UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

“Medium-Scale” Forestland Grabbing in the Southwestern Highlands of Ethiopia: Impacts on Local Livelihoods and Forest Conservation

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.3390/land7010024

Authors

Tola Gemechu Ango

Reported year

2018

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:17:52.589191+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:17:52.589191+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

Stockholm University

Documentary abstract — original language

Tropical forest provides a crucial portion of sustenance in many rural communities, although it is increasingly under pressure from appropriations of various scales. This study investigated the impacts of medium-scale forestland grabbing on local livelihoods and forest conservation in the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Data were generated through interviews, discussions and document review. The results indicate that state transfer of part of the forestland since the late 1990s to investors for coffee production created in situ displacement- a situation where farmers remained in place but had fully or partially lost access to forest- that disrupted farmers’ livelihoods and caused conflicts between them and the investors. Court cases about the appropriated land and related imprisonment, inflicted financial and opportunity costs on farmers. Farmers considered the livelihood opportunities created by the companies insufficient to compensate for loss of forest access. Companies’ technology transfers to farmers and contributions to foreign currency earnings from coffee exports have not yet materialized. Forest conservation efforts have been negatively affected by deforestation caused by conversion to coffee plantations and by farmers’ efforts to secure rights to forestland by more intensive use. The medium-scale forestland grabbing has been detrimental to farmers’ livelihoods and forest conservation in a way that recalls criticism of large- and mega-scale land grabbing since 2007–2008. The overall failure to achieve the objectives of transferring forestland to investors highlights a critical need to shift institutional supports to smallholders’ informal forest access and management practices for better development and conservation outcomes.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W2791177183

DOI

10.3390/land7010024

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

ET

Natural entities mentioned

Forest

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.3390/land7010024
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W2791177183

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

• openalex:w1489901752 · CITES
• openalex:w1571943670 · CITES
• The historical development of local forest governance in Ethiopia: from imperial times to the military regime of the Derg · CITES
• openalex:w1749484387 · CITES
• openalex:w1817603395 · CITES
• openalex:w1822466154 · CITES
• openalex:w1867806556 · CITES
• openalex:w1894089216 · CITES
• openalex:w1907319718 · CITES
• openalex:w1932639517 · CITES
• openalex:w1965753079 · CITES
• openalex:w1967118072 · CITES
• openalex:w1967681868 · CITES
• openalex:w1981331393 · CITES
• openalex:w1982331467 · CITES
• openalex:w1989237759 · CITES
• openalex:w1990295903 · CITES
• openalex:w2005569413 · CITES
• openalex:w2006006159 · CITES
• openalex:w2007203710 · CITES

1 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.