Mt Wochecha Rehabilitation Project

Abstract

EXCUTIVE SUMMARY Mt Wochecha is located some 30 Ian south west of Addis Ababa, between Welmera and Sebeta Awas weredas of Oromia Regional State. Forming a spectacular scenery in the north eastern end of Tufky plain, Mt Wochecha is an extinct volcanic dome with a summit at 3350 m asl, and covers an area of about 21 ,265 ha. The annual rainfalls and temperature ranges from 1100-1200 m and 14-20°c respectively. The mountain is an important water catchment area from which a number of tributaries rise and drain to Awash River in the south and to Gefersa dam in the north. The western mid parts of this vast land mass constitute the Menagesha Suba State Forest, while the remaining larger parts are occupied by local communities with total number of households of about 9508, out of which an estimated 4267 households are directly using the mountain range for cultivation, settlement and grazing purposes. The communities residing in the mountain are organized under 17 KAs, and are engaged mainly on agriculture for their livelihood. Cultivation is traditional with little or no agricultural input, and largely without conservation measures. Some members of the communities residing around the above mentioned forest are sometimes in conflict with the state forest administration on the access to or use of the forest. Based on population data of year 1991 and today for 4 KAs, the population in the project area is growing at an estimated annual rate of 7.5%. Agricultural land for increasing population (new comers) has been mostly obtained by clearing forest vegetation or converting some left over marginal land or steep slopes of the mountain. These continuous removals of vegetation cover for expansion of farm land as well as for fuel and construction wood has resulted in increased soil erosion and land degradation. This in tum has also caused scarcity of fuel wood and construction materials, which again forced several households to rather use cattle dung and crop residue which otherwise would have been used to improve soil fertility and crop yields. Presently cattle dung and crop residues accounted for an average of about 15% of domestic energy supply. Therefore, in an attempt to control reverse the on going degradation process, a thorough study of the mountain areas, which included socioeconomic survey and consultation of the concerned stakeholders has been carried out, and as a result this project proposal was formulated. The overall objective of this project is to rehabilitate, conserve and sustainably manage the natural resources of Mt Wochecha through full participation of local communities. As noted above, since the local people are using the project area for cultivation, settlement and grazing; multiple land use and participatory management is believed to be the only option for rehabilitation and sustainable management of the natural resources. Thus, a multi-sectoral approach or an integration of natural resource conservation with agricultural and rural development has to be adopted to achieve the above stated objective. ...