But what we want to do is to make it like, watershed approach. Individual farmers will be the targets; but unless you manage the whole watershed system, your effort will not be complete. What if the farmers start cutting the trees again after all this? That is very important. People have to cut and use the trees because they have spent their resources, spent their time to grow that tree. But one thing we need to do is to make it a sustainable management. When they cut, they have to plant again. This kind of management is called sustainable resource management or sustainable forest management. As a chairman of ETFF what is your future plan for Ethiopia? I with we have a big national movement that all people-citizens of this country and friends of this country-stand up and work together because this is a very serious problem. As you see now most of the dams have been filled, there is shortage of electricity in town. Deforestation is a major problem; once you cut the trees, the topsoil is washed by rain and it fills the dams or lakes. Then you lose the dam, biotic life the birds that live in the water. What the government should do is to make it a national priority and mobilize every citizen at least to plant 1, 2 or 3 trees around their houses. It is not only the rural people but the urban people as well. They have to have the culture of growing trees, it's not only fuel wood, trees provide shed; we have to make that part of our life. That is what I think I would like to see in the future. We are not a big organization but we want to make a difference, to be a model. We would like to be activists to mobilize others. We cannot change the whole thing; the people have to rise and the government have to provide the resources. Any interested Ethiopian or businessperson can a member of ETFF and help us promote its objectives. We would like to part of that change. Not only the government, NGOs, international organizations all Ethiopian and friends of Ethiopia have to help on this. It is not enough to provide food as a handout and come back in a year but we have to think of to give a long-term solution. How much time do you think will it take to accomplish this project? It will take a long time, but we have to take the first step today. If we move in the right direction, we will get there. If you read any history, even in the US they have a problem of soil erosion, land degradation in the 1930s. But for the last 17 or so years they have controlled that kind of erosion. Natural resource is not the work of today; it is a work of generations in al long-term basis. How much does the policy here affect (positively or negatively) forestry in Ethiopia? I think we need a strong forest and land tenure policy that is critical and the government has to give emphasis on that. I don't think there is a forest policy; there might be forest legislation. And if Ministries like Natural Resources and Conservation Ministry are re-established there is a possibility of protecting the forests and the natural resources. How much soil do we lose every year? Two million tons of soil is washed away every year. If we can save that how much do you think will it help? It's a lot. Because the soil that is going is the topsoil. It is very fertile which can be productive; so if we keep that soil we will be rich. If you take the Blue Nile, that is a good example. If you take the fertile soil that is at the Blue Nile delta, (you know) that is how the Egyptians are surviving. If you keep it home you make a fortune. Soil is the base for food production; if you produce food for other agricultural products, commodities, then you can sell those products and make a difference in the lives of the people. |
