Kommunikation und Beratung
Sozialwissenschaftliche Schriften zur
Landnutzung und ländlichen Entwicklung
110
Herausgegeben von Hermann Boland, Volker Hoffmann und Uwe Jens Nagel
Unraveling the Parks and
People Dichotomy
Local Interests and Conflicts in
Nech Sar National Park, Ethiopia
Girma Kelboro
This study was financially supported by the German Academic
Exchange Service
MARGRAF PUBLISHERS
Girma Kelboro
Unraveling the Parks and People Dichotomy
Local Interests and Conflicts in Nech Sar National Park, Ethiopia
Herausgegeben von
Hermann Boland, Volker Hoffmann und Uwe Jens Nagel
Bibliografische Information Der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der
Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im
Internet über http://dnb.ddb.de abrufbar.
Zugleich
Dissertation Universität Hohenheim, 2013
Satz und Layout
Girma Kelboro
Grafiken
Girma Kelboro
Druck und Bindung
f.u.t. müllerbader gmbh, Filderstadt
© Margraf Publishers GmbH, Scientific books, 2013
Kanalstraße 21; D-97990 Weikersheim
www.margraf-publishers.com; info@margraf-publishers.com
ISBN 978-3-8236-1661-0
ISSN 0947-0352
D 100
Margraf Publishers GmbH
Preface of the Editors
The Nech Sar National Park in Southern Ethiopia is an interesting case of failed nature
protection and conservation in developing countries. Its global importance is mainly
based on the occurrence of Swayne’s hartebeest, an antelope having a last retreat in this
park. When the park was established in 1974, about 100 hartebeests were counted. 2012,
according to the park administration, 6 were left. The prognosis is not good. But also the
conservation of biodiversity by maintaining the biotopes was unsuccessful, as e.g. aerial
photos document about deforestation. What are the reasons, and how could it be done
better, these are the main questions of this study.
The book gives an historical overview on the development of international paradigms of
nature protection. Starting with attempts to keep people out and to preserve untouched
wilderness, the paradigm shifted slowly to keep people inside and to protect by
appropriate use. As in other fields of development, participation was found to be the
solution and to replace top-down approaches. But Ethiopia and its administration on all
levels do hard with participation. The history of the Nech Sar National Park, documented
carefully in this book, demonstrates this clearly.
Who are the users of natural resources in the park, what are the resources to use
sustainably, and what are the interests of the stakeholders and the conflicts between
different requirements? To answer such questions, the author applies the “SocialEcological-Systems Framework”.
Carefully he uses participatory assessment methods, lives with the local people and
gradually regains their trust, as the basis to get unbiased information and to be able to
document what happened there, especially in the last 30 years. With increasing
completeness of the description, the understanding of underlying reasons grows, and
finally, what appears as ignorance of the locals and incompetency of the park
administration appears in different light and shape. The complexity of the conflicts and
the reasons of failed conservation become visible.
From there, it is possible for the author to give recommendations for future policies and
problem solving action. And across borders of the individual case, many consequences for
the general problem, how to unravel the peoples and park dichotomy, can be shown.
We are happy to have this study in our book series.
For the editors, Volker Hoffmann
III
Acknowledgements of the Author
This book is an output of a study, which has become fruitful through the contribution of
many people whom I cannot list all. I express my heart-felt gratitude to my main
supervisor Prof. Dr. Volker Hoffmann for his encouragement and support. All occasions I
had with him in both Hohenheim and Bonn had given me inspiring moments. I would like
to thank Prof. Dr. Joachim Sauerborn, my second supervisor, for his willingness to
evaluate my thesis. My appreciation to Dr. Till Stellmacher, my tutor at the Center for
Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, for his critical comments at all stages
of my research. My field research and writings benefited a lot from presentations in the
colloquiums at ZEF and at the Institute of the Social Sciences in Agriculture at the
University of Hohenheim. Dr. Irit Eguavoen had been a regular resource person for
international publications on Ethiopia. Mr. Volker Merx, thank you very much for your
help in accessing all forms of references. Thanks to Tiemo Pokrala for translating the
summary into the German Language.
Active responses and inspiring words of Dr. Günther Manske motivated me to submit my
initial application to ZEF. He also facilitated access to funds for me to participate in
conferences in Germany and in the UK. Dr. Manske, thank you very much! The entire
doctoral program officers including Ms. Rosemary Zabel and Ms. Maike Retat-Amin
have been very helpful throughout my study. The support I and my family received from
Ms. Zabel remains unforgettable. ZEF created an ideal working environment for me.
