107 Woodlot Devolution in Northern Ethiopia Opportunities for Empowerment, Smallholder Inco.pdf

EPTD DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 107 Environment and Production Technology Division International Food Policy Research Institute 2033 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 U.S.A. September 2003 EPTD Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results, and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that most Discussion Papers will eventually be published in some other form, and that their content may also be revised. WOODLOT DEVOLUTION IN NORTHERN ETHIOPIA: OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPOWERMENT, SMALLHOLDER INCOME DIVERSIFICATION, AND SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT Pamela Jagger, John Pender, and Berhanu Gebremedhin i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. We also thank Mekelle University for collaboration and institutional support during the fieldwork. We are especially grateful to the many farmers and community leaders who patiently responded to our questions. ii ABSTRACT This paper explores the patterns and determinants of empowerment, income generation, and environmental sustainability under varying degrees of woodlot management in Tigray, Ethiopia. Our analysis is based upon a survey of 120 collectively managed woodlots, devolved to varying degrees, and 66 households that have recently received small plots of community land for tree planting. We find that more devolved woodlot management empowers resource users by providing greater autonomy regarding the management of woodlots, and in particular the ability to make decisions about the harvest of woodlot products. Our economic analysis indicates that grass is by far the most important product being harvested from woodlots. There has been very limited harvesting of higher value products such as poles and fuelwood, which are in very short supply in the region. Labor in