KfW-CSUBF Project

About KfW-CSUBF Project

 

Back ground

The Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and Forest (CSUBF) is a development project financed by the Governments of Germany & Ethiopia as a bilateral agreement with an allocated budget Euro 26 million (20 million from the Germany government through KfW, 5 million Euro from Amhara regional government as a matching fund and 1 million Euro from the community in the form of labor).

The project is working in 6 woredas (Borena, Legambo, Mekedela, Mehalsayint, Sayint and Tenta) in South Wollo zone, Amhara region; Ethiopia. Originally the project time was 2016 – 2024, but because of coronavirus and other factors the project period extends by two years to 2026

Objectives

  • To convert low utilized communal land to productive forest (75% fast growing and 25% long rotation and endogenous trees) and it targeted to cover 10,000 ha land
  • To enhance management and harvesting right for small groups from the community and involving about 50,000 male and female farmers
  • To generate income to the households
  • To improve and environment condition of the area.

Approach

  • The identification of land for forest is taking serious of around 16 steps from consensus of the community to identification and mapping the suitable land.
  • The project payment approach is performance based. It is that the community groups who involved in plantation can get project support in the form of loan amount ETB 30,000 – 50,000/ha based on the land level. The loan has been released through Tesday Bank (former ACSI) for buying seedling, equipment and related expenses of the plantation site. The loan providing to the group is installment based, 40% when the group formed, acquired land from the community and legally register by the woreda concerned bodies. The second and third-round payments are released based on the minimum survival of rate of trees reached 75%. If a group could not able to fulfill the target it has a chance to replant and meet the target. However, if could not be able to meet the target in the project period the group has agreed to pay back the loan with interest to the bank.
  • Nationally the project has been owned by EFD (Ethiopian Forestry Development) and at regional level it has been coordinated by the Amhara Region Environment and Forest Protection Authority (AEFPA) in the region and supported by KfW. The PCU (Project Coordination Unit) based in Bahir Dar, Amhara region is managing the day-to-day project activties. The Detuch Forest Service Gmbh (DFS) is also working as the project consultant and has been playing crucial role in the project management.

So far achievement

Despite, many challenges, yet the project has planted more than 3,000 ha (30% from total land planned to cover). In addition, performing first phase of the project, the second phase of the project is already approved and it will be focused on forest value addition activties through introducing wood processing technologies.

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