The Environmental History of Africa

Topic 11 - Deforestation in Ethiopia: A Tale of Two Forests

  1. The Creation and Functioning of a Degradation Narrative
    1. Many observers, including Vice President Al Gore in his book Earth in the Balance and many U.N. agencies, have stated as fact a claim that in 1900 40% of Ethiopia was covered by forest and that now only 4% of that forest remains. Is this statement (i.e. this narrative) historically accurate? Where do the figures come from?
    2. The figures about forest cover can be traced to a 1962 article by a Prof. Von Breitenbach, a teacher of forestry at Addis Ababa University. He has stated that under "ideal" conditions that the distribution of rainfall in Ethiopia would in theory support forest on 40% of the land.
    3. Subsequent publications and oral tradition among development scholars repeated that figure without testing its historical accuracy. Repetition of the numbers in oral and written form seems to have created a false sense of accuracy.

  2. Examination of historical record of two historical forests test validity of narrative.

  3. Case one is Ankober forest: Forest history of region of the 1830-40 capital of the Kingdom of Shawa in Ethiopia. Example of a dry evergreen montane area typical of central highlands and well described by travellers to king's court. Often argued that capital moved in 1850s because of degradation, an impression confirmed by travel over treeless plain of the late 20th century.
    1. First European travelers to Ankober in 1830s described it with a Alpine metaphor (read Harris quotation). Traveler W. Cornwallis Harris in 1838 described the sight as: ...a magnificent view of the Abyssinian Alps. . . . Hill rose above hill, clothed in the most luxuriant and vigorous vegetation; mountain towered above mountain; and the hill-clad peaks of the most remote range stretched far into the cold blue sky. Villages' dark groves of evergreens and rich fields of every hue, chequered the broad valley; and the setting sun shot a last stream of golden light over the mingled beauties of wild woodland scenery and the labours of Christian husbandmen.
    2. Others referred to it as comparable to most beautiful sights of Switzerland. May have been result of wishful thinking after climbing out of hot, Muslim alien Red Sea plain and looking for Christian kingdom in highlands. Town itself may indeed have had green cover of banana trees and junipers planted in domestic gardens.
    3. But once past Ankober's royal town Europeans reported quite different conditions: "Long, naked sweeping plains" "Bleak, moor-like," Not a single bush or tree was visible. An 1888 photographic view suggests the reality of the highlands.
    4. Endemic bird species also suggests historical habitat of grassland and not forest.
    5. Others reported that firewood was virtually unavailable except in very isolated royal forests. Dung was common fuel then as now. Early photograph shows dung stored and one 1840 traveler refers to its stench as a common feature of highland hearths. Women's elaborate vocabulary of manure types suggests it has been long in use.
    6. Did royal capital become deforested forcing its move south to Addis Ababa in 1886? No, because there was elaborate system to bring firewood to royal capital by using slaves who ranged up to three days away to avoid degradation. Highland environment was managed by the Royal government to deal with low historical forest resources. Highlands affected by fire and by large areas of vertisols [also called black cotton soil]that seasonally flooded and did not allow tree growth except in protected area like ravines or near springs.
    7. Historical Ankober town probably had more trees in 1840 than today because of effect of high population on planting domestic varieties.

  4. Case Two: The Plow in the Forest
    1. Counter example of highlands is the kingdom of Gera in the broadleaf montane forest of the south where most forests are found today. Today there are dense forests with dense stands of hardwood trees reaching 35 meters in height supporting coffee collection, and a diverse ecosystem. In 1990s such southern forests made up 65% of all of Ethiopia's forest resources. Deforestation narrative is strong here implying that primeval forest is being cut in a historical trajectory that is one-directional.
    2. Italian sources from 1850s, 1880s, and 1920s give us good view of the area's forest history. I did field work there in 1990 and 1991 and found most of area covered by thick forests teeming with colubus monkeys, wild medicinal plants, honey bees, and wild coffee bushes. Seems to fit narrative of primary climax forest.
    3. But first accounts of 1850s from Italian missionaries state that land was open fields of cultivation; "a luxurious meadowland where beautiful cattle and sheep grazed."
    4. Agricultural system of annual cereal crops was in control of forest and had pushed it back. One old man told me "there was no forest; there was not wood!" A dense human population including slaves had cleared the forest and held it at bay.
    5. So what happened?
      1. The densely settled agricultural zone in the forest was a small kingdom. In 1881 it was conquered by the Ethiopian empire of Menilek II. The population fled and the slaves were taken back to Addis Ababa.
      2. The loss of population ended the "ecology control" that had existed and the forest slowly returned. By 1910 it has recovered almost completely, resembling a climax broadleaf forest with only a dim memory of its former self.
      3. How fast the forest recovery? (pp. 100-102 in McCann, Green Land recounts process).

  5. Key to story is that movement of ecosystems is not unidirectional, but historically complex as in Serengeti case. Is today's forest cover the same as earlier? Perhaps not, but we need continuing research on what the nature of the change will be not simplistic narratives.