Yayu forest is one of the important forest priority areas in Ethiopia. It has a high number of plant and animal species. Over 450 higher plants, 50 mammal, 200 bird, and 20 amphibian species have been recorded in the area. The forest is also one of the few remnant habitats for wild coffee (Coffea arabica). Ethiopia is the only center of origin and diversity for C. arabica and hence is important for the in situ conservation of the genetic diversity of the natural coffee. Additionally, the forest area is vital for its ecological services such carbon sequestration and watershed protection for human health and hydropower generation. As part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity hot spot area, the forest is important for the conservation of biodiversity at both regional and global level.

The Yayu coffee forest is also important for the livelihoods of local households and stakeholders at different levels. It is a source of income for the locals and also a safe guard in difficult times such as during extreme weather events or poor harvest. the forest is a major source of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and other products of local use such as construction material, fuel wood, and farm implements.  The most common NTFPs include coffee, honey, medicinal plants, spices and game. Forests and semi-forest coffee contributes to about 46% of households’ income in the area, while plantation coffee in transition areas contributes to about 21% of the households’ income.

Even though the forest is important for both conservation and the livelihoods of local people, it faces severe threats of deforestation. Major causes of deforestation are conversion to agricultural land and large scale monoculture plantation as well as over-grazing by livestock. Over the past 30 years alone, more than 60 % of the forest in the region has been converted to other land uses. Most of the remaining forest area is highly degraded due to intensive management for coffee production and selective logging. In spite of these facts, none of the forest area in the country is represented in the protected area system of the country. With the high rates of deforestation and forest degradation several species unique to this forest habitat are lost. Particularly, the loss of the genetically highly diverse wild populations of coffee might have far-reaching economic consequences. The wild coffee populations are an irrecoverable genetic resource for coffee production both nationally and internationally.

This project, therefore, aims at reducing deforestation and forest degradation while contributing to the improvement of local livelihoods through adaptive conservation-development integration activities. To achieve this, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve approach is adapted.  The Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve has been nominated by the government of Ethiopia in September 2009 and expected to be approved by UNESCO in mid-2010. << Read less

Supporting the establishment of the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve through capacity-building, forest restoration, forest monitoring and promotion of coffee products

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Yayu forest is an important area from an eco-regional perspective. The forest vegetation is predominantly of the Afromontane type. Studies by Gole (2003) and Senbeta (2006) have shown that there are several Afromontane endemic plant species in the Yayu forest like Allophylus abyssinicus, Brucea antidysenterica, Cassipourea malosana, Coffea arabica, Deinbollia kilimandscharica, Dracaena afromontana, Galiniera saxifraga, Ekebergia capensis, Dracaena steudneri, Ilex mitis, Maytenus arbutifolia, Myrsine Africana, Prunus africana, Olinia rochetiana and others.  It also has several species of the Guinueo-Congolian forest vegetation and many more species linking the Afromontane with other forest vegetations in Africa and Southeast Asia. The forest combines different types of conservation priorities being a biodiversity hot spot, a center for plant diversity and an origin for crop plants, an important bird breeding area and an important part of the Nile-Basin. Several major tributaries of the Nile originate from or drain from this area. These include rivers like Geba, Baro, Sor, Dabana and Dedesa. The forest cover within the catchment area plays an important role for watershed protection, flood prevention and sustainable water supply downstream to for example Sudan and Egypt.

A multi-disciplinary research on the Yayu forest and other similar coffee forests in Ethiopia since 2000 has revealed that Yayu forest is unique in terms of species composition and genetic diversity and genotypic composition of the wild coffee populations. It is also the largest remnant coffee forest fragment in Ethiopia. An assessment of a sampling of ca. 300 individuals from well documented wild coffee populations (Yayu, Berhane Kontir, Bale, Bonga, Boginda, Mankira, Bench Maji, Anfilo, Daphe) carried out by Tesfaye (2006) clearly confirmed the existence of a high molecular-genetic diversity in wild coffee populations with complex geographical patterns. The comparison with Ethiopian landraces (farmer’s varieties) and commercial cultivars shows that wild populations of Coffea arabica are genetically different and can be distinguished from semi-domesticated plants. The interregional patterns of genetic diversity in wild C. arabica indicate that a hierarchical-geographical structure is obscured by naturally occurring gene flow. Moreover, the interregional analysis with samples collected all over Ethiopia revealed the presence of unique genotypes in Yayu forest with above-average genetic diversity. The dense sampling of C. arabica with ISSRs (inter simple sequence repeats) in forests of Yayu (Geba Dogi) and Berhane Kontir shows a fine-scale spatial patterning of genotypes in wild populations. Molecular data generally support the existence of truly wild populations that differ from semi-domesticated and bred plants, and underscore the need of conserving the wild coffee.

The existing protected areas in Ethiopia were established to protect large mammals and are restricted to lowland grasslands and woodlands. Forest vegetations are mainly found at high altitudes and none of the country’s forests fall within the existing protected areas. Specifically there is no protected area in the south-western highlands of the country where over 60% of the country’s forest cover is located.  Based on the species, genetic, and ecosystem diversity as well as socio-economic data, the Yayu Coffee Forest has been identified as a top priority for conservation. << Read less

During the implementation of this project, additional activities on development shall be co-financed by other donors. A GEF grant on mainstreaming agrobiodiversity is being implemented. One of the partners from Germany, BfN, is supporting a project on mainstreaming biodiversity conservation and community benefits. BY the end of the project, the Biosphere Reserve shall be able to generate income from proceeds of sale of newly branded local products, carbon finance (REDD), government budget and income from ecotourism. Furthermore, the applicant organizations (ECFF, IBC, OFWE) are dedicated to forest conservation and management and shall ensure sustainable financing for the area. << Read less

The project will build the capacity of local communities and organizations through education, training, awareness creation and technology transfer. Through participation in the project activities local communities will develop the skills in conservation planning and implementation, monitoring, sustainable forest product harvesting. The beneficiaries include all different groups and strata of society with special consideration to gender, age and social status.

The activities of this project are complementary to the priorities identified by the National Biodiversity Action Plan, Poverty Reduction plan, Nation climate adaptation plan, national and use plan and MDGs which support the sustainable use of natural resources for development.

Goal 1.1: To establish and strengthen national and regional systems of protected areas integrated into a global network as a contribution to globally agreed goals
Goal 1.2: To integrate protected areas into broader land- and seascapes and sectors so as to maintain ecological structure and function
Goal 1.4: To substantially improve site-based protected area planning and management
Goal 1.5: To prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of key threats to protected areas
Goal 2.1: To promote equity and benefit-sharing
Goal 2.2: To enhance and secure involvement of indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders
Goal 3.1: To provide an enabling policy, institutional and socio-economic environment for protected areas
Goal 3.2: To build capacity for the planning, establishment and management of protected areas
Goal 3.4: To ensure financial sustainability of protected areas and national and regional systems of protected areas
Goal 3.5: To strengthen communication, education and public awareness
Goal 4.1 - To develop and adopt minimum standards and best practices for national and regional protected area systems
Goal 4.3: To assess and monitor protected area status and trends
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