Since the last few decades, the government of Ethiopia has introduced and adopted participatory forest management (PFM) in different regions of the country. However, there is a lack of research dealing with perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM in Wof-Washa Forests (WWF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM implemented in WWF. We hypothesized that the perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM differ with socio-economic variables, such as sex, age, level of education, family size, occupation type, annual income, length of duration of local residence, livestock, and land ownership. A structured questionnaire comprised of close- and open-ended questions was developed and administered to a total of n = 64 households to collect information on the perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM in WWF. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions were used to analyze and interpret the data. The results revealed that socio-economic variables had significant effects on the perceptions towards “the prevalence of the problems with the existing PFM system” (39% variance explained), “the concept of PFM” (30% variance explained), and “the presence of PFM practice” (11% variance explained). Majority of the respondents accepted the PFM program introduced in WWF in order to protect and manage the WWF. The study also revealed that socio-economic variables had significant effects on the attitudes towards “managing forests via participatory approach” (16% variance explained), “having the responsibility to protect the WWF” (40% variance explained), and “accepting the PFM practice” (54% variance explained). However, the findings suggested that there were some respondents who were yet unsure to fully accept the concept and practice of PFM. Creating public awareness about PFM is crucial to alleviate the problems of deforestation and reduce the unsustainable use of the WWF. As socio-economic variables that affect perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM may change over time, future research is crucial to consider the time dimension as possible factor while studying perceptions and attitudes of local people towards PFM.

Restoring the degraded sites with vegetation cover is an optimal solution to mitigate environmental disasters. Starting from the 1980s, donor-assisted land rehabilitation activities were taking place in Tehulederi District, South Wollo, Ethiopia. Meanwhile, majority of the forests were destroyed; part of the problem was associated with the top-down approach of forest management. The challenge is, therefore, to find a system of management that can enhance the combined effect of both the community and the state. The community forestry (i.e. a forest development activity which is practiced and managed collectively by the community members on their communal land) is one such alternative. The objectives of the study were to (1) examine the views and attitudes of local people towards community versus state forests governance and (2) evaluate the management practices implemented in the community versus state forestry and their implications on the forest status and the livelihood of local people. A structured questionnaire consisting of closed- and open-ended questions was developed to collect quantitative data from randomly selected households. Moreover, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to gather qualitative data. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were used to analyze and interpret the quantitative data. The data obtained through key informant interviews and focus group discussions were synthesized and narrated using a qualitative method. Several socioeconomic variables significantly affected the views and attitudes of local people towards community versus state forests governance. Generally, local people had positive views and attitudes towards the community forestry. Over 83% of the respondents agreed to accept and practice community forestry. In contrast, about 70% of the respondents had negative views and attitudes towards the state forestry. The positive views and attitudes of local people towards the community forestry may be connected with the perceived benefits (e.g. infrastructure development, source of medicinal plants, wood products, and source of fodder) and the values (e.g. aesthetic and recreational) that local people expect from the community forest. However, the negative views and attitudes of local people towards the state forestry could be attributed to the fact that the community may have limited access to forests when they are exclusively managed by the government. Moreover, such forest management may aggravate antagonistic relationship between the government and local people and be manifested as forest use conflicts. The results obtained from key informant interviews and focus group discussions suggested that the community forest had a better status than the state forest. This may have resulted from the relative advantage of the community forestry to make better use of the community forest, manage it more sustainability, and contribute more equitably to satisfy local livelihoods than does the state forestry. The respondents also illustrated the dependence of local people on forests, utilization, protection, management, and silvicultural schemes implemented in the community versus state forests. The findings emphasize the importance of collective decisions in forest management and governance. The intervention for a legal framework and institutional development particularly through formal recognition of local people’s ownership and right over the use of forests is indispensable towards sustainable forestry.

