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Case Studies
Bonga
Manja
and the Bonga forest: A story of successful interaction
Why
are the local communities living in and around the Bonga
forest managing the forest resources around their area?
The answer is simple: the forest is directly linked to
their survival. It is their life. The dependence of the
community on the forest has taken various forms over
different periods. The communities that are now
exercising the role of managers were at one time its
destroyers. “When I think of the past, I am baffled by
the utter ignorance we must have been engulfed with in
order to pass a verdict of extinction on our forest. It
was literally suicidal,” says Buleta Wako, who is
chairman of the forest-cooperative in Matapa kebele.
A
panoramic view of the Bonga forest from the hills
overlooking the new community forest areas is so
captivating that it inspires one to pen words of praise.
This majestic beauty, however, hides the real complexity
and struggle of the people living inside the forest.
Such
complexity was revealed at a meeting in which members of
the Agama Forest Conservation and Development
Cooperative, a new community forest management group,
presented their concerns to government foresters
regarding the threat posed to their forest area and
their user rights. They specifically accused six
individuals of not abiding by the rules of the forest
management cooperative and engaging in destruction of
the resources to fulfill their selfish interests of
wealth. The meeting concluded with assurances from the
government representatives that abusers of the new
forest management system will not be allowed to carry on
with their destructive acts, and that the law
enforcement bodies of the area would stand by the side
of the Agama community. Witnessing the confidence and
genuine concern of the forest management cooperative
members was a confirmation of the attitudinal changes in
the community towards forest resources.
The
Manja tribe, who live within the Bonga forest, had
previously survived by cutting trees and selling
firewood and charcoal. This destructive life style
angered government officials who descended on them
fiercely. “Our relationship with the government was
that of a cat and mouse. They persecuted us. They
flogged our women who were caught fetching firewood. We
were imprisoned many times and spent six years of
litigation in court to get our right to use the
forest,” lamented Kereda Dechemo, another member of
the tribe.
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The
Participatory Forest Management (PFM) project of FARM
Africa was initiated in 1996 (now part of the FARM/SOS
PFMP) and addresses many of the ills that plagued the
Manja community.
PFM –
a tool for harmonizing the rights of communities
to use, develop and conserve forest resources with the
government’s role of protecting natural resources -
has not only put an end to the conflict but also
established a lasting partnership between the two main
actors. Now the communities and government bodies are
part of a pact where both share responsibilities for
managing the forest resources. |
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| They assess, negotiate,
plan, implement and monitor the forest together. They
also discuss and tackle problems jointly.
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Another
positive development that is an offshoot of PFM is the
economic empowerment of the Manja community. Thanks to
the technical and financial assistance they are
receiving from the project, members of the Manja
community are now farming and using improved seed
varieties and technologies. Local skills are developed
by participatory research.
Now, it is very common to see a variety of crops
such as maize, sorghum, false banana (enset), and godere
on their farmlands. They are utilizing the forest
without jeopardizing the ecological balance as they
harvest forest coffee, cardamom (korerima) and honey.
The
social dimension of this improvement in livelihood is
the fact that it is slowly boosting the self-esteem of
the Manja people, and bringing about attitudinal change
among those who previously considered them inferior,
thus improving social integration. The Manja - who
previously had hardly any permanent dwellings –are now
building their own houses. “We built this house
because my husband and I got a lot of money by selling
57 kilos of honey we produced using our two modern
beehives,” says Mulunesh Gebreselassie of Matapa. She
proudly showed her visitors the newly constructed
two-room house.
As
part of the PFM programme women are participating in and
benefiting from the forest management cooperatives on an
equal footing with men.
In addition, there is a reproductive health
component that involves raising the community’s
awareness regarding family planning, which has started
showing great attitudinal changes in both women and men.
Thus, the project activities are supporting the Manja
community in various livelihood and awareness raising
programmes to bring tangible changes in their lives
while conserving the Bonga forest resources.
Read
about the Bonga project >>>
Other
case studies from Bonga
A
Day in the Life of Haile Yesho >>>
Beehives
and Abebe Tesfa >>>
Couples’
Life Undergoes Transformation >>>
Gone
are the Days of Hardship >>>
Livelihood
Supports >>>
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