Kafa Biosphere Reserve, SNNPR, Ethiopia

Progress Report Brief (2010-2012)

1. Background The highland coffee, Coffea arabica, originates from the rainforests of the south-western plateau of Ethiopia. The forests are the sole home of many wild coffee varieties – an invaluable genetic resource. They are at high risk due to deforestation. This poses a massive threat to the survival of the genetic resources of Coffea arabica. As a result, the diversity of what was once around 5,000 coffee varieties, unique in the world, is in danger of being irretrievably lost. To ensure the conservation of the remaining wild coffee forests, the establishment of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve provided the chance to combine conservation and sustainable development in the region. The Kafa Biosphere Reserve is one of Ethiopia’s first biosphere reserves and the first coffee biosphere reserve in the world. It is expected to become a worldwide attraction for coffee consumers and ecotourists.

2. General description The last remaining montane cloud forests that contain wild trees of Coffea arabica as a natural part of the ecosystem exist in the region in Kafa Zone, around . This is where the Kafa Biosphere Reserve is located, in a predominantly highland region covered by evergreen montane forest in Southwest Ethiopia. The plateau, which was formerly densely forested, presents primeval forests, bamboo thickets and wetlands. Around 106 woody plant species belonging to 74 genera and 38 families are recorded. Dominant species are Coffea arabica, Pouteria adolfi-friedercii, Berasama abyssinica, Schefflera abyssinica, Trilepsium madagascariense and Polyscias fulva. More than two hundred bird species have been recorded in the area; 15 of the bird species are reported to comprise the “Highland Biome Species”, thus accounting for 31% of the Restricted Highland Biome Assemblages in Ethiopia. At least 48 mammalian species, representing 14 families are estimated to be present in the zone. With its three major rivers: Gojeb, Dinchia and Woshi, the forest area is an important fresh water reservoir for the entire region. However the size of the forest has dramatically reduced; it is now dispersed including settlement areas, grazing and agricultural land. Areas of mostly undisturbed forest have been identified as untouchable core zones. The forest ecosystem makes an important contribution to the livelihoods of people in the area. It provides wild coffee, a variety of commercially valuable spices and honey from wild bees. Until now the legal recognition of traditional user rights to user groups or communities through Participatory Forest Management, PFM establishment, the designation of Coffee Gene Reserves (EU) and governmental designation of State Priority Forest Areas has helped to minimize forest destruction and to establish long term user systems. Nowadays, the reserve’s core areas have been gazetted by and thus are considered as long-term preserved.

Country Ethiopia Region Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Regional State Location Kafa Zone; the biosphere reserve stretches across the boundaries of 10 contiguous administration sectors (called “Woredas”); namely Adiyo, , , Chetta, , , , Gimbo, Aylem and Tello, 250 rural “Kebele” administrations and 25 urban towns. Area The Kafa Biosphere Reserve is located between the following latitudes and longitudes: a) Latitude: 35°29’50.55” to 36°47’33.78” East b) Longitude: 35°48’50.57” to 35°44’34.30” East c) Central Point: 36°3’22.51” East & 7°22’13.67” North Altitude The altitude of the area ranges from 500 to 3,350 m.a.s.l.

In June 2010 UNESCO MAB Paris declared Kafa accepted as a UNESCO biosphere reserve and to become part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Accordingly on March 22, 2011 inauguration ceremony of Kafa UNESCO Biosphere Reserve was celebrated in the presence of Federal and Regional higher Government officials, community representatives of Kafa Zone and local and international partner institutions.

3. Major activities and achievements

Biosphere Administration: Two Biosphere Reserve managers are contracted by Kafa Zone department of Agriculture by the facilitation of NABU.

Biosphere Information Center Construction: Information Center construction for promotion, communication and management of Kafa Biosphere Reserve is near completion with the co-financing of NABU and local government

Energy: NABU though Kafa Zone Department of Water, Mines and Energy has introduced alternative energy saving stoves to the local house hold communities living in Kafa Biosphere Reserve areas so as to contribute to avoid/reduce excessive forest harvesting for the consumption of firewood and charcoal to minimize CO2 emissions, indoor environment pollution of the users and to ease the workload on women.

Forest conservation: Participatory Forest Management (PFM), reforestation, agroforestry and enrichment planting are under implementation in order to increase carbon capture and storage capacity of forest and to secure the conservation of the valuable forests. Planting of fast growing community plantations for multi-purpose uses has been started and involves local communities to ensure their livelihood and fire wood supplies.

Regional development: (Eco)tourism is under development within the biosphere reserve and offers multiple opportunities for visitors and local communities.

