Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

• The redefinition of protected areas including zonation within the areas (cf ‘zones of special
use’ after Terborgh, 2002). The redefinition must be i) appropriate for the Ethiopia policy
and regulatory context as well as realities on the ground, and ii) arrived at in a consolatory,
participatory way. It must not attempt to conform to criteria that exist elsewhere (e.g., the
IUCN protected area categories provide management guidance but naming conventions
and regulations for National Parks should be country-specific) but must be functional for
Ethiopia. It should be noted that different zones within any one area can be sub-categorized
as well.
• The process to achieve (and maintain) both conservation and livelihood targets within any
given area demands trade-offs. There is no doubt that forcing people out of areas and abusing
their rights does not work. Further, allowing humans to use resources in an unmanaged way
leads only to environmental collapse, as history has amply demonstrated. Agreeing on and
implementing these trade-offs is the key here.
• For the BMNP – or any Protected Area in Ethiopia – to be effectively managed and for
it to realize its conservation and livelihood goals, all partners will have to be adaptive. In
order to be so, partners must be receptive to a dialogue that is based on mutual respect and
understanding of all stakeholders interest. Partners will also have to incorporate the lessons
that are being learnt, not only from within Ethiopia, but from elsewhere around the world.
• As human populations and the demands on natural resource requirements grow, the joint
management agreements made in Bale – and indeed elsewhere – will be severely challenged.
They will only survive if everyone involved – local communities, local and regional
authorities and federal organizations - stand together without taking time. This is because
we must also recognize that we as conservationists work in a marginalized sector. Similarly,
if the Bale Mountains, its people and its natural resources are to survive any future political
hiatuses, then everyone needs to be working together towards a common goal.
References
Adams, William M.and Hutton, J. 2007. People, parks and poverty: Political ecology and biodiversity
conservation. Conservation and Society, 5 (2): 147 – 183.
Bale EcoRegion Sustainable Management Programme. 2006. Oromiya Bureau of Agriculture and
Rural Development, FARM-Africa – SOS Sahel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Boku, T. and Irwin, B. 2002. Traditional Institutions, multiple stakeholders and modern perspectives
in common property. Accompanying change within Borana pastoral systems. Report FARM-
Africa – SOS Sahel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Borrini- Feyerabend, G.M. 1999. Collaborative Management of Protected Areas. In: Partnership for
Protection: New Strategies for Planning and Management of Protected Areas (Stolton, S.
and Dudley, N. (eds.)). Earthscan Publications Limited: London, UK.
Borrini-Feyerabend, G. M., Pimbert, M. T., Farvar, Kothari, A. and Reard, Y. 2004. Sharing Power:
Learning by doing in co-management of natural resources throughout the world. IIED and
IUCN/CEESP/CMWG, Cenesta, Tehran.
Dudley, N., Gujja, B., Jackson, B., Jeanrenaud, J., Rosabel, P., Stolton, S., and Wells, S. (1999).
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