Protecting the home of wild coffee whilst improving local livelihoods: Participatory Forest Management for coffee forest conservation in Ethiopia

Description

Coffea arabica evolved as an understory shrub in the Afromontane forests of south-west Ethiopia. Despite being a global commodity and Ethiopia’s dominant export, conservation of the birthplace of coffee has been poor. While the importance of conserving the coffee forests is now recognised, conservation policies have been unsuccessful because they have alienated local communities. This project uses a Participatory Forest Management (PFM) methodology tested and implemented successfully over a period of 10+ years in nearby districts which links forest maintenance and livelihood development.