Source: Masha Woreda Department of Forest and Environment Protection.
Management practice
The KOBO forest is a community forest, managed, and conserved by the community. The Sheka people have their own institutional organization for forest management. Through these institutions, the Sheka people manage and conserve the Sheka forest. Previously, the KOBO forest has only customary use rights, but not legal grounds. The majority of respondents (85%) believed that the KOBO forest conservation culture could manage and conserve the Sheka forest. One of the main reasons for the decline of traditional forest conservation culture like the KOBO is the state forest law. At the national level, all community forests that were administered by the local people through their indigenous knowledge was administered under state forest law. The state forest law of the southern nations, nationalities and people’s region (SNNPR) put community forest under state forest.
Even if the KOBO forest conservation and management culture have a number of economic and ecological significance, it has no legal grounds to protect this culture before the second forest proclamation of the southern nations, nationalities and people’s region (SNNPR) come into practice. The southern nations, nationalities and people’s region (SNNPR) has a forest proclamation that was draft in 77/2004 and amended in the year 147/2007.
The first forest proclamation only recognizes state-owned forests and privately owned forest and does not recognize community forests like the KOBO forests. But the second forest proclamation, which came into effect in the year 147/2007, recognizes both state-owned forest, privately owned forest and the community forest and the KOBO forest from the second forest proclamation onwards has got a recognition. Before the second forest proclamation, the KOBO forest was highly exposed to investment expansion in the zone. This is mainly because the first forest proclamation of the southern nations, nationalities and peoples’ region (SNNPR) did not recognize the community forest; therefore, the Sheka people did not have the right to claim.
After the second forest, proclamation of southern nations, nationalities and peoples’ region (SNNPR) and through the efforts of the Sheka zone administration and non-governmental organization like REED+ PFM, the KOBO forest conservation culture has recognition and the forest under KOBO holding transferred to PFM. After the collaborative efforts of the above- mentioned governmental and non-governmental organizations, KOBO forest holders have got lots of benefited to defending their rights.
For sustainable forest conservation and management, the forest community must benefit from the forest. For this reason, the REED+ PFM works towards forest-based enterprises to benefit KOBO forest holders in the Sheka zone. It is well known that the Sheka zone has a rich potential for non-timber forest products (NTFP). Besides obtaining their legal entity, the KOBO forest under PFM also gained economic benefits from the forest.
In history, Ethiopia never exports food items to the outside world; however, the KOBO forest holder after they are organized under PFM and marketing cooperatives, honey was exported to Europe, North America, and the Middle East. For example, in Masha woreda, there are honey-marketing cooperatives organized from grass root PFM units and are engaged in the production of honey and sell it to the honey processing company. Along with this value, chain the KOBO forest holder exporting honey and obtaining economic benefits from the KOBO forest.
The REED+ PFM in Sheka zone works towards the sustainability of traditional forest management practices like the KOBO forest conservation culture. The REED+PFM support the KOBO forest conservation culture by empowering the community to have a legal entity to administer the community forest and to get economic benefits from the forest. There are cases in Uwa kebele, Masha Woreda, which proves the significance of organizing KOBO forest holders under PFM. The REED+ PFM project coordinator in the Sheka zone explained this point in the following statements:
In Masha Woreda, KOBO forest holders administered Uwa kebele 990 hectares of community forest. Out of 990 hectares, 200 hectares of forest was given to Sheka Development Association for investment purposes. The Uwa kebele KOBO forest holders, since they are legally registered and organized under PFM, brought the cases to the court to defend their rights. Finally, the 200-hectare KOBO forest was given to the Sheka Development Association (FGD-4, 20 Jan.2016 Masha Town).
There are three types of forest in the Sheka zone this is state forest, forestland for investment and forest under local farmers used for agriculture purposes. In the Sheka zone, both Masha and Andracha woreda, all state forests are under PFM and now all forest in the two woredas are PFM-saturated. According to the REED+ PFM, project coordinator in the Sheka zone: by now the REED+PFM works towards the inclusion of the remaining forest cover in the Sheka zone under PFM in the adjacent woreda.
There is a problem of inclusion of all forest cover under PFM. These are boundary problems and conflict over forestland among the clan in the Sheka zone. There is a boundary conflict between forest lands designated for investment and the KOBO forest in the Sheka zone. For example, in Masha woreda Akako kebele, there is a problem of boundary disputes among land designated for investment and the KOBO forest under PFM. Until boundary, conflict settles the inclusion of the KOBO forest under PFM is pending. Another hindrance for the inclusion of the remaining forest cover under PFM is the boundary conflict between clans in the Sheka zone. For example, there is a clan name called Beto and Wello. The conflict between the two clans over the KOBO forestland creates a problem for the inclusion of forest under PFM.
Now through the efforts of the governmental and non-governmental organizations, the KOBO forest can be administered and conserved through PFM. By making demarcation at the village level, the KOBO forest can be administered and conserved in modern scientific ways. Through the efforts of governmental and non-governmental organizations currently, there are 87 forest blocks organized by REED+PFM and the government in both Masha and Andercha woreda organized five forest blocks. The farmer organizes himself or herself to protect the forest and to make a benefit from the forest, but both governmental and non-governmental organizations only give technical and logistic support to the village-level forest block.
Discussion
The socio-cultural attachment of forest among the Sheka people is illustrated by the allocation of KOBO forestland (economic forest) by clans. In one village, there may be one particular clan and own an area of a large tract of forestland. For example, the name of the clan is Wollo which means there is a larger territorial and political unit comprising several villages, in those villages the dominant clan is Wollo. Therefore, the name of the clan leader is Wolasha. If the name of the clan is Abelo, the clan leader’s name is Abel tata. The management of economic forest (KOBO) regulations are formulated by the clan leader (Gebi tato) and are well enforced.
The Wollo clan owns the KOBO forests located inside the clan territorial and political unit. Each clan has its own clan leader and the name of the clan leader derived from the clan name. The KOBO economic forest was allocated and administered by that particular clan. All members of the clan are entitled to get a share benefit, which are derived from the use of the KOBO forests. The management and conservation of economic forest (KOBO) is the responsibility of the clan leader.
Table 1: Example of the name of clan and clan leaders.