The business of forest conservation

The high montane forests of the Sheka Biosphere Reserve tower over the surrounding landscapes in the South West Ethiopia people’s region, a richly biodiverse terrain that is home to many endemic species of plants, birds, amphibians, and mammals. These once pristine forests are the original home of the coffee tree, which has now found the world over but has been harvested from wild trees in these forests for thousands of years.

Bees for Development have just embarked on a new project in collaboration with The University of Huddersfield (UoH) and Ethio Wetlands and Natural Resources Association (EWNRA) to help protect the unique Afromontane forests of South-west Ethiopia by supporting conservation livelihoods, specifically the production of two sustainably managed forest-conserving products, wild coffee, and forest honey.

While these forests are still wild, they are also critical for the income of the people who live in and around them. Renowned for the delicious honey they produce, the peoples of the Anderacha region have long been practicing the art of beekeeping, and make it an art they do. Keeping beehives, a dizzying 30m high or more off the ground, in places that only the most skilled of tree climbers can reach, and following the natural migration of the honeybees down from the high mountain slopes where they spend the summer to the warmer, lowland hills during the winter.

Despite such natural abundance and expertise, the livelihoods of the beekeepers and wild coffee producers of this region are under immense pressure as the forest is threatened from all sides. As the demand for timber is increasing with the growing construction and real estate sectors in Ethiopia and crop farming leading to large areas forest being cleared in favour of traditional agriculture, even the ever-increasing global demand for coffee is an issue as many coffee produces have begun clearing large sections of the wild forest to open the canopy, allowing more sunlight to reach the coffee trees. This allows the coffee to grow quickly and produce a significant amount more coffee per tree. Which is great for the coffee producer in the short term but devastating in the long term to both the forest and the producer alike.

Through the establishment of sustainable trade links between community enterprises and wild coffee and honey buyers, both national and international, this project aims to secure the supply chains of these products, and by assisting in creating a digital traceability and quality assurance system, using freeware, to give the buyers a measure of confidence and security in their purchases, enabling them to provide feedback and support to individuals and community enterprises as well as have the evidence that these products not only provide an income to the producers but also conserve the forest and benefit the overall health and biodiversity of the reserve. This will allow the producers to obtain a premium price for their valuable forest-conserving products giving them more incentive to protect the forest and resist the allure of easier, more destructive pursuits.