Project launching workshop in collaboration with Mekelle University (Ethiopia), the Mendel University in Brno (Czech Republic) was conducted.
As part of the ADU’s endeavors on research and community services on agriculture and natural resources management across Ethiopia, a new project on the ‘Desa’a forest (Dracaena woodlands) restoration and conservation in Tigray – a two-year project and lead by Tesfay Gidey, from the Department of Plant Science’ was launched at the workshop conducted at Wukro town, Tigray, Ethiopia.
The project will be conducted in collaboration with the Mekelle University (Ethiopia), the Mendel University in Brno (Czech Republic) and other several partners. The Foundation Franklinia, Switzerland and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, United Kingdom will jointly fund the project activities.
The project aims at restoring and conserving the degraded Desa’a forest, which is one of the remnant northern Ethiopian national forests with high economic, ecologic and biodiversity conservation values both at local and global scales. Despite these, the forest has now been strongly degraded by overexploitation, agricultural expansion and climate change.
To reverse these trends, the project will implement four interlinked interventions: capacity building training and education for stakeholders; livelihood improvement for the local communities; habitat restoration techniques (e.g., soil and water conservation activities and planting seedlings); and share and disseminate the project results via printed and e-sources.
