Flora Biodiversity Assessment in Bonga, Boginda and Mankira Forest

• River systems in the study area, like elsewhere in Ethiopia, are not protected or
there is no law regarding their conservation or protection. River systems have
high ecological and environmental importance. Most of all, rural people use these
rivers as source of water for drinking and washing. In the study area this
phenomen is well observed. Social services derived from the rivers in the study
area include, among others, washing, drinking water for animals and human,
artisan fishing. Therefore the river system needs to be protected. Another reason
for considering rivers in the biosphere criteria is that they can serve as a wildlife
corridor between different habitats along the rivers, i.e., rivers flow from higher
altitudes to lower altitudes. Therefore seasonal movement of wildlife might be
present and such movement can be facilitated by those corridors.
Therefore the three zones are classified based on the following able and the resulting
zones are depicted in map 4 and 5.
Table 13. Criteria considered to determe core, buffer and transitional zones
No. Land Cover/use
Slope class percent Altitude in meter
Less than or
equal to 30
Greater than
30
Less than
1900
1 Dense Forest Core Core Core Core
2 Disturbed Forest Buffer Core Core Buffer
3 Highly Disturbed Forest Buffer Buffer Buffer Buffer
Greater than or
equal to 1900
4 Intensively Cultivated Transitional Transitiona Transitional Transitional
5 Moderately Cutivated Transitional Transitional Transitional Transitional
6 Wetland Buffer Buffer Buffer Buffer
7 Bamboo Forest Core Core Core Core
8 River system (width of 200m) Core Core Core Core
The result, as it is depicted on Map 4 and 5 below, is larger in size than the area
proposed by Schmitt C. B., 2006 and Taestensen, F. et al., 2007. However, this zonation
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