EthioTrees partners with communities across the Tembien Highlands in Tigray to co-create sustainable livelihood opportunities for smallholders and landless farmers through reforestation, agroforestry and ecosystem services development.
Location
Ethiopia, TigrayPeriod
1 February 2016 to 31 January 2066Project type
Afforestation and Reforestation Project (ARR)Credit type
Ex-post PVCs from ecosystem restorationContext
The North Ethiopian Highlands are characterized by steep slopes, a short but intense monsoon, and high cattle density, making them a land degradation hotspot highly vulnerable to climate change.
With the EthioTrees project, we aim to enhance rural household income for smallholder and landless farmers through community reforestation, agroforestry, and the development of forest ecosystem services.
Project Details
Our impact
21,526 ha
Under restoration
+41%
increase in flora species richness since the start of the project in 2016
40,790
households partnering in the project
Schools
15
The communities chose to invest in building primary schools, improving access to education for more than 1,080 children.
Targeted SDGs
Project Highlights
Community-driven investments
The 60% benefit-sharing model enables communities to invest in local needs like schools and water access
Forest products Valorization
Training and cooperative support enable communities to earn income from Non-Timer Forest Products (NTFPs) like frankincense, honey, irrigation, and livestock fattening.
Restoring Landscapes
The combination of reforestation on slopes and agroforestry in valleys strengthens both ecological resilience and agricultural productivity.
Activities
Each of our projects includes a range of activities tailored to local context, traditions, and needs. Explore what’s happening on the ground.
Community engagement
The project collaborates with the bayto (citizens council) to define the project areas and guide all key decisions.
Ecosystem Restoration
A holistic restoration approach is applied combining soil and water conservation, protection, reforestation, and ecological restoration within designated ecosystem restoration patches (“exclosures”).
Soil & Vegetation Monitoring
Extensive monitoring is conducted through systematic vegetation surveys and soil sampling to estimate aboveground biomass and soil carbon.
Biodiversity Monitoring
Biodiversity impact is monitored using Shannon’s Index, a robust indicator for biodiversity status.
Social Impact Assessment
The project’s social impact is assessed through community surveys, in-depth interviews, needs assessment and livelihood indicators.
Training
Landless associations and smallholder farmers receive regular training to benefit from non-timber forest products like frankincense, honey, irrigation, and agroforestry.
Benefit sharing
Reinvestments in socio-ecological projects, such as schools, water wells and solar panels are community-driven and transparently tracked for partners.
Local Impact, Global Goals
See how our work supports the SDGs through measurable community impact indicators.
The project engages community members, especially women and youth, in income-generating activities linked to reforestation sites. It offers targeted training in frankincense harvesting, apiculture, agroforestry, fodder production, and irrigation to enhance their nutrition and income.
- Since 2016, the project has successfully doubled the market price of frankincense resin.
The project partners with communities and smallholder farmers to diversify livelihoods products and improve food security, while providing food aid to vulnerable members during famine.
- 29,135 vulnerable individuals were supported with food aid during the 2021 famine.
The project constructs soil and water conservation structures to capture water and sustain downslope spring activity. Additionally, socio-ecological reinvestments fund water taps and large reservoirs to ensure dry season water access.
- Over 10 large water reservoirs have been constructed and many more are in progress.
The project aims to reverse ecosystem degradation by increasing above-ground vegetation and biodiversity, capturing carbon in both vegetation and soil to help mitigate climate change.
- To date 490,687 tCO2 has been sequestered by the project.
The project’s landscape approach improves rainwater infiltration and prevents soil loss, stabilizing groundwater levels and boosting soil productivity for resilient agriculture and irrigation.
- In Meam Atali, farmers can now irrigate all year round.
Field impressions
A look into our work on the ground
Documents
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Registration certificate
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Project design document
Project context: Expected benefits, environmental and social contexts, participating community and their involvement in project design and governance, governance structure and interventions.
Latest audit
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