................... 12 2.2.5 History and Expansion of Eucalyptus in Gurageland: A Brief Survey ........................ 12 2.2.6 Land Use/Land Cover Changes .................................................................................... 13 2.2.7 Economic Importance of Eucalyptus Tree Farming ..................................................... 14 2.2.8 Environmental Effect of Eucalyptus Trees ................................................................... 15 3. Materials and Research Methodology ................................................................................... 17 3.1 Location and Background of the Study Area ...................................................................... 17 3.1.1 Physical Setting ............................................................................................................ 17 3.1.2 Socio-economic Setting ................................................................................................ 21 3.1.3 Administrative Setting ................................................................................................. 21 3.2 Research Methodology ........................................................................................................ 22 3.2.1 Materials ....................................................................................................................... 22 3. 2.2 Secondary Data ............................................................................................................ 23 3.2.3 Primary data:................................................................................................................. 23 References ..................................................................................................................................... 26 ii Abstract There are high and increasing demands for wood for industrial uses and fuel needs, and others especially in developing countries of the tropics with their increasing populations. To cope with increasing demand for wood situation, people often opt to planting fast growing, highly utilizable, exotic tree species. Such popularity may be justified by more than eighty countries that have shown interest in eucalyptus and have planted more than four million hectares worldwide outside the natural range of Australia, S E. Asia, and the Pacific. Given the urgency of food security in the country, plantations with exotic trees underscore the importance of integrating trees into more intensive tree crop production systems wherever the environment is conducive. Population pressure in the Ethiopian highlands has led to a change in land use/ land cover. Establishment of wood lots and plantations with exotic tree species (such as Eucalyptus) has long been advocated as a strategy for relieving pressure on indigenous forests and wood lands in the Ethiopian highlands. Traditional agroforestry practices in Ethiopia involve planting of trees in various spatial patterns to meet wood, fuel wood and fodder requirements. In recent years, however, single rows of Eucalypts globules trees planted along crop field borders have become a dominant feature of the central highland landscape. Thus, preservation of indigenous woodland and biodiversity may be achieved when substitutes for indigenous forest products for fuel wood are available. The study area, Gurage Zone has thirteen weredas. For the purpose the study four weredas will be selected based on the tremendous expansion of eucalyptus tree farming. To get primary data about the study systematic purposive sampling method will be employed. Three hundred eighty three households from sample weredas will be selected. These households will be representatives of eucalyptus tree farming activities since eucalyptus growing and land holding system are more or less similar in the zone. Thus, after selecting households with eucalyptus tree farms from the list of each Wereda’s PAs (peasant administrations), closed and open ended questionnaires will be distributed to every 10th households. The main reason for selecting this sampling method is to avoid the inclusion of non-eucalyptus tree farmers and to keep the validity of the representative samples. Key Words: Eucalyptus tree expansion, Ecological impact of eucalyptus tree, Gurage Zone, Livelihood impact of Eucalyptus, Land use competition, Land use/land cover change iii 1. Background of the Study 1.1 Introduction Agroforestry is one of land use practices involving a deliberate combination of trees, agricultural crops and /or animals on the same land management unit in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence (Wundgren and Raintree, 1982, cited in FAO, 2005). Cultivating trees in combination with crops and livestock is an age-old practice. However, several factors have contributed to a rising interest in agroforestry since 1970’s because of deteriorating economic situation in many parts of developing world; increased tropical deforestation; degradation and scarcity of land because of population pressure; and growing interest in farming systems, intercropping and the environment (Nair, 1983). Most of the researches on agroforestry conducted from the biophysical perspective, however, socio-economic aspects are gaining attention (Mercer and Miller, 1998). Agricultural development theory suggests that farmers adopt agroforestry practices when there are substantial economic incentives to do so at regional and household levels and as long as associated risks can be managed. Understanding farmers’ current agroforestry practice, and likely trends in economic incentives, would then be needed to identify effective technical and institutional