I benefited a lot from experience sharing during my stay in Global Environments Summer
Academy (GESA) at the Rachel Carson Center, University of Munich, in August 2012.
Special mention should be made of the deliberations I had with Dr. Gary Martin, Dr.
Susannah McCandless, and Dr. Emily Caruso at GESA. I am indebted to thank Dr.
McCandless and her husband Ethan Mitchell, an independent scholar, for reading the
entire thesis and most parts of Chapter 6 respectively, and for providing editorial support
and constructive inputs to the discussions.
Many people contributed to a rewarding experience I had during field research in
Ethiopia. Abiy Getahun facilitated access to office data in Nech Sar. Thank you very
much, Abiy! Special thanks to the late Awol Ali who was Nech Sar NP warden for his
cooperation throughout my field research. Thanks to other Nech Sar NP staff members
including Admasu Akamo, Basaye Hirbaye, Tariku Zeleke, Jarso Guye, Kebede Satso,
Banti Basala, and Bafa Balcha for their assistance and encouragement. Special thanks go
to my field assistants Dawit Roba and Tilahun Tilata for data collection from the Guji and
Kore respectively. I would like to thank Aramde Fetene for helping in mapping the study
sites, and for sharing data related to the Nech Sar NP. I heartily thank the support of my
colleague Habtamu Tadesse in producing land use map of the Nech Sar NP. I am indebted
to thank the Guji and Kore for their kindness and patience to share their life experiences
and to answer interview questions. Thanks to Mersha Alemayehu, Milkias Israel, and
Girma Timer for their provision of the necessary official reports about the park.
Colleagues and friends at Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources
(WGCF-NR) had always been on my side during the study. I would like to thank my
colleague and friend Mesele Negash with whom we shared the hills and valleys of
academic life and fieldwork experiences. Thanks to Tewodros Assefa and Dr. Bekele
IV
Lemma at WGCF-NR for sharing with me their office spaces and facilities. Dr. Bekele
had also taken care of my family support from WGCF-NR during my study leave. Thanks
to Dr. Melaku, Dr. Abdu, Dr. Abdela, Dr. Tefera, Dr. Birhanu, Dr. Zerihun, Dr. Tsegaye,
Dr. Zebene, Dr. Fantaw, Dr. Efrem, Dr. Leakemariam, Dr. Yemiru, Dr. Menfese, Dr.
Yosef, Bereket Roba, Mersha Gebrehiwot, Abebe Seifu, Amlaku Bikss, Tola Gemechu,
Demamu Mesfin, Mamo Kebede, Motuma Tolera, Abraham Alano, Tadele Zewdie,
Megersa Debele, Shitaye Tesfaye, Tariku Olana, Hana Ayele, Desta Etefa, Girma
Mengesha, Yosef Gulima, and Ethiopia Kassa for their moral support and inspiration.
My father, Kelboro Mensuro, has always been at my side through his prayers and moral
support towards success and fruitful life. I am grateful to my wonderful wife Ayelech
Ersulo for her support throughout my study and our children (Abigya, Yididya,
Getayawkal, and Yemisrach) for their patience, understanding, and bearing the cost of
losing care of their dad at their very young age. I appreciate the moral support of
Getachew Sahile, Girma Ersulo, Chakiso Kelboro, Belachew Anshiso, and Medina
Kelboro.Thanks to Ersulo Gebre, my wife’s father, and his family for being sympathetic
of my endeavors. I am so sorry that he lost his life while I was writing this thesis.
My German family of Karl Schmidt and Worknesh Birhane Schmidt shared love with me
and my family. The families of Emily and Marie Kristin had been our good neighbors in
Thomasberg area of Königswinter. I am indebted to thank Bereket Zeleke, Mahlet
Kassahun, Emama Mihret, Biniam and his family, Abigail, Mesay Kebede, Dawit Diriba,
Dr. Shimeles Damene, Dr. Dessie Salilew, and Dr. Ermias Aynekulu for their
encouragement in different ways during my stay in Bonn. God bless all the members of
the Bonn Harvest Ethiopian Evangelical Church (in Germany) and Tabor International
Prayer Team (in Ethiopia) for their prayers and support.