Growing Eucalyptus at a farm level in the form of woodlot has become popular among rural households in Ethiopia. For example, rural households mainly establish Eucalyptus woodlot as a component of livelihood improvement and diversification to meet household wood demand and generating cash income. However, there is lack of information on the growth parmeters of Eucalyptus woodlot and the factors influencing the household decision on their establishment at the individual farmland level. The objective of this study was to examine local people’s knowledge on the adverse impacts and their attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot in Gudo Beret Kebele. We hypothesized that local people’s knowledge on the adverse impacts and their attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot in Gudo Beret Kebele is affected by socioeconomic and cognitive variables. A structured questionnaire comprising closed- and open-ended questions was developed and administered to a total of n = 94 households to collect information on local people’s knowledge on the adverse impacts and their attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot. The households were randomly selected through a lottery system based on their house identification numbers. Descriptive statistics, binary logit, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze and interpret the data. The results revealed that about 92% of the respondents noted that growing Eucalyptus woodlot had positive impacts on the socioeconomic situation of the community considering that it contributes to economic benefits through the sale of wood products, such as poles, construction materials, and fuelwood. However, only 8% of the respondents noted that the negative impacts of Eucalyptus woodlot were attributed to the decline in crop and forage production due to its allelopatic effect, and the reduction in ground water availability. Majority of the respondents (about 68%) preferred to grow Eucalyptus woodlot in Gudo Beret Kebele. Thus, most of the respondents (about 69%) had strongly agreed to have a positive attitude towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot. On the other hand, the binary logit regression model explained about 70.6% of the variance of local people’s knowledge on the adverse impacts of Eucalyptus woodlot. Overall, the multiple linear regression model revealed that socioeconomic and cognitive variables had significant effect on local people’s attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot (39.5% variance explained). We recommended that foresters, natural resource experts and managers, environmentalists, land use planners, and policy-makers should take the right and careful decision by assessing the overall socioeconomic and ecological aspects of Eucalyptus woodlot based on the interests of various stakeholders including local communities.

Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) prefer steep terrain in their landscape to reduce risks of predation and human nuisance disturbances. They also use vigilance and time allocation to manage risk of predation. We studied time budgets and habitat selection of Nubian ibex to: (1) identify the habitat variables to which Nubian ibex were behaviorally responsive; (2) investigate how time budget responses of Nubian ibex were related to season, slope condition, group size, and sex-age structure; and (3) develop behavioral-based models that account for the variations in the behaviors of Nubian ibex across the landscape and seasons.To quantify time budgets, we took regular field observations on focal individuals of Nubian ibex classified according to their habitat, group size, sex, and age. For each focal observation, we quantified environmental variables that were thought to influence the behavioral responses of ibex. Then, we developed behavioral models by correlating the proportion of behaviors measured in focal animal observations to the influential environmental variables. The behaviors of Nubian ibex significantly varied with sex and age structure, season, habitat type, and slope conditions. Adult females are more vigilant than adult male ibex, especially in the spring. This correlates with breeding and nursing activities. Based on the characteristics of the habitat, ibex behave to minimize risks of predation and human nuisance disturbances while maximizing their food intake.

Plantation forests provide numerous benefits to local communities that regularly interact with them. This study aimed at examining the determinant factors predicting the dependencies of local communities on plantation forests and their levels of participation on management activities in Basona Worena District, Ethiopia. To collect data, a survey questionnaire was developed by considering demographic, socio-economic, bio-physical, and institutional factors. The questionnaire was administered to a total of 92 randomly selected households. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression models were applied to analyze and interpret the data. The results suggested that the most preferred tree species planted by the local farmers included Eucalyptus, Vachellia abyssinica, and Sesbania sesban. Local communities mainly plant and grow plantation forests for fuelwood, construction materials, source of fodder, and income generation. The multiple linear regression models revealed that several independent variables derived from demographic (i.e., sex, age, and family size), socio-economic (i.e., level of education, annual income, livestock ownership, want to keep more livestock than they have at present, length of residence in the area, have the plan to stay in the area in the future, and have enough labor to manage the tree seedlings planted in their landholdings), bio-physical (i.e., distance between the nearby access road and the land of the respondents where they planted and grew trees), and institutional (i.e., have planted trees in their landholdings, get incentives to plant and grow trees in their landholdings, and have sufficient market to sell their plantation forest products obtained from their landholdings) factors significantly affected and predicted the two groups of the dependent variables, i.e., ‘the dependencies of local communities on plantation forests’ (49% variance explained) and ‘their levels of participation on management activities’ (53% variance explained). The study highlights existing concerns about planting, managing, developing, and sustainably utilizing plantation forests, which may in turn assist policy- and decision-makers, land use planners, environmental analysts, forest conservation and management experts to consider demographic, socio-economic, bio-physical, and institutional factors that affect the dependencies of local communities on plantation forests and their levels of participation on management activities.