(Monday, 01 August 2011, CapitalEthiopia)--Disagreements are still knocking over between community members and an Indian tea farm in Gambela. Local residents are taking their case all the way to the executive branch, asking the president to save the forest.
The company, Veranda Harvests, has already cleared about two hectares even as their plans are being challenged for the establishment of a tea nursery site and planning to extend their project to the rest of the forestlands.
The Forum for Environment (FfE) report says the land in Gambela regional state, Mejenger zone, Godare woreda of Gumare Kebele is high forest.
However when the government asked Veranda Harvests to stop the project, they argued that the land given for the investment is bush land not forestland.
“As per our assessment, we have found the area to be high forest. It is even grouped in the category ‘Moist Mountain Forest’ under the classification of Ethiopia’s vegetation types,” the FfE report explained.
Verandata Harvests received about 3050 hectares of land at Gumare forest, 630 km southwest of Addis Ababa, early this year to create a tea farm.
One third of the area the company took in however was previously given to the community members living in and around the forest through three Participatory Forest Management (PFM) cooperatives.
The government had given 1,092 hectares of the forest to these Forest Management Cooperatives, a few months before it was transferred to the Indian company.
In addition, Veranda Harvests didn’t carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) when it requested and received the land for the tea plantation, which was mandatory for such large-scale agricultural investments under the country’s law, the new report argued.
Nigusu Aklilu, executive director of FfE, told Capital that the company should deliver its EIA study. “Based on the company’s study stakeholders need to discus about the EIA before the tea farm starts up,” he added.
The report highly emphasized that urgent action is required to save the Gumare high forest.
“We are not opposing the investment, but need to uphold the law,” the executive director said.
According to the FfE official, the new report was sent to the federal government but they have received no response.
The FfE study indicated that the Gumare forest is very important for the surrounding environment. It helps stop erosion and provides a source of clean water.
There are also a large amount of unique tree species in the area including: Aningeria spp, Equbergia, Cordia, Croton, Celtis, Shiflera, Eritrinea, Melicia and others.
This forest is also home to a number of wild animals such as the colobus monkey, green monkey, bush pig, bushback, leopard, buffalo, lion and a number of bird species. It is a source of about fifteen springs too.
A few months ago President Girma Woldegiorgis, Federal Environmental Protection Authority and various concerned institutions and groups wrote a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) stating the enormous economical, social and environmental benefits of the intact forest in the area, and urged them to rethink and reverse the investment decision already passed.
In addition members of the three Participatory Forest Management cooperatives were very much disappointed with the decision made by the local government and have appealed to the federal and regional governments though nothing has happened so far, they say.
The FfE document indicated that the land grant decision bypasses various legal documents of the country namely the environmental policy of Ethiopia, the federal forest proclamation and policy, national biodiversity strategy, environmental impact assessment proclamation, investment guideline and various regional laws.
Gumare forest, which is a part of the larger Godere forest, is one of the 58 national forest priority areas in the country.
MoA has promised that the ministry will not give forestlands for agricultural investments.
An official at the Investment Support Directorate of Ministry of Agriculture told Capital that the ministry office has already transferred the land to the investor so they can start their cultivation, though he declined to further comment on the project and the dispute that arose among the investor, the community and environmentalists.
Source: Capital Ethiopia
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