I am grateful to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for offering me a
scholarship to study in Germany. I am indebted to thank the fiat panis foundation for
financially supporting my participation in conferences both in Germany and abroad. I also
thank WGCF-NR for providing family support and for its financial contribution to my
field research in Ethiopia.
Having acknowledged the contribution of all people and institutions to succeed in my
study, analysis and write-up, I should mention that I am solely responsible for all
weaknesses.
I praise my God in the name of Jesus Christ for giving me the potential to achieve this and
more ahead!
Dedicated to my mother, Geto Ersido, who first sent me to school in a remote rural
Ethiopian village, wished but could not see her son joining a university.
Bonn and Hohenheim, 2013, Girma Kelboro
V
Table of Contents
Preface of the Editors ..........................................................................................................III
Acknowledgements of the Author ..................................................................................... IV
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ VI
List of Tables and Figures.................................................................................................. IX
List of Acronyms .............................................................................................................XIII
1.
People and Protected Areas in Ethiopia ...............................................1
1.1
Introduction ............................................................................................................1
1.2
Historical Context: the Merit of Nech Sar National Park ......................................5
1.3
Problem Statement and Research Objectives ........................................................ 8
1.4
Research Questions .............................................................................................. 12
1.5
Thesis Organization ............................................................................................. 13
2.
Methodology and Ethics ............................................................................15
2.1
The Study Area ....................................................................................................15
2.2
Sampling Strategy, Data Collection, and Analysis ..............................................17
2.3
Ethical Considerations in the Research ................................................................ 24
2.4
Lessons from the Field Research .........................................................................27
3.
Concepts and Theories ..............................................................................31
3.1
Protected Areas and People: State of the Art ....................................................... 31
3.2
Protected Areas as Social-Ecological Systems .................................................... 36
3.3
A Framework for Analyzing Social-Ecological Systems ....................................37
4.
Protected Area Policies in Ethiopia ......................................................54
4.1
Introduction ..........................................................................................................54
4.2
Global Discourses: Sources of the Protected Area Model ...................................54
4.2.1
Biodiversity Concerns and the Need for Protected Areas ...................................54
4.2.2
Globalization of the National Park Model ........................................................... 55
4.2.3
National Park Discourse Today ...........................................................................57
4.3
Biodiversity Conservation in Ethiopia .................................................................59
4.3.1
Landscape Features and Biodiversity ..................................................................59
4.3.2
Original Thinking: Wildlife as an Exhaustible Resource ....................................60
4.3.3
Wildlife Conservation Policy in the Imperial Era................................................63
4.3.4
Policy Changes by the Military Derg Regime ..................................................... 64
VI
4.3.5
The Wildlife Policy after 1991 ............................................................................ 65
4.3.6
Protected Area System of Ethiopia ..................................................................... 70
4.3.7
Organization of Protected Areas in Ethiopia ...................................................... 72
4.3.8
Financing Protected Areas in Ethiopia ................................................................ 73
4.4
Role of NGOs in Protected Areas in Ethiopia .................................................... 76
5.
The People of Nech Sar National Park ................................................ 79
5.1
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 79
5.2
Guji Pastoralists................................................................................................... 79
5.2.1
Social Structure of the Guji ................................................................................. 79
5.2.2
Traditional Belief System of the Guji ................................................................. 86
5.2.3
Guji Pastoralism .................................................................................................. 90
5.2.4
Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 97
5.3
The Kore People .................................................................................................. 98
5.3.1
Social Organization of the Kore .......................................................................... 98
5.3.2
Religion and Belief System of the Kore ........................................................... 101
5.3.3
Farming and Subsidiary Livelihood Strategies of the Kore .............................. 102
5.3.4
Internal Conflicts and Conflict Management Strategies ................................... 104
5.3.5
Social Support Institutions in Kore ................................................................... 106
5.3.6
Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 108
6.
Triple Lines of Interactions: Park-People, People-People,
and Interstate Conflicts ........................................................................... 109
6.1
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 109
6.2
Park-People Conflicts in Nech Sar National Park............................................. 109
6.2.1
Conservation-Livelihood Conflicts ................................................................... 109
6.2.2
Manifestations of Park-People Conflicts .......................................................... 111
6.2.3
Complexity in Law Enforcement ...................................................................... 130
6.2.4
Implications of the Park-People Conflicts in Nech Sar .................................... 133
6.3
Guji-Kore Conflicts and Conflict Management Strategies ............................... 135
6.3.1
Causes of Guji-Kore Conflicts .......................................................................... 135
6.3.2
Consequences of Guji-Kore Conflicts............................................................... 143
6.3.3
Opportunities and Challenges for Managing Guji-Kore Conflicts ................... 148
6.4
Conflicts within the State .................................................................................. 155
6.5
Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 158
VII
7.
