ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE PROGRAMMES COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCES CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE LANDSCAPE APPROACH, NON-CARBON BENEFITS AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE REDD+ IMPLEMENTATION IN ETHIOPIA By Sisay Nune Hailemariam A Thesis Submitted to Center for Environmental Science Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 2018 ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE PROGRAMS Landscape Approach, Non-carbon Benefits and Institutional Arrangement for Effective REDD+ Implementation in Ethiopia By Sisay Nune Hailemariam A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Programs of the Addis Ababa University in the Center for Environmental Science Approved by Examining Board: - Name and Signature of Members of the Examining Board Name Signature Date l . Dr. Teshome Soromessa (Advisor) 2. Prof. Demel Teketay (Advisor) 3. Dr. Ermias Aynekulu (Examiner) 4. Dr. Abdella Gure (Examiner) 5. Dr. Teshome Soromessa (Chairman March, 2018 ABSTRACT Landscape Approach, Non-Carbon Benefits and Institutional Arrangement for Effective REDD+ Implementation Sisay Nune Hailemariam Addis Ababa University, 2018 Landscape approach (LA) and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) are relevant to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #13 & # 15, and limit global temperature below 2 °C. Institutional arrangements (IAs) and addressing forest Non-Carbon Benefits (NCBs) can determine success in implementation of LA and REDD+. Additionally, taking the emerging concept of Green Infrastructure (GI) into planning and implementation of urban and rural development agendas can contribute to address adverse impacts of climate change. Currently, sectoral planning and implementation dominate in Ethiopia, contributing to only the economic sector while undermining environmental and social benefits. The objectives of the study were (i) to analyze land use and land cover change (LULCC) between 1985 and 2015 in BMER, (ii) assess and document NCBs; (iii) assess GI in BMER urban centers in brief; and (iv) assess IAs to better inform decision makers to avail conducive policy for effective LA. Bale Mountains, Southwest and Siemen Eco-Regions from southeastern, southwestern and northern Ethiopia, respectively, were included in the study. Landsat images of 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015 were acquired for the LULCC study employing remote sensing and GIS. For the same periods, socio- economic data were gathered from Central Statistics Agency. Additionally, focus group discussions and household surveys were conducted. Results showed that farmland and urban settlement expansion were major drivers of LULCC. Forests lost 123,751 ha (15.8%) while farmland gained 292,294 ha (approx. 33%). About 10 forest products and services were mentioned by the respondents as important NCBs. The contribution of NCBs to the household economy ranged from 10 to 51%. It is argued that landscape approach, NCBs and GI are important tools or strategies to achieve various goals, such as SDGs and REDD+. IAs play pivotal role even though the results showed presence of huge gaps in capacity. REDD+ can be achieved provided that: (a) proper and regular monitoring of LULCC is made to address drivers outside the forest sector; (b) forest governance system responds to the interest of the actors in a landscape and the role of NCBs is properly accounted for and valued; (c) capable and dedicated IAs are put in place. The need for developing a system to account for non-carbon benefits and environmental services as well as indicators for landscape approach is recommended. Key words: Landscape approach, REDD+, Non-carbon Benefits, Green Infrastructure, Institutional arrangements, land use and land cover dynamics ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Addis Ababa University and its staff members for their relentless efforts to make the university environment friendly and center of excellence in different fields of studies. The expansion of the university in terms of thematic areas enabled many Ethiopians to get opportunities to pursue their studies in their country. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Royal Norwegian Embassy and Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative for providing me with financial support. Without the support, this study would not have been possible. In this regard, I would like to acknowledge and extend my big thanks to Håvard Hoksnes, Oyvind Dahl, Anders Vatn and Tehetena Woldemariam. My advisors, Dr. Teshome Soromessa and Professor Demel Teketay deserve millions of thanks for their guidance and invaluable inputs to make this Doctoral thesis up to the expected standard. Additionally, their encouragements and professional advice played significant role in shaping the thesis to achieve its desired objective. I can confidently and proudly confess that I was lucky to be accepted as their advisee; and I have learnt so much from both of them. I would like to acknowledge the encouragements I received from my friends and colleagues. My thanks go to my wife, Semegn Shiferaw, and children, Melkam, Dagim and Fitsum Sisay. Their support in so many ways rejuvenated my energy to accomplish the journey I started four years ago. I would like to appreciate the staff members of FARM Africa (Ethiopia Office), particularly those working at the Bale Mountains Eco-Region for their support during data collection. I would also like to extend my thanks to Sahlemariam Mezmur and Merga Diyessa for supporting me during organization of the filed survey, data collection as well as remote sensing and GIS analyses. Also, I would like to express my thanks to all who have positively responded to my survey (questionnaires) used in this study. Finally, I would like to thank all Environmental Sciences PhD candidates, particularly Berhanu Kebede and Alemnew Berhanu for their support during the study period. ii DEDICATION To all who are striving to save our planet Earth iii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1.Background ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. General Objective ............................................................................................................................ 10 1.2.1. Specific objectives .................................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2. Review of Related Literature ................................................................................. 12 2.1. Landscape, Landscape Approach and Non-Carbon Benefits ........................................................... 12 2.2. Land Use and Land Cover Change .................................................................................................. 19 2.3. Non-Carbon Benefits for Effective Implementation of REDD+ ..................................................... 23 2.4. Green Infrastructure ......................................................................................................................... 28 2.5. Institutional Arrangements for REDD+ implementation ................................................................. 30 CHAPTER 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS .......................................................................... 33 3.1. Study areas ....................................................................................................................................... 33 3.2. Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 41 3.2.1. Land Use and Land Cover Change Analysis ............................................................................................ 41 3.2.2. Non-carbon benefits for effective management of REDD+ ...................................................................... 50 3.2.3. Institutional Arrangements and Management of Environmental Resources in Ethiopia .......................... 58 3.2.4. Green Infrastructure .................................................................................................................................. 62 3.2.5. Data Analyses ........................................................................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 66 4.1. LULC Change .................................................................................................................................. 66 4.1.1. Changes Observed in the Different LULCC Types .................................................................................. 66 4.1.2. Change Detection