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ETHIOPIA / SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
STORY: ETHIOPIA / SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
TRT: 03:40
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NUER / NATS
DATELINE: FEBRUARY 2017, GAMBELLA, ETHIOPIA
FEBRUARY 2017, GAMBELLA, ETHIOPIA
1. Wide shots, Tierkidi refugee camp
2. Wide shot, children in camp
3. Med shot, children in camp
4. Wide shot, woman carrying firewood
5. Wide shot, downed tree near camp
6. Wide shot, women carrying grain and water
7. Wide shot, Buk Liy Kang walking to collect firewood
8. Various shots, Buk chopping wood
9. Wide shot, Buk collecting wood
10. Close up, Buk tying wood into a bundle
11. SOUNDBITE (Nuer) Buk Liy Kang, South Sudanese refugee:
“I usually come back from the forest after two, two and half hours, and I get so tired. After resting for a short while, I arrange my firewood for home use and for sale so that I can get a little money for other things or to change the type of stew we eat.”
12. Various shots, returning home with firewood
13. SOUNDBITE (Nuer) Buk Liy Kang, South Sudanese refugee:
“My daughter cannot go to the forest for firewood. I go to the forest because I know better the insecurity in the forest.”
14. Wide shot, Buk with daughters and grandchildren inside home
15. Med shot, Buk’s daughters
16. Close up, Buk’s granddaughter
17. Wide shot, Buk starting fire for cooking
18. Close up, cooking pot
19. Wide shot, Buk cooking
20. Close up, Buk
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Amadou Allahoury Diallo, Representative in Ethiopia, Food and Agricultural Organization:
“If action is not taken, it will destroy the environment and the degradation will be very quick. So that’s why FAO Ethiopia with the Government of Ethiopia, and UNHCR, with support from donors; we are trying to face the situation.”
22. Wide shot, woman in Jewi refugee camp gathering firewood
23. Close up, fire under cooking pot being lit
24. SOUNDBITE (English) Arturo Gianvenuti, Forestry Officer, Food and Agricultural Organization:
“The growing number of displaced people in this region and the associated wood-fuel demand for cooking is causing a significant increase in forest degradation and deforestation around the refugee camps. It is therefore crucially important that we develop a coherent strategy that enables the most vulnerable people to have access to energy and clean and efficient technologies, while fostering good practices to reduce wood-fuel demand and environmental degradation.”
25. Wide shot, worker preparing field for planting trees
26. Med shot, worker levelling soil for plantation
27. Wide shot, women pounding soil
28. Med shot, woman pounding soil
29. Close up, bag of seeds
30. SOUNDBITE (English) Eva Müller, Director, Forestry Policy and Resources Division, Food and Agricultural Organization:
“Once a large number displaced people have been installed in an area, it is very difficult to balance the wood demand with the local supply. And therefore, it is critically important to start the supply planning at the very early stages of displacement.”
31. Wide shot, river and countryside near Gambella
32. Wide shot, women carrying firewood
33. Wide shot, river scene near Gambella
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said the unprecedented influx of refugees from South Sudan into Ethiopia has increased pressure on the local environment as the demand for wood-fuel is leading to a significant increase forest degradation and deforestation around refugee camps.
Facing civil war, drought and famine, more than a million and a half South Sudanese have sought refuge across the borders in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. Several hundred thousand people have come here, to Gambella in western Ethiopia, leading to a doubling of the region’s population in just a few years.
Tensions are rising between the refugees and host communities to rise further. When displacement camps are created, it is often in the belief that they will be temporary. In reality, the average age of such camps in Africa is more than 20 years.
Buk Liy Kang came from South Sudan three years ago with her six children. They live in one of seven camps set up in Gambella to house the wave of refugees. Her family receives food. But, in order to cook and boil water, she must venture out of the camp and gather firewood, a trek that has grown longer and more dangerous as the trees in nearby forests have been cut down for fuel.
SOUNDBITE (Nuer) Buk Liy Kang, South Sudanese refugee:
“I usually come back from the forest after two, two and half hours, and I get so tired. After resting for a short while, I arrange my firewood for home use and for sale so that I can get a little money for other things or to change the type of stew we eat.”
Buk’s journey to collect firewood is not only exhausting, but treacherous. Her path passes through the refugee camp and close to communities of other ethnic groups, and across the habitats of animal predators.
SOUNDBITE (Nuer) Buk Liy Kang, South Sudanese refugee:
“My daughter cannot go to the forest for firewood. I go to the forest because I know better the insecurity in the forest.”
For the foreseeable future, refugee families like Buk’s will continue to rely on wood as their main source of energy. But without sustainable practices, the huge demand will further degrade the nearby forests, significantly worsening living conditions for all peoples in the region.
SOUNDBITE (English) Amadou Allahoury Diallo, Representative in Ethiopia, Food and Agricultural Organization:
“If action is not taken, it will destroy the environment and the degradation will be very quick. So that’s why FAO Ethiopia with the Government of Ethiopia, and UNHCR, with support from donors; we are trying to face the situation.”
An FAO project in the Gambella region is working to support the energy needs of the large refugee community, in order to reduce the negative impacts on local forest resources and alleviate the pressure on the host population.
SOUNDBITE (English) Arturo Gianvenuti, Forestry Officer, Food and Agricultural Organization:
“The growing number of displaced people in this region and the associated wood-fuel demand for cooking is causing a significant increase in forest degradation and deforestation around the refugee camps. It is therefore crucially important that we develop a coherent strategy that enables the most vulnerable people to have access to energy and clean and efficient technologies, while fostering good practices to reduce wood-fuel demand and environmental degradation.”
Together with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), FAO is monitoring the amount of wood-fuel produced, collected and consumed. Using satellite imagery and a national forest inventory, they are supporting the development of sustainable forest resource management together with Ethiopian forest experts.
Displacement camps are also starting to re-forest degraded areas, by establishing multipurpose tree plantations to help meet energy needs and reduce environmental degradation. The added value for the refugees and host communities is that such activities also create opportunities for them to generate income.
SOUNDBITE (English) Eva Müller, Director, Forestry Policy and Resources Division, Food and Agricultural Organization:
“Once a large number displaced people have been installed in an area, it is very difficult to balance the wood demand with the local supply. And therefore, it is critically important to start the supply planning at the very early stages of displacement.”
FAO said developing sustainable forest management plans in crisis-affected areas offers far-reaching benefits for the environment and for the local populations, who will have greater personal, economic, and food security from the forests; while replanting will help mitigate the effects of climate change.
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