NGO Endeavor: Lessons Learned from African Parks
Foundation ....................................................................................................160
7.1
Introduction ........................................................................................................160
7.2
Achievements of African Parks Foundation in Nech Sar National Park
Management .......................................................................................................161
7.2.1
Finance, Personnel, and Facilities ......................................................................161
7.2.2
Stakeholder Partnership ..................................................................................... 163
7.2.3
Pursuing Multiple Park Management Objectives ..............................................166
7.2.4
The African Parks Foundation Zoning Concept ................................................ 167
7.3
Effectiveness of African Parks Foundation in Reducing Degradation ..............169
7.4
Early Ending of the Nech Sar National Park Agreement ..................................172
7.4.1
The Resettlement Question at Nech Sar National Park .....................................172
7.4.2
African Park’s Decision to Withdraw from Ethiopia ........................................176
7.4.3
Causes for the Failure of African Parks Foundation Endeavors ........................ 180
7.4.4
Impacts of African Parks Foundation Involvement and Withdrawal ................ 185
7.5
Conclusion..........................................................................................................187
8.
Major Findings and Conclusions .........................................................188
8.1
General ............................................................................................................... 188
8.2
The Social-Ecological Context of Nech Sar National Park ............................... 188
8.3
Implications for Protected Area Governance in Ethiopia ..................................192
8.4
Applicability of the Findings to Other Contexts ................................................ 194
9.
Summaries ....................................................................................................196
9.1
Summary ............................................................................................................196
9.2
Zusammenfassung .............................................................................................. 198
10.
References ....................................................................................................201
VIII
List of Boxes, Tables, and Figures
List of boxes
Box 5.1:
An example of alternative livelihoods as a gap-filling mechanism ............. 102
List of tables
Table 1.1: Objectives for establishment of wildlife protected areas in Ethiopia and
damages during the 1991 transition period .................................................... 11
Table 2.1: A summary of research question-method combination .................................. 23
Table 3.1: Evolution of paradigms in understanding people-protected area
relationships .................................................................................................... 33
Table 3.2: Unpacking the SES framework for the Nech Sar NP ..................................... 40
Ttable 3.3: Classification of goods based on subtractability and exclusion ..................... 48
Table 3.4: Property rights regimes ................................................................................... 49
Table 4.1: IUCN protected area categories ...................................................................... 58
Table 4.2: How Guji and Kore people first obtained their farmlands in Sermelle
River Valley................................................................................................... 61
Table 4.3: Principal wildlife conservation areas in Ethiopia ........................................... 62
Table 4.4: Protected area-related international conventions ratified by Ethiopia ............ 69
Table 4.5: Government expenditure on wildlife conservation for certain fiscal years .... 74
Table 4.6: Growth of local and international NGOs in Ethiopia ..................................... 76
Table 4.7: Sectoral distribution of resource allocation for different NGO projects ........ 77
Table 6.1: Main local people actor groups' interests on natural resources of
Nech Sar NP ................................................................................................. 111
Table 6.2: The essence of Nech Sar NP to local people ................................................ 112
Table 6.3: Population of Swayne's hartebeest in Nech Sar NP between 1967-2012 ..... 124
Table 6.4: Fish catch trends over 10 years (1967 to 2007) from Lake Chamo.............. 125
Table 6.5: Usefulness of nech sar as a park to Guji and Kore ...................................... 130
IX
Table 6.6: Perceived relationship between Guji and Kore .............................................136
Table 6.7: Causes of historical conflicting relationship between Guji and Kore ...........137
Table 6.8: Conflicts between Guji and Kore on traditional irrigation water use ............141
Table 6.9: Causes of conflicts between Guji and Kore in irrigation water use ..............142
Table 6.10: Perceived trend of relationship between park and people in Nech Sar
over the last 10 years .....................................................................................145
