Processes of Forest Cover Change since 1958 in the Coffee-Producing Areas of Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

We investigated the spatial relations of ecological and social processes to point at how state policies, population density, migration dynamics, topography, and socio-economic values of ‘forest coffee’ together shaped forest cover changes since 1958 in southwest Ethiopia. We used data from aerial photos, Landsat images, digital elevation models, participatory field mapping, interviews, and population censuses. We analyzed population, land cover, and topographic roughness (slope) data at the ‘sub-district’ level, based on a classification of the 30 lowest administrative units of one district into the coffee forest area (n = 17), and highland forest area (n = 13). For state forest sites (n = 6) of the district, we evaluated land cover and slope data. Forest cover declined by 25% between 1973 and 2010, but the changes varied spatially and temporally. Losses of forest cover were significantly higher in highland areas (74%) as compared to coffee areas (14%) and state forest sites (2%), and lower in areas with steeper slopes both in coffee and highland areas. Both in coffee and highland areas, forest cover also declined during 1958–1973. People moved to and converted forests in relatively low population density areas. Altitudinal migration from coffee areas to highland areas contributed to deforestation displacement due to forest maintenance for shade coffee production in coffee areas and forest conversions for annual crop production in highland areas. The most rapid loss of forest cover occurred during 1973–1985, followed by 2001–2010, which overlapped with the implementations of major land and forest policies that created conditions for more deforestation. Our findings highlight how crop ecology and migration have shaped spatial variations of forest cover change across different altitudinal zones whilst development, land, and forest policies and programs have driven the temporal variations of deforestation. Understanding the mechanisms of deforestation and forest maintenance simultaneously and their linkages is necessary for better biodiversity conservation and forest landscape management.

The Production and Destruction of Forests through the Lens of Landesque Capital Accumulation

“…Consistent with previous findings for southwestern Ethiopia (Hylander et al 2013), Gera district also has lower rates of deforestation in coffee areas (14.4% of the total forest cover lost) than in highland areas (74.2% of the total forest cover lost) over the period 1973-2010 (Ango et al 2020). Interestingly, the most rapid loss of forest occurred between 1973 and 1985 and 2001-2010 in both coffee and highland areas, as well as in state forest sites demarcated as protected forests.…”

“…We build on recent research investigating the multiple factors and processes that have shaped forest cover and produced an agriculture-forest mosaic landscape in southwestern Ethiopia through an analysis of smallholders' coffee production, topography, migration, population dynamics, and state policies. An outcome highlighted by this research is the importance of assessing both activities that maintain forests as well as drivers of deforestation and the linkages between them (Ango et al 2020). This point aligns with our argument that shifting between a conservation and production lens is a means to decenter the dominant discourse on destructive human practices.…”

“…Coffee is an important income source for most smallholding farmers in the district. Each kebele is classified as located either within a coffee growing area or highland area largely on the basis of the microclimatic suitability for shade coffee production, following differences in altitude (Ango et al 2020).…”

“…As described above, the forest mosaic landscape of Gera has been shaped by three main forces: 1) smallholder's commercial coffee production and annual crop cultivation, 2) policy interventions to promote agricultural development and improve forest management (e.g., participatory forest management), and 3) migration dynamics (Ango et al 2020) that have resulted in a clearly differentiated topographical pattern related to the altitudinal reach of coffee. The areas above the coffee growing zone, except in the most inaccessible, and steep slopes (which are largely protected as state forests) have been deforested and cleared for annual crop cultivation.…”

An Assessment of Forest Cover Change and Its Driving Forces in the Syrian Coastal Region during a Period of Conflict, 2010 to 2020

“…In recent years, many studies have been conducted using multitemporal satellite images to monitor and map changes in forest cover around the world. These studies used developed methodologies for this purpose, such as pixel-based classification analyses [1,3,8,13,15,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27], vegetation indices analysis [6,20,28,29], and object-based or object-oriented classification analyses [7,9,18,20,21,[30][31][32][33][34]. Meanwhile, many studies based on remotely sensed data and GIS techniques have been conducted to study forest degradation in different regions around the world, such as those studies that used Landsat images and different vegetation indices to estimate the impact of selective logging, forest fires and the intense production of coal on the loss of forest cover as well as to map degraded forests [35][36][37][38][39][40][41].…”