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{"id":10558,"date":"2018-03-21T10:05:39","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T09:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ethiopianembassy.be\/?p=10558"},"modified":"2018-03-21T10:12:16","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T09:12:16","slug":"ethiopias-forests-an-undervalued-resource","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethiopianembassy.be\/?p=10558","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia\u2019s forests, an undervalued resource"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For example, Ethiopia\u2019s System of National Accounts is used to calculate Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but it\u2019s uncertain whether this system fully captures the income that forests produce. Official statistics from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation show the forestry sector\u2019s contribution to be about 3.8 percent of gross domestic product or GDP.<\/p>\n

But a\u00a0UN Environment report\u00a0concludes that forests generated economic benefits in the form of cash and in-kind income equivalent to 12.86 percent of GDP in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, the Government of Ethiopia requested the\u00a0UN Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation<\/a>\u00a0(through UN Environment) to support the country in assessing the contribution of forest ecosystems to national income in the context of the national\u00a0 REDD+<\/a>\u00a0process.<\/p>\n

UN Environment\u2019s resulting\u00a0 report<\/a>\u00a0assessed \u2013 for the first time \u2013 the economic contributions of Ethiopia\u2019s forests.<\/p>\n

Main findings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forests generated economic benefits in the form of cash and in-kind income equivalent to 12.86 percent of GDP in 2012 and 2013; of this, 6.09 percent of GDP is attributed to forest industries. This means that forest income has been undervalued by about\u00a038 percent, because official statistics show the sector\u2019s contribution to be 3.8 percent (2015).<\/p>\n

The contribution of forest ecosystems\u00a0(including carbon sequestration, crop pollination, conservation of agricultural soils and control of water discharge to streams and rivers)\u00a0to other sectors, particularly agriculture, is valued at 6.77 percent of GDP. The fodder livestock farmers obtain freely (by allowing their animals to graze on forest land) was worth about 3.5 percent of GDP. Wood fuel\u2019s value added is estimated at about 4.5 percent of GDP.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethiopia’s Green Economy Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Government of Ethiopia launched a Climate Resilient and Green Economy Strategy in 2011, with the goal of achieving middle-income status for the country by 2025 while following a carbon-neutral growth path. REDD+ implementation is one of the pillars of the Strategy. The Strategy recognizes that deforestation and forest degradation must be reversed if the country is to meet its development goals. Wood fuel accounts for more than 80 percent of household energy supply in Ethiopia and is particularly important in rural areas.<\/p>\n

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How the study can help policymakers<\/strong><\/p>\n

The study\u2019s findings can help strengthen the national REDD+ process in Ethiopia by, among other things, enabling the relevant government agencies to better understand the extent to which Ethiopia\u2019s forests underpin the economy, thereby building support across different ministries for REDD+ implementation.<\/p>\n

The findings could provide the basis for updating Ethiopia\u2019s System of National Accounts with a more accurate account of forest-derived benefits in GDP, particularly the subsistence or in-kind income derived from forests, such as fodder for livestock, wood fuel and roundwood.<\/p>\n

The results and recommendations could be incorporated in the REDD+ National Strategy and potentially also be reflected in Ethiopia\u2019s Growth and Transformation Plan 2 (GTP2) or any subsequent products and reports based on GTP2.<\/p>\n

UN Environment\u2019s economic valuation study has made the \u201cinvisible visible\u201d by highlighting how forests contribute not only to the value added of the forestry sector but also other non-forest industries, both in cash and in-kind income. Implementing the Climate Resilient and Green Economy Strategy, therefore, makes economic sense. In doing so, Ethiopia can safeguard its natural capital, including its forests \u2013 valuable resources on which the economy depends to a considerable extent.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.unenvironment.org\/news-and-stories\/story\/ethiopias-forests-undervalued-resource\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"