Table 6.11: Preferred institutions for conflict resolution ..................................................154
Table 7.1: Trends of personnel in Nech Sar NP .............................................................162
List of figures
Figure 1.1: An originally proposed map of Nech Sar NP with two boundary options .......6
Figure 2.1: Location of Nech Sar NP.................................................................................15
Figure 2.2: Drawings of Nech Sar wildlife as sources of beauty and tourist
attractions: crocodile, birds, and hippopotamus (right); zebra, gazelle,
landscape, and a waitress at the entrance of Chamo Hotel in
Arba Minch (left) ............................................................................................16
Figure 2.3: Schematic summary of the primary data collection process ...........................18
Figure 2.4: A traditional marriage ceremony in a Guji house (left); Sirbaa
(a Guji singing and dancing ceremony) held to celebrate completion
of a house cooperatively constructed for a family (right) ...............................19
Figure 2.5: Group discussions (top left: Guji women; top right: Guji men;
bottom left: Kore women; bottom right: Kore men) .......................................20
Figure 2.6: Location of the study sites in Nech Sar NP .....................................................22
Figure 2.7: A pyramidal model showing an increase in the depth of institutional
analysis from Federal to the local levels .........................................................24
Figure 3.1: A general framework for analyzing social-ecological systems.......................39
Figure 5.1: A Guji elder blesses his wife after drinking bunaa qalaa ...............................87
Figure 5.2: Basic Amharic language lessons by an evangelist ..........................................89
Figure 5.3: Earmarking for identification of a Guji family's cattle ...................................92
X
Figure 5.4:
An open market at Golbo/Tselke where Guji women sell milk and
milk products while Kore women bring cereals and root crops.................. 93
Figure 5.5:
A partially cut live tree symbolizing a kalo.................................................. 96
Figure 5.6:
A piece of corrugated iron sheet encircled on a tree stem (left);
beehives on an acacia tree in Nech Sar with bushy undergrowth (right) ..... 96
Figure 5.7:
Hierarchy in the traditional leadership of Kore people ................................ 99
Figure 5.8:
A group of Kore women walking to Arba Minch marketplace through
Nech Sar grassland plains (left); traditional oxen-draw farming by a
smallholder farmer in the month of August in Yero kebele for
planting cereal crops (right) ....................................................................... 103
Figure 5.9:
Two oxen tied with ropes in a family grazing area in Yero (left);
a sign for showing a grazing reserve near Yero Wala hill in
Amaro Mountains (right) ........................................................................... 104
Figure 6.1: Lines of tensions around Nech Sar NP, the thicker the lines the
higher the level of tention is; broken lines show less direct tensions ........ 110
Figure 6.2:
Women carrying wood harvested in Nech Sar NP taking a rest after
entering Arba Minch town (left); men caught red-handed carrying
wood gathered inside the park .................................................................... 119
Figure 6.3:
The de facto land use pattern in Nech Sar NP ............................................ 122
Figure 6.4:
A Guji herder taking cattle to Nech Sar NP grassland plains .................... 124
Figure 6.5:
Overgrazing by cattle exposed the soil (left); Abutilon spp., an
invasive plant taking up Nech Sar grassland plains in the northern
part of the plains (right) .............................................................................. 128
Figure 6.6:
Flood damage of a farm in Sermelle River Valley at the end of 2009 ....... 143
Figure 6.7:
White grass in the inaccessible Gatira/Golbe (left); Berchell’s zebra
and cattle in the overgrazed fields of Nech Sar grassland plains (right).... 147
Figure 6.8:
A Guji woman with milk and milk products in Golbo/Tselke
marketplace (left) to sell to Kore women; Kore women with root
crops such as taro and sweet potato at the marketplace (right)
waiting for Guji women to purchase .......................................................... 149
Figure 6.9:
Hot springs in Nech Sar NP (left); a Kore farmer digging salty soil
around Tsebel/Lion Campsite of the park (right) ....................................... 150
XI
Figure 6.10: A report of warning by Peace Committee to Amaro Special
wereda (left); an example of minutes of the Peace Committee
meeting, in which wereda delegates participated (right) ............................151
Figure 6.11: Approximate area of Guji residence and use (left); approximate
area of preferred position of Oromia Region delegates following
negotiations in 2003 (right) .........................................................................157
Figure 7.1:
The proposed organizational structure of JLC ............................................165
Figure 7.2:
APF proposed Nech Sar NP management zones ........................................168
Figure 7.3:
APF and Guji negotiation lines and final proposal of the Nech Sar
NP boundaries .............................................................................................170
Figure 7.4:
A long line of water containers at Abulo kebele .........................................174
XII