COP18 (27/11/12) – Didhaa Diribaa Ayane, Director General of Oromia Forest & Wildlife Enterprise talks about the problem of deforestation in Ethiopia. He says that there are many reasons why forests are being destroyed in the country including fires, agricultural land expansion and new settlements and warns that the livelihoods of local people depend on using the forest’s resources.

He says his organisation is trying to organise the people around and inside the forests to establish participatory forest management schemes but warns that these communities will need an alternative resource to depend on and new forms of livelihoods.

He says that financial resources will be needed to help change the livelihood status of those communities dependant on the forests, as well as educational programmes. He says once people stop cutting down the forests, reforestation projects can be run to regain some of the tree cover.