Land degradation in Amhara has been extensive for many decades. It is highly needed to increase the focus on more sustainable land management to create a basis for development of a greener economy.

Restoration of degraded forest landscapes must be intensified and is expected to provide an opportunity for more forest cover, increase in food crops and grass production, along with a more sustainable use of the resources. Concentrated efforts are needed to increase the level of knowledge and understanding of the various stakeholders, to develop and protect the forest and other land resources, to expand watershed management and to construct effective water-retaining infrastructures.

The Forest Landscape Restoration Program (FLRP) will assess and develop the existing principles and techniques for forest landscape restoration (FLR), building on local knowledge. Further, the program aims to introduce and provide several incentives to motivate, enable, and implement FLR in the Amhara Region, which may be replicated in other parts of Ethiopia with a possible extension to other countries.

The program will adopt a landscape-approach to forest restoration, which will look at the target area from a multifunctional perspective, combining natural resource management with environmental and social components. The program include work on land use planning with local participation and involvement, use of high-quality planting materials, restored landscapes and improved land use at village level, increased commercial wood stock and increased capacity of stakeholders.

The main outcomes of the program:

Phase I (2017-2022):

• Land Use planning with local participation and involvement.
• High quality planting materials used locally.
• Restored landscapes and improved land use in the program area.
• Increased commercial wood stock available after full rotation.
• Increased capacity of implementing FLR.

Phase II (2022-2025):

• Restore forests and landscapes with local participation and involvement.
• Create socioeconomic and environmental benefits for the population in Green Villages.
• Increase the capacity of stakeholders and target groups to sustain restoration efforts.

FLR Project

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