Agricultural Investment Coalition with Ecosystem Management at Ethio South Sudan border: The case of Gambella-Boma National Parks

Abstract

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background Establishing and managing protected areas is one of the biodiversity conservations approaches that has long been served as a cornerstone for ecosystem management (IPBES, 2021; Redford et al., 2015). These protected areas are playing a significant role in addressing biodiversity loss and climate mitigation and adaption. However, current human use and transformation of ecosystem, exploitation of organisms, pollution and the introduction of invasive species have resulted in the rapid and wide spread decline of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem worldwide (IPBES, 2021). In Africa, the extent of protected areas has almost doubled in the last decades but effectiveness of protected areas is poor in many areas due to a combination of factors, such as: climate change, overexploitation, civil conflicts, and encroachment from local populations to sustain their livelihoods, and inadequate park design and administration (Walters, 2018). Within the same fashion the protected areas of Ethiopia operate at a level substantially below its potential. At the time where world worry about the ecosystem found outside protected area, it is so shame to improperly handle the designated protected area on our hands specially developing world. Quite a number of the protected areas in Ethiopia are effectively “paper parks” (Van Zyl, 2015). Gambella National Park is found in Gambella region, which is the second largest protected area in country next to Bale Mountain National. This region has huge potentials of agricultural investment due to its favorable climatic conditions and geographical suitability. High amount of rainfall received per year, the wetness nature of the land, and other many related natural phenomena made the region selective (Fakana & Mengist, 2019). The region is biologically highly diversified and share boarder with Boma National Park of South Sudan. Wildlife management is a part of the measures which are necessary for fulfilling the objectives of certain protected areas. They operate within ecosystems whose boundaries do not to coincide with administrative nor national borders. (Gabreta & Janík, 2020; Krhoda, 2018). The transboundary ecosystems connected with biodiversity corridors for migratory large mammals are important aspect in the context of sustainable management of the whole ecosystem goods and services associated with the ecological regions and enhance sustainable ecosystem management. 2 However, a key challenge for the management of protected areas is to find strategic ways in which to enable successes, including benefits beyond species and ecosystems management. Despite all the challenges, the presence of rich biodiversity, mosaic of shared cultural and ecological attributes would bring opportunities to bring about harmonized development, peace and security (Abera & Prof, 2018; Walters, 2018). As a part of the Ethiopian government initiatives to tap the resources in the region and enhance the livelihoods of the local people, Gambella has been identified as one the regions suitable for large-scale agricultural investment in the country (Kussia et al., 2020) and impaired with improper strategy and management which imposed serious problems on livelihoods of thousands of local communities with their indigenous knowledge who live harmony with nature. Recently, the pressure of human population on the ecosystem has increased for the need of food security, energy and other related development goals such as agro-industries in the last two decades in Ethiopia (Degife & Mauser, 2017). This large agricultural investment expansion by leasing became common fashion to national and international private investors in the last few years in Ethiopia and went serious step towards grabbing millions of hectares of fertile lands especially in western parts of the country specifically Gambella region (Becker & Wittmeyer, 2013; Degife & Mauser, 2017). Rather than investment, the region has been facing tremendous deforestation problems since last three decades due to resettlement programs, refugees’ migration from the neighboring South Sudan and occurrence of frequent wild fire and seasonal movement of semi-nomadic cattle breeding tribes (Berta, 2013). This continuous trends of encroachment by agricultural investment and local community devastates the ecosystem goods and services which are supporting millions of living organisms including human races. Therefore, this huge ecologically rich resource needs transboundary ecosystem management collaboratively through legal and policy frame work within involvements of local community and other concerned stakeholders. Unless otherwise the fate of this protected areas may fail under unsustainable use of both or either side the community and adversely affect the effectiveness of the entire ecosystem function and composition.