Key policies and governance approach

The development of forest policy in Ethiopia exhibits a dynamic process of institutionalization and deinstitutionalization. The institutionalization and deinstitutionalization process was co-shaped by a complex interplay of structural factors such as national political orientation and economic priorities, environmental calamities and the dynamics in the global forest related discourses. Forestry was, most of the times, marginalized or integrated into the dominant agricultural development paradigm, where the integration also failed to maximize the synergy between the two sectors [4]. 

Currently, the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Commission is the federal institution responsible for the governance of forest resources of the country. To reach its current existence, the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission has passed through different institutional restructuring and changes in its legal formation. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Ministry of Environment and Forest and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change were key stepping institutions for the establishment of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change commission. The country has set 10 years National Forest Sector Development Plan (2018-2027) with a vision of building on the country’s forest resources, attracting foreign investment (both donor and public-private partnerships) and transform Ethiopia’s forestry sector in a way that catalyzes GDP growth, generates employment, contributes towards self-sufficiency in forest products and enhances environmental services [5].

In January 2018, a new forest law was enacted and has been taking as a significant step in the right direction from the Ethiopian governments, towards the achievement of the forestry targets. The 2018 National Forest Law – a revised version of the 2007 forest law – wants to recognize the rights of communities and acknowledges their role in managing natural forests and establishing plantations, without unduly compromising ecological services or biodiversity [6].

Successes and remaining challenges  

Despite efforts made by government towards sustainable management of forest resources of the country through the development of strategies and plans on the topic, deforestation and forest degradation is continuing in Ethiopia, threatening the forest resources of the country and the biodiversity it contains. As stated above the country has lost 3.78 million ha of its forest cover during the period from 1990 to 2020 [2]. With growing population and the associated growth in demand for agricultural land and biomass energy it is very likely that deforestation and forest degradation will continue at least for the coming years. 

Initiatives and Development Plans

The National Forest Sector Development Plan (2018-2027) [4] as well as the current Ten Years Development Plan (2021-2030) have set targets of increasing the forest cover of the country. Forest development is also taken as an integral part of the Green Economy Strategy, where it is stated how the government welcomes and is seeking for international support for its ambitious green growth agenda, particularly in harvesting the country’s potential for generating hydroelectric power, promoting more efficient rural cooking techniques, improving the efficiency of livestock value chains, and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation [7].

The Green Legacy (2019-2024) of planting 20 billion seedlings throughout the country is among the initiatives which will have positive contribution in increasing the forest cover of the country. Furthermore, Ethiopia is also investing in development of renewable energy resources, which will have a positive impact in reducing the pressure on forest as biomass energy source. In the Ten Years Development Plan, the country has set targets of increasing renewable energy generation from 4,478 megawatts to 19,900 megawatts by 2030 and raise the coverage of grid-based electricity from 33% to 96% [8].

Goals and Ambitions

As a part of its NDCs (conditional pathway), Ethiopia is ambitiously aiming at reforestation and restoration of a total of up to 15 million hectares as a long-term forestry sector goal based on Ethiopia’s Forest Sector Development Plan, the Green Legacy Initiative and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) strategic actions [9]. This would result in an increase national forest coverage from 15.5% to 30% by 2030 and increase greenhouse gas emissions reduction capacity from the present 92.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2E) to 162.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent [8].

In its 2018 National Forest Law, Ethiopia is also playing close attention to the recognition of participatory forest management as a vehicle to enhance the role of communities in sharing responsibilities and benefits of managing natural forests, the provision of incentives for the private forest developers through different mechanisms and to the creation of penalties for harming forest ecosystems. [6]