Promotion of the Kafa Biosphere Reserve: The promotion of Kafa BR through web sites, print media, conferences and workshops has been done at local, national and international level.

Awareness and skill development of communities in the BR area is implemented by the help of trained 30 BR rangers working within the communities at local level. (See details from the table below:) 4. Kafa Biosphere Reserve progress details (2010-2012) Action number Sector Activity/ output Implementing Facilitator institution Administrat Contracting of 2 biosphere reserve DoAD NABU ion managers 17.1 Capacity building support for biosphere managers and local government actors through facilitating and using available meeting and field work events 3.2 Public Construction of Kafa BR Information DoAD NABU relations Centre to create permanent administration station and station to visit for interested parties 3.2 Natural resource management in Germ German Kafa BR press travel an Embassy/ Emb NABU assy 6.2 Official inauguration of Kafa BR and Kafa Zone divers certificate awarding for those contributed for the establishment planning 3.2 Tourism in Kafa BR press travel Ethiopian Ethiopian Airlines/ Airlines/ African African Dreams Dreams/ NABU 3.2 Movies reporting on Kafa BR German divers Television ZDF, Deutsche Welle, Ethiopian TV 3.5 Promotion for Kafa BR on NABU NABU conferences, through articles, flyers, web mapping and sign boards 3.5 Kafa BR and Kafa project websites NABU NABU online www.kafa-biosphere.com www.kafa-climate-forest.com Action number Drafted Manual development for 22.1 youth to conduct peer-to-peer education Action number Started local communication to 6.1 wider community through using coffee ceremony an existing traditional neighbourhood gatherings and in-depth discussions. 6.1 Periodic promotion through national TV and press 6.1 Regular communication with local FM radio 6.1 Regular local level promotion and communication through rangers, BR Managers and NABU project staffs at local assembly and informal meetings Action number Large size map produced and 3.3 Map duplicated for distribution in hard elaboration and electronically with land and ecosystem elaboration 4.1 Networking Co-organized and participated in the sub regional and national MAB experience sharing meetings 28.1 Host experience sharing visits for other African country MAB committee members (delegates from Rwandan) 28.1 Hosted experience sharing visit from new Biosphere initiative areas Action number Awarding program sponsoring for 3.4 local FM radio for promoting the importance of Kafa biosphere reserve 29.2 Cooperatio NABU through sub-contractual n activities to governmental departments, community organization (farmers’ cooperative unions) consultant(national and international), researchers initiated cooperation among different actors 26.2 Tourism Set up of ecotourism infrastructure EWNHS NABU developme (hiking trails, watch towers, sign nt boards, picnic sites, training for business partners in accommodation/ food sector, enhancement of community based initiatives) 26.2 Elaboration of tourism concept E.C.O. NABU 26.2 Enhancement of conservation DoCT NABU cultural heritage at Kafa BR (Kafa Open Air Museum) 26.2 Training for hotel owners and managers to improve service provision quality in line with tourism development Securing Training, contracting and DoAD, NABU conservatio supervision of 30 rangers at Kafa SDPASE, n of natural BR NABU resources and reduction of CO2 emissions Established regular local level forest DoAD NABU monitoring through deploying and supervising 30 rangers Start setting-up boarder delimitation DoAD NABU on forest-farm interface through integrating reforestation program Reforestation/ agroforestry: 5,72.75 DoAD NABU ha of degraded forest reforested and 22 ha of agroforestry established Forest status analysis geoSYS NABU Extension of Participatory Forest DoAD NABU Management: Nine PFM sites with 5,461.97ha of forest land has been officially handed over to nine forest users groups with 1,993 (1,441M & 552F) members Introduced a concept of stablishing core area within PFM system by encouraging the establishement of conservation forest as opposed to the accustomed sustainable utilization to all PFM blocks approach Improvement of household energy: DoAD NABU 11,200 stoves produced, 9,585 stoves distributed and 50 producers and 20 DoWME staff trained Set up of community forests with DoAD NABU fast growing species: 997 ha of community plantations established Climate and Forest Monitoring University of NABU Wageningen 18.1 Research Has been facilitated and supported NABU NABU 12 scientific studies on Kafa BR through collaboration with universities and researchers 21.1 Supported regional tourism day celebration identifying and preparing for learning from cultural and environmental elements as a learning site for cultural landscape and spiritual life Action Number Long-term Marketing and fundraising concept International NABU 4.2 financing of for Kafa BR experts Kafa BR Initiation of REDD project WWC/ NABU/ WWC/ DoAD NABU/